Newly released documents have revealed that Tucker Carlson - Fox’s most popular host and frequent on-air Donald Trump defender - has said that he could not wait until the station would be able to stop talking about the former president, underscoring in one moment that he hated him “passionately.”
The comments came in text messages to an unnamed Fox staffer, who was discussing Trump with Tucker shortly after the election and before the January 6 riot at the US Capitol.
“We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights,” Tucker said in a text conversation. “I truly can’t wait.”
After the staffer replied that he thought the “madness” would cool down by February, Carlson replied: “I hate him passionately. I blew up at [former Trump assistant] Peter Navarro today in frustration. I actually like Peter. But I can’t handle much more of this.”
Carlson also expressed frustration at the lack of progress made by Trump while in office after the staffer noted the network may not be able to avoid talking about the various lawsuits and trials Trump was facing after leaving office.
“That’s the last four years. We’re all pretending we’ve got a lot to show for it, because admitting what a disaster it’s been is too tough to digest. But come on. There isn’t really an upside to Trump.”
Days later, on the night of January 6, Tucker also called Trump “a demonic force” in a text conversation with his producer.
Documents previously revealed in the case showed Fox personalities and executives were worried about a viewer exodus, particularly after Fox was the first major news network to call Arizona for Biden during the 2020 election. The new documents provide further insights into the hosts’ feelings on the matter.
17 February 2023, 04:31 GMT
In a group chat between Carlson and Fox personalities Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, the three blasted on-air personalities who were less opinion and more news-focused, particularly Chris Wallace and Leland Vittert - both who publicly defended Fox’s decision to correctly call Arizona for Biden.
“Why would anyone defend that call,” Hannity asked. Ingraham replied that her anger at the channel was “pronounced.”
“It should be," Carlson replied. "We devote our lives to building an audience and they let Chris Wallace and Leland ****ing Vittert to wreck it. Too much.”
Wallace would later leave the station for CNN, while Vittert moved to NewsNation.
Fox News responded to the new document release, saying that the quotes were taken out of context.
“Thanks to today’s filings, Dominion has been caught red handed again using more distortions and misinformation in their PR campaign to smear FOX News and trample on free speech and freedom of the press,” a Fox spokesperson said. “We already know they will say and do anything to try to win this case, but to twist and even misattribute quotes to the highest levels of our company is truly beyond the pale.”
The case is set to begin on April 15. Fox is also facing another lawsuit from another electronic voting company, Smartmatic.