Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has broken his silence on his departure from the network, where he believes it has made mistakes and the one thing he says he will never do again.
In an interview on X, formerly known as Twitter, Carlson said he still does not know why he was axed from the network.
He also said he was not a fan of the network’s decision to not feature Republican presidential contender and former President Donald Trump on the network even as he is likely to be the Party’s nominee.
The network was “not really covering the news anymore,” he said in the interview with Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy.
“The Murdochs never got in my way. They were always good to me,” he said.
“It’s a company run by fearful women, you know what I mean?” he added.
The Barstool Sports owner said that he believed Carlson wanted to stick it to Fox News with his interview with the former president during the Republican primary debate.
“To me, the Trump interview seemed like something—it looked like you guys were sticking it to Fox,” the CEO said.
“I would never want to stick it to Fox,” the former host said. “No, I’m not mad at Fox. I’m really not.”
“Well, it was the night of the debate, but the reason that it was, is because he didn’t want to do the debate. I didn’t make that decision for him,” he said.
He said that the former president “approached us and said, ‘You know, I’m not gonna do the debate,’ but if I’m being totally honest, I didn’t really believe him,” He said it was likely that the former president wanted the interview at the same time as the debate because he “doesn’t like Fox.”
“But they don’t like him. You know, they never did, and they always had rules about not allowing him on,” the former host said. “My view was, I think it’s totally legitimate you just don’t like Donald Trump. I don’t hold that against anybody.”
The former host said his “view on Fox hasn’t really changed” and that management “let me say whatever I want, whatever I wanted really for 14 years, and I’ll never stop being grateful for that.”
Carlson then revealed what he would never do again.
“And then, obviously, I said too much, and I’m not exactly sure what I said that was bad. No one ever told me. But one day, they were like, ‘Nope! Can’t have this anymore.’ And they fired me,” he said, which is the first time he acknowledged what happened between him and the network. “And I even told them as they were firing me, like, ‘It’s your business.’ I made a mental note. Never work for anyone else again, and I never will.”
In a post on his Truth Social platform, the 45th president made it clear he has no intention of debating the other Republican candidates.
“New CBS POLL, just out, has me leading the field by ‘legendary’ numbers. TRUMP 62%, 46 Points above DeSanctimonious (who is crashing like an ailing bird!), Ramaswamy 7%, Pence 5%, Scott 3%, Haley 2%, Sloppy Chris Christie 2%, ‘Aida’ Hutchinson 1%,” he wrote on his page.
“The public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had, with Energy Independence, Strong Borders & Military, Biggest EVER Tax & Regulation Cuts, No Inflation, Strongest Economy in History, & much more. I WILL THEREFORE NOT BE DOING THE DEBATES!” he added.
Ep. 21 Dave Portnoy founded Barstool Sports and just completed the most impressive business transaction of our lifetime. He also just got into an epic fight and shared the video with us first. Watch. pic.twitter.com/W7AJ10kZni
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) August 31, 2023
Trump, now facing four indictments as the leading 2024 GOP presidential contender, is planning a cable news blitz as well as a sit-down interview with former Fox News star Tucker Carlson as a counter to the first Republican debate later this month, which Fox is moderating.
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