OPINION: Tucker Carlson Fired From Fox News
Ayden McDougle is a freshman political science (pre-law) major and history minor. He is also an opinion writer and digital content creator for The New Political.
Please note that these views and opinions do not reflect those of The New Political.
Following the settlement of $787.5 million over defamation charges between Dominion Voting Services and Fox Corp. (the parent company of Fox News), Fox News Host Tucker Carlson “(has) agreed to part ways” with Fox after nearly a decade of stating right-wing extremist opinions. This separation is effective immediately as of April 24.
Carlson first joined Fox News in 2009, then in 2017 he took over Bill O'Reilly's 8 p.m. hour primetime spot. After six years of spewing right-wing rhetoric and misinformation with an average audience of 3.2 million viewers, Carlson has become one of the most-watched cable news network hosts.
During this time Carlson repeatedly talked about many right-wing conspiracy theories. Most recently, he continued to spread misinformation about the legitimacy of the 2020 election, stating that, “Jan. 6 is probably second only to the 2020 election as the biggest scam in my lifetime,” and made false claims about the COVID-19 vaccine, stating that Biden’s plan was an attempt to “force people to take medicine they don’t want or need.” He also called the initiative “the greatest scandal in my lifetime, by far.” All the while promoting white nationalist talking points.
In the two years since the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, Carlson used his massive platform to amplify baseless and weak theories that the attack was a false-flag operation orchestrated by the FBI and government agents because they hated Trump, and that the rioters themselves were the victims.
Certain documents made public before the Dominion Voting Services defamation lawsuit settlement showed a clear divide on Carlson's opinions on and off the air. Carlson, alongside other Fox News hosts such as Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, mocked guests over text messages, including Donald Trump’s attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, while continuing to promote conspiracy theories to the Fox News audience.
These messages also revealed that Carlson told co-workers that he “passionately” hated former President Donald Trump and that Trump’s time in the White House was a “disaster.”
Based on what Dominion uncovered throughout the investigative part of the suit (a discovery) revealed the Fox Corporation is grounded in skepticism and hostility. From the top down, the American mass media company is operated and controlled by Rupert Murdoch, an Australian-born American billionaire whose family has a 39.6% ownership share of Fox Corp. They have created a network defined by a never-ending pursuit of ratings that placed profit above politics, and a partisan advantage above any sense of journalistic integrity.
It is still unclear if Carlson’s separation is directly connected to the Dominion lawsuit settlement or any other lawsuits related to Fox’s election denialism. The statement that Fox issued on April 24 didn’t offer any explanation for Carlson’s departure. People familiar with the situation were not allowed to make comments publicly, but the decision to push out Carlson came directly from Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch with support from board members and other Fox News executives.
Just looking at the simple facts of Carlson’s leave, the largest hit for Fox Corp is the settlement costing $787,500,000 for continuous lies and the clear defamation to Dominion Voting Services by Carlson, Hannity, Ingraham and a handful of other hosts. It is quite easy to piece everything together and see why Carlson was fired from Fox.
Carlson started his career in 2000 at CNN as a host of “The Spin Room” then he went onto “Crossfire” in 2001, but the show was canceled in 2005. Following the cancellation, CNN ended its relationship with Tucker Carlson.
From 2004-2005 Carlson hosted his own show on PBS, “Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered,” lasting roughly a single year. Then, PBS ended its relationship with Carlson.
In the following years, from 2005-2008, Carlson hosted a show on MSNBC called “Tucker,” but was then canceled due to low ratings and MSNBC ended its relationship with Carlson.
Finally, from 2009-2023 Carlson moved to Fox News where he appeared on several shows as a contributor, then in 2016 became the host of “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” After 14 years of lies, misinformation and right-wing rhetoric, Fox ended its relationship with Carlson.
Now with the end of Tucker Carlson at Fox News, Carlson may continue with his right-wing extremist conspiracy theories and Republican rhetoric on other platforms like Newmax or OANN. Joining the echochamber of conservative talking heads and media moguls that continue to place profit over politics, and continue to spread misinformation.