New York Times Reveals Tucker Carlson Text That Reportedly Contributed to His Firing
Tucker Carlson‘s exit from Fox News last month came as a shock to many, but now we’re finally getting some insight into why the longtime news anchor suddenly departed the network.
On Tuesday, May 2, the New York Times published a text reportedly sent by Carlson the day after the January 6 United States Capitol attack. The message, a reaction to a video clip of an assault that happened weeks before the Capitol riot, included racially charged language and a lust for violence.
“Jumping a guy like that is dishonorable obviously. It’s not how white men fight,” Carlson allegedly said in the text, reacting to three Donald Trump supporters beating up a lone protestor. “Yet suddenly I found myself rooting for the mob against the man, hoping they’d hit him harder, kill him. I really wanted them to hurt the kid. I could taste it.”
Later in the message, Carlson admitted feeling shame over his thoughts, writing, “I’m becoming something I don’t want to be.”
“The Antifa creep is a human being. Much as I despise what he says and does, much as I’m sure I’d hate him personally if I knew him, I shouldn’t gloat over his suffering. I should be bothered by it,” he continued. “I should remember that somewhere somebody probably loves this kid, and would be crushed if he was killed. If I don’t care about those things, if I reduce people to their politics, how am I better than he is?”
According to the Times, Fox executives saw the text the day before the network’s appearance in court, where they were sued for defamation by Dominion Voting Systems. The text “set off panic” as the network worried it would become public during the legal proceedings. Ultimately, Fox settled with Dominion for $787.5 million.
The Times reports that the text, which was part of redacted court filings, was one of the factors that led Fox to dismiss Carlson, despite him anchoring the cable news network’s most popular show, Tucker Carlson Tonight.
Since Carlson’s departure, his timeslot has been replaced with Fox News Tonight, hosted by Brian Kilmeade, who is expected to be the first in a line-up of rotating hosts over the coming weeks.
