Tucker Carlson left Fox News in late April and it took the conservative network a few months to find a replacement. After some pilot tests, they chose Jesse Watters as his successor, who will be filling the screen at 8 p.m. starting July 17. However, Carlson was once again in the news for openly expressing his opinion about his departure from the channel, to whom he took the opportunity to wish the best.
The curator joined actor Russell Brand for a relaxed chat on his podcast, named in honor of its creator. After a few brief seconds of exchanging praise and thanks, the questions about Donald Trump and the popular media outlet began.
"I love Trump personally," Carlson began, going on to lament his coverage during the 2022 midterm elections, which he defined as overly politicized. He also highlighted his foreign policy views (particularly on the Ukraine-Russia war), later adding that the former president is redirecting the Republican Party against the wishes of the GOP's own leaders.
Tucker Carlson on Why He Admires Robert F. Kennedy Jr. & the Greatest Thing RFK Jr Said to Him
"I really admire him...The amount that man has suffered for what he thinks is true...The amount of money he's lost, the friends he's lost...He's been ostracized in a way most people… pic.twitter.com/G4uGHrBf53
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) July 7, 2023
He also recalled how most of the media treated the current candidate during his time in the White House, particularly his family. He even revealed an off-air conversation he had with Robert J. Kennedy Jr, in which the latter told him the following in this regard:"I have seven children and they all love me, I don't care".
In analyzingpopulism in U.S. history, he mentioned Theodore Roosevelt as the first populist president in history, then devolving into more current figures such as Ross Perot, Robert Kennedy Jr. and Trump himself. "These personalities have something in common. They were all from the world they criticized", he said.
Fox News' exit
When asked about it by Brand, the journalist confessed that he had always lived with the possibility of being fired. "This is not the first time I have been fired. And I think in our business, when you work for a big media company and you know, you speak your mind, there's an expectation that you can get fired. I've always had that, and I've always tried to have a long-term vision, not only in the media, but in life," he said.
However, he did not hide his surprise at the particular date of the dismissal, a situation that did take him by surprise. "All graves are left unvisited at the end. I always think that. So I was surprised; I didn't expect to be fired that morning in April. So I was shocked, but I wasn't really shocked and I wasn't angry," he added.
Tucker Carlson on his firing from Fox News: “I didn’t expect to get fired that morning at all… I was shocked” pic.twitter.com/9ngdVz5P9z
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 7, 2023
In turn, Carlson added that Fox "is not my company" and that "when you work for someone else, that person reserves the right and, in fact, has the inherent right to decide whether you work there or not."
Finally, he did not show anger with the company, but rather gratitude. "I'm not angry about it. You can believe me or not, but I think you can feel that I'm not. And you know, I wish Fox the best," he said.
🔥 Tucker Carlson Gets PISSED About the Lies Surrounding January 6th
"The more time has passed, now it's been 2.5 years, it becomes really obvious that core claims they made about January 6th were lies...It was not an insurrection. And to put Jacob Chansley, an American citizen,… pic.twitter.com/3iztmCacEr
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) July 7, 2023
January 6th
As for his coverage of January 6, 2021, he claimed that the Capitol Police chief confessed to him that the crowd was"full of federal agents." His interview was never published due to his dismissal from Fox News.
Carlson also questioned the media coverage of this event in Congress while lawmakers were certifying the 2020 presidential election. "The more time that has passed, now it's been 2 1/2 years, it becomes really obvious that the central claims they made about Jan. 6 were lies.... It was not an insurrection. And put Jacob Chansley, a U.S. citizen, a Navy veteran, in jail for years after uniformed Capitol Police officers let him into the Senate chamber and then I get to play that and be the bad guy?" he added.
