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Donald Trump Jr. has said he was warned by insiders at Fox News that network bosses were not happy with his criticism following the sudden firing of top-rated host Tucker Carlson last week.
The former president’s oldest son says he was told to “expect retaliation” after ripping the firing as unwise and accusing top executives of “censorship.”
He went on to say that he also has not been invited onto the network in nearly nine months, the report noted.
“I’ve been watching the censorship happening even in conservative mainstream media,” Don Jr. said on the latest episode of the Steak for Breakfast podcast. “I mean, you saw what sort of Fox did to Tucker Carlson, last week, and the week before that, it was Dan Bongino and, you know, the people who would actually question some of that narrative.”
“I’ve been sort of outspoken at America First [network] and I used to be on Fox 3, 4, 5, 6, 10 times a week. I haven’t been on in nine months. Not a call, not an invite, not anything. And so I understand what it, what it appears like they’re trying to do to the America First movement. You know, Tucker was another one of those voices,” Trump Jr. noted further, according to Mediaite.
On Wednesday, he posted to Twitter: “Have heard from a few of my friends at Fox News that the leftist executives running things there are pissed at me for calling them out over firing Tucker and to ‘expect retaliation.’ A lot of good people still work at Fox, but their RINO leadership is at war with conservatives!”
The former president’s son could have been referring to former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who took a position on the network’s board of directors after he left Congress and was reportedly involved in a decision to “move on” from then-President Trump in the wake of his allegations that the 2020 election was “rigged” against him, per a court document that was leaked to The New York Times last month pertaining to Fox News’ recent bombshell settlement with Dominion Voting Systems.
Reports regarding the leaked document came just days after the two parties reached an agreement in which Fox News agreed to pay a record $787.5 to Dominion for defamation, though the agreement did not include the network having to apologize to the voting election software firm.
According to Becker News, Ryan “has become quite influential with” the network’s leadership. The leaked document shows that “Ryan has been an influential force behind the network’s decision to move on from Donald Trump.”
“As a Board Member, Ryan believed that the period immediately following the 2020 Presidential Election ‘was a pretty important inflection point, not just for the company Fox, but for the country and for the conservative movement itself,’ and shared this ‘view as a fiduciary’ with Rupert and Lachlan” Murdoch, the document notes, going on to cite an exhibit.
“Ryan told Rupert and Lachlan ‘that Fox News should not be spreading conspiracy theories,’” it stated.
The filing goes on to note how deeply Ryan was involved in talks about how the network could best cover the fallout from the 2020 election and the associated claims of widespread vote fraud that ultimately turned out to be unproven.
“On December 6, 2020, Paul Ryan texted Rupert and Lachlan, telling them, we are entering a truly bizarre phase of this where [Trump] has actually convinced himself of this farce and will do more bizarre things to delegitimize the election,” the document says. “I see this as a key inflection point for Fox, where the right thing and the smart business thing to do line up nicely.”
“Ryan told Dias about his own conversation with Rupert and Lachlan, reporting he told them that ‘this is a huge inflection point to keep Trump down and move on for the future of the conservative movement.’ Ryan added: ‘Both Rupert and Lachlan agree fully. The key is to execute our collective will,’” the document added.
