OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A conservative activist and thought leader who founded the organization Citizens United and top-rated online news outlet The Western Journal said during an interview on Friday he believes that Tucker Carlson’s ouster from Fox News was the result of something much more diabolical than many Americans understand.
“There’s been a lot of speculation as to why he was let go, and I don’t think anybody has the full story yet,” Floyd Brown told Newsmax.
“The part I find most interesting is the speculation we saw in Vanity Fair that he may have been let go because he was contrasting the current political environment as a spiritual battle or a spiritual warfare,” he added.
On Tuesday, Vanity Fair published a report suggesting that Carlson’s recent ousting may have been triggered by a speech he gave at the Heritage Foundation’s 50th Anniversary gala on April 21.
Carlson contended that American politics have shifted from a mere discussion on policy disagreements to a battle between good and evil spiritual forces. As one example, he argued that the mutilation of children under the pretext of “transgender rights” should be classified as evil.
He even urged Americans to begin turning to prayer. “I have concluded it might be worth taking just 10 minutes out of your busy schedule to say a prayer for the future,” he said.
“He had the gall to say the other side was evil, whether you look at transgenderism or he even had the — I couldn’t believe it — in his Heritage speech he called abortion child sacrifice,” Brown said.
Vanity Fair, in its report, quoted one source who said such spiritual talk “freaks” out Fox Corporation chair Rupert Murdoch.
Last week during her SiriusXM podcast, former Fox News star Megyn Kelly reported that Carlson cannot actually take another gig at the moment because, although his show was taken off the air, he remains under contract with Fox News.
“I wanna, I think, break some news for you. Tucker Carlson hasn’t actually been fired,” she said during her Thursday show. “He’s still an employee of Fox News Channel.”
Kelly went on to explain that Carlson was contacted by CEO Suzanne Scott and told that he would not be allowed to do any more shows and that he was denied access to the company email. She also said that now, the two would have to “negotiate an exit” from the network. She also said that the call from Scott caught “Tucker completely off guard” but that he’s “not fired.”
“That’s my information, that he still needs to negotiate the exit and that right now he’s not free to launch a podcast or a digital show or negotiate with other employers at all because he’s still under contract,” Kelly continued.
Nevertheless, according to TMZ, Newsmax has not only offered Carlson his own show, but he would also be in charge of programming for the entire network, which has seen a bump in viewership following Carlson’s ouster from Fox.
“Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ … the news channel is doing everything it can to sweeten the deal for Tucker to come on board — including floating the idea of letting him program the whole channel, not just his own show,” the outlet reported.
“That would be a pretty enticing deal point … in addition to having his own primetime show, Tucker would have a say over what shows lead into and out of his show, which can be key in achieving bigger TV ratings,” the report added.
“While our sources stress Newsmax hasn’t formally offered Tucker a job — he can’t have formal discussions due to his current Fox News contract — we’re told the network execs have made it clear to people around him, they would basically give him a big say in rebranding their channel,” TMZ said.
“Our sources acknowledge it’s too early to know for sure where Tucker will pop up next, and it might not even be at a TV network … but we’re told whatever he does, it’s going to be big, disruptive, and will create a seismic shift in the conservative media landscape,” the outlet added.
