
Research/Study
“I hate him passionately”: What Tucker Carlson said in private about Donald Trump
The fired Fox News host and indicted former president now plan to upstage Fox’s Republican presidential debate
Published
Fox News is facing a disgruntled duo seeking to upstage the right-wing network as it hosts the first Republican presidential primary debate Wednesday night: criminally indicted former President Donald Trump, who is skipping the debate altogether, and fired former Fox News star Tucker Carlson. To counterprogram the debate, the two of them will air an exclusive interview on Carlson’s streaming show on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter.
- For each of the two men, this is a chance to get back at Fox for various perceived or actual slights, ranging from Carlson’s firing — after which both sides have suffered in reaching an audience — to Trump’s belief that the network has been flirting with other presidential candidates.
- All signs still indicate that Fox News still supports Trump, particularly as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign has fallen apart.
- Trump promoted the interview with a post on his Truth Social site, written in all-capital letters: “‘SPARKS WILL FLY.’ ENJOY!”
- The interview also constitutes a public reconciliation, whether sincere or simply opportunistic, after Carlson’s private text messages trashing Trump behind his back were publicly exposed.