Last night, Tucker Carlson finally emerged to break his silence after his abrupt firing as Fox News' lead commander of white grievance, conspiracy-fueled hate, and xenophobia. But the video he posted, which declined to directly address his dismissal, more or less recycled the same garbage that defined his usual programming: white supremacy, self-serving propaganda, and a whole lot of gas.
My colleague Sam Van Pykeren would know. He spent the last few days poring through Carlson's archival material where Nazi conspiracy theories, racism, and hate about trans people provided the groundwork for so many episodes of Tucker Carlson Tonight. The result of that research, which you can watch here, is clear evidence of the immense toxicity Carlson spewed night after night as host of one of the most successful news programs on cable TV. (A serious kudos to Sam for enduring these clips!)
So who will take the mantle of hate? You guys had some interesting ideas:
"Maybe Ron DeSantis."-Richard
"Time for the My Pillow Guy, Mike Lindell to have a show. He would match Tucker's audience as well."-Jeff
"Probably Steve Bannon or Alex Jones. Franklin Graham has an outside chance too."-Reidar
"Please let it be my Representative Matt Gaetz, please take him now for the Fox news position vacated by Tucker. I'm not sure if you could find a Beavis for him, but you definitely have your Butt-head."-Betty
"I would not be surprised if FOX replaces Tucker with Donald Trump Junior."-Doug
Fascinating stuff! I guess time will tell. For now, enjoy this terrific headline from Michelle Goldberg's latest.
—Inae Oh