It was a shot heard around the world. Fox News mega-star Tucker Carlson was fired by the network on April 24 and Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is now beside herself.
Greene is one of the conservative personalities who are turning against Fox News for its transgression against Carlson.
His iconoclastic and irreverent show criticized both parties for not fighting illegal immigration and for supporting the war in Ukraine.
It was a massive hit with populist conservatives. Carlson often attracted more than three million viewers a night – topping rating lists since its start in 2017 to become the most heavily-watched program on cable news.
Marjorie Taylor Greene Is on the Warpath
Naturally, Greene wants to make Fox News pay for its sin against Carlson.
Greene went to Congressman Matt Gaetz’s podcast and told listeners she was through with Fox and that many more people feel the same way.
“Everyone I’ve talked to has deleted the Fox News app on their phones. People are canceling their Fox Nation subscriptions. People are saying ‘I’m done with Fox,’” she said.
Greene explained that Fox News has shot itself in the foot. They hurt the company by “giving in to the woke mob.”
“They [leftists] believe in canceling people and silencing their speech,” Greene said. “That’s what they think they’re doing to Tucker Carlson. Fox News went along with it.”
Why did Fox and Tucker Get a Divorce?
While the network said it and Carlson simply parted ways, others have surmised that the reason the popular host was let go was because of his emails and texts criticizing Fox News executives in vulgar language.
Carlson’s communiques that insulted his bosses were uncovered during the discovery process of a lawsuit filed against Fox by Dominion Voting Systems.
Dominion and Fox agreed to settle out of court for $787.5 million. Fox continued to air news that Dominion was fraudulently tampering with votes that favored Democrats in the 2020 presidential election, even though their on-air talent and executive leadership team did not believe that Dominion had done anything wrong.
Other Conservatives Are Done With Fox
Greene’s boycott of Fox was joined by Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert and Arizona Congressman Andy Biggs, who said they stand with Carlson against Fox.
Conservative hosts Glenn Beck and Megyn Kelly who also left Fox News at different points in their career, savaged the network for dismissing Carlson. Beck said the move by Fox was “suicidal.” Kelly believes that Fox made a “terrible” decision in the Carlson firing.
Trump Is a Tucker Fan
Former President Donald Trump also defended Carlson.
“He’s a very good person, a very good man and very talented. I don’t know if it was voluntary or was it somebody fired, but I think Tucker has been terrific. Especially over the last year or so he’s terrific to me.”
Trump has often pilloried Fox News for various transgressions against him – either for Fox criticizing his presidency and candidacy or for not covering him enough in its broadcasts or articles.
Fox also let host and rightwing provocateur Dan Bongino go in another head-scratcher. Bongino is popular in the conservative universe, and Fox gave no reason for his departure.
Fox has already suffered a rating drop in Carlson’s old 8p ET slot. Host Brian Kilmeade only averaged about 2.6 million viewers on the night of April 24. That’s a 21 percent dive in ratings.
What Will Tucker and Fox News Do?
This is a pivotal time for the network. The presidential race is heating up. President Joe Biden officially announced he is running again on April 25 and Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis may jump into the race too. Fox will need to be front and center with its coverage until the 2024 election should it wish to dominate ratings as it has for years. Conservative news sources Newsmax and One America News are likely salivating at picking up new viewers who are leaving Fox.
As for Carlson, he has many options. Newsmax and One America probably can’t afford his salary, but Carlson could create his own late night interview show and even start his own network like Glenn Beck did with the Blaze media properties. Carlson is likely to land on his feet and Fox may see a dip in its ratings. Many conservatives will break up with Fox News and follow Carlson wherever he goes. Marjorie Taylor Greene and other true believers could lead their flock away from Fox and the network could lose even more viewers.
Author Expertise and Experience
Serving as 19FortyFive’s Defense and National Security Editor, Dr. Brent M. Eastwood is the author of Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare. He is an Emerging Threats expert and former U.S. Army Infantry officer. You can follow him on Twitter @BMEastwood. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and Foreign Policy/ International Relations.
Marc W.
April 26, 2023 at 8:30 pm
Fox News turned against its core audience. It’s not hard to understand. It’s not the only game in town anymore.