Interview Captures Trump's Reaction Shortly After Learning Tucker's Fate: 'Something Bad Happened'
Former President Donald Trump was in the middle of an interview on The Victory Channel on Monday when he publicly reacted for apparently the first time to the news of Tucker Carlson’s departure from Fox News.
“All right, President Trump, today as as we’re recording this, Tucker’s been released from Fox News,” said “FlashPoint” host and Eagle Mountain International Church Senior Executive Pastor Gene Bailey.
Bailey then referenced the failure of Fox News and conservative commentator Dan Bongino to reach a deal to continue Bongino’s weekly Fox show “Unfiltered.”
“Bongino’s out. Tucker’s out. What does that say to you about mainstream media?” Bailed asked.
“Well, the only good thing is that Don Lemon’s out and that’s good because CNN, fake news, they fired Don Lemon,” Trump said. “That’s good.
“The Tucker situation and Bongino, that’s sad,” the former president added. “These are two great people, two very important voices. Look, they’re going to do incredibly well. We don’t even really know — maybe they left. OK, it’s possible they left.
“But something bad happened and taking those voices off television is very bad. It’s very bad. And certainly, it’s not a good thing for Fox.
“So I was very sad to hear it, very sad,” he said.
“And that’s why we have to stand up even more,” Bailed prompted him.
“We have to stand up more,” Trump agreed.
“We’re going to stand up stronger and bigger and in 2024 we’re going to win the White House back and things will be different than they are right now. Because, right now, we have a nation that’s in such trouble, you don’t even know if it could last a year and a half,” Trump added.
“Yeah,” Bailey agreed.
“So, we’re going to do a good job,” Trump concluded.
You can watch the exchange here:
Carlson’s public comments about his faith and a worldview that society is in a battle between good and evil may have been a factor in Fox News kicking him to the curb, according to a report Tuesday.
The Vanity Fair report by special correspondent Gabriel Sherman noted that other causes have been suggested — from aftershocks of the lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems that Fox News settled for $787.5 million to allegations of a hostile work environment by a former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg.
However, it said that a new theory has emerged that Fox Corp. chair Rupert Murdoch wanted Carlson gone due to the former host’s public embrace of religious views that paralleled those of Ann Lesley Smith, who was formerly engaged to Murdoch. Other reports have said Murdoch was instrumental in Carlson’s ouster.
Did Rupert Murdoch fire Tucker because he talked about religion too much and was his ex-fiance’s favorite host? 🤔
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) April 25, 2023
The report used Carlson’s speech Friday at the Heritage Foundation’s 50th Anniversary gala as an example, saying it contained “religious overtones that even Murdoch found too extreme” according to a source whom Sherman said was “was briefed on Murdoch’s decision-making.”
“That stuff freaks Rupert out. He doesn’t like all the spiritual talk,” the source said.
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