Since Tucker Carlson’s controversial ouster from Fox News, several behind-the-scenes videos have been leaked to Media Matters, a far-left organization that seeks to destroy right-wing media. While the aim was to make Carlson look bad, all they managed to do was make him look likable and sane.
Now, another video has emerged, and it includes a very interesting conversation between Carlson and what I assume was one of his producers. In it, the former top-rated host discusses the employee culture at Fox News and how much of the network is infiltrated by “liberals.”
CARLSON: I did, I talked to her at great length, it was actually pretty funny. I said, you know…
(Pause as producer talks in his ear)
…Oh, I said, she tried to get, I was like, she’s got a lotta liberals working over there, and you know, they see this as war, and we’re the main force on the other side. And like, that’s crazy. If you’ve got pronouns in your Twitter bio, you shouldn’t work here because we can’t trust you because you’re on the other side.
And she goes “well, who?” and I said I’m not going to name names because I don’t know who did it and I’m definitley not going to cast aspersions on someone unfairly. Just because you’re liberal doesn’t mean you did this. It does mean you shouldn’t work here, and Roger would never put up with this ****. Why would you do that? Do you know what I mean? They see this as war…
Carlson goes on to mention someone who is “horrible” that is “Judge Jeanine’s guy,” though it appears he was talking about a different female Fox News host in the transcribed excerpt above. Someone more ensconced in the network’s culture will probably figure it out soon enough.
But it’s a broader point about who conservatives allow into their midst that I found so instructive. Carlson is completely correct in his critique. Why is Fox News, a network whose bread is buttered by conservatives, employing people with pronouns in their bios? If someone can’t be expected to accept the basic reality surrounding gender, how can they be trusted to protect the institution they work for but obviously abhor?
Carlson goes on to note that the staff of the female host he’s talking about see themselves as being at “war” with his side of the network. That kind of disunity within a news organization is corrosive. It’s also inexcusable given who pays the bills for Fox News.
I’m not suggesting the network shouldn’t abide by journalistic ethics or that everyone they hire must be a rabid right-winger. What I’m suggesting is that any outlet that is sustained by conservative audiences should have some basic standards with regard to who they hire. That goes for any position. It shouldn’t have to be said, but an outlet like Fox News should not be hiring people who promote transgenderism as an acceptable ideology.
As I’ve noted before, the network has already fallen into the trap of using “preferred pronouns” in its articles. They’ve adopted a “one foot in, one foot out” strategy in which they point out the absurdity of gender ideology while also affirming it. What kind of message does that send? How can audiences trust Fox News if they can’t be counted on to affirm biological truth?
For its part, Fox News insists it is not behind the leaks of these videos of Carlson. I don’t have any inside knowledge to counter that, but it is my opinion that at the very least, someone who once worked for the network would have to be involved. Given that, everything Carlson says in the video has been proven correct. Be careful who you hire.
I’m not writing this piece because I relish criticizing Fox News. I think the network has been valuable to the conservative cause over the years. Things have definitely shifted as of late, though. That’s worrying, and if there isn’t a course correction, the damage done by Carlson’s exit will be the least of the network’s worries.