He posted the clip at 8 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, the same time as his former Fox News show, and did not address any speculation around his departure. He also did not explain why he left the company.
For comparison, “Fox News Tonight” with temporary host Brian Kilmeade drew about 1.7 million viewers on Tuesday night. And President Joe Biden’s 2024 campaign launch video posted to Twitter on Tuesday afternoon—or more than 24 hours before Carlson’s—had about 40 million views.
And Carlson himself had a nightly audience of about 3 million viewers in recent years, although at times, that figure was much higher.
Dressed in a suit and tie for his Twitter video, Carlson’s speech was similar to those he delivered on the network for the past six years after he took over the timeslot previously held by host Bill O'Reilly. Debates on big topics like war, civil liberties, emerging science, demographic change and corporate power are not permitted by corporate media or political parties, 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,” Carlson said in the video message. “When honest people say what’s true, calmly and without embarrassment, they become powerful. At the same time, the liars who have been trying to silence them shrink. They become weaker. That’s the iron law of the universe.”
Carlson said that after leaving the news business, he noticed “how unbelievably stupid most of the debates you see on television are.” Continuing, he elaborated that such debates are: “Completely irrelevant. They mean nothing. In five years, we won’t even remember we heard them. Trust me, as somebody who participated.”
Reasoned debates on real issues such as war, civil liberties, corporate power, demographic change, and other hot-button issues are often stamped out, he said.
“Where can you still find Americans saying true things?” he said. “There aren’t many places left, but there are some, and that’s enough. As long as you can hear the words, there is hope. See you soon.”
Other Details
Since he left, a large number of highly speculative news articles—many of which cite anonymous sources—have been published.For example, a Rolling Stone article published on April 25 that cited “eight sources at and close to the network” claimed that Fox News has an opposition research file on Carlson to keep him in check. A Fox News spokesperson denied those reports.
“This is patently absurd and categorically false,” the spokesperson said. “We thank Tucker for his service to the network as a host, and prior to that, as a contributor.”
Fox hasn’t commented on why Carlson is leaving the network, if he was fired, or if Carlson willingly departed.
But during his final Fox program, Carlson implied that he would return for the next show on Monday. The news release issued by Fox News suggested that his departure was effective immediately and would replace his show with a rotating cast of hosts.
Some analysts have suggested that Fox News may have cut ties with Carlson, 53, because it wanted to obtain higher-dollar advertisements.
Arthur added that “blue-chip advertising ... seem to overtly shy away from the highly partisan cable news shows” and that “advertising trends at Fox’s cable segment have been weak/disappointing—despite leading ratings.”
