Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson posted a video message that hinted toward his future in his first appearance since Monday’s abrupt announcement that he left the network.
The roughly two-minute video was posted to Twitter from Carlson’s personal account with the simple message, “Good evening”.
Carlson immediately criticized the subject matter of discourse on television in his comments.
“The other thing you notice when you take a little time off is how unbelievably stupid most of the debates you see on television are,” he said. “They’re completely irrelevant. They mean nothing. In five years, we won’t even remember that we had them. Trust me, as someone who has participated.”
Carlson mainly lamented the lack of debate on major topics that will “define” the country’s future, such as war civil liberties, emerging science, demographic change, corporate power, and natural resources.
“Debates like that are not permitted in American media,” he said. “Both political parties and their donors have reached consensus on what benefits them, and they actively collude to shut down any conversation about it.”
In his closing comments, he appeared to hint toward what his next steps may be.
“Where can you still find Americans saying true things? There aren’t many places left. But there are some. And that’s enough,” he said. “As long as you can hear the words, there is hope.”
Some commentators speculate Carlson may be referring to podcasts, which are often audio-only although some include video segments.
“See you soon,” he finished.
Shock Departure Explained
Although the network gave no reason for the departure of their top host, the Wall Street Journal reported that private messages in which Carlson derided Fox management and his colleagues was a major factor.
The messages were revealed as part of the Dominion defamation lawsuit.
At 53-years-old, Carlson had been with Fox for over a decade and soared to popularity during the Trump era of politics, becoming the highest-rated host in primetime news.
He averaged 3.2 million viewers in the first quarter of 2023, according to Nielsen.
His Wednesday night video currently sits at over 25 million views on Twitter.
Bad move by FOX !!