OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Fox News Primetime host Tucker Carlson reportedly had more to do with former colleague Chris Wallace’s departure from the network than previously known.
The former “Fox News Sunday” host was interviewed by The New York Times this week and took a number of swipes at his former place of employment.
Wallace left Fox News to join the new CNN streaming service CNN+ where he will not be covering politics but will be interviewing cultural figures.
“I’m fine with opinion: conservative opinion, liberal opinion,” he said of his decision to leave Fox News. “But when people start to question the truth — Who won the 2020 election? Was Jan. 6 an insurrection? — I found that unsustainable.”
He said that he spent “a lot of 2021 looking to see if there was a different place for me to do my job.”
The CNN host said that he was “so alarmed by Mr. Carlson’s documentary ‘Patriot Purge’ — which falsely suggested the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was a ‘false flag’ operation intended to demonize conservatives — that he complained directly to Fox News management.”
“Before, I found it was an environment in which I could do my job and feel good about my involvement at Fox,” he said. “And since November of 2020, that just became unsustainable, increasingly unsustainable as time went on.”
But he did acknowledge that some people could wonder why he did not leave prior to when he did if it was about his principles.
“Some people might have drawn the line earlier, or at a different point,” he said. “I think Fox has changed over the course of the last year and a half. But I can certainly understand where somebody would say, ‘Gee, you were a slow learner, Chris.’”
And it is, you know, just a coincidence that he stayed as Fox News was paying him a ton of cash and then left when another offer came along for more cash.
“I wanted to get out of politics,” he said. “Doing a Sunday show on the incremental change from week to week in the Build Back Better plan began to lose its attraction.”
One of his first guests will be singer Judy Collins, famous for her recording of Stephen Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns” on her 1975 album “Judith.”
When Wallace left the top-rated news network, the split appeared to be amicable.
“After 18 years — this is my final FOX News Sunday. It is the last time — and I say this with real sadness — we will meet like this,” the host said.
“Eighteen years ago, the bosses here at Fox promised me they would never interfere with a guest I booked or a question I asked. And they kept that promise. I have been free to report to the best of my ability, to cover the stories I think are important, to hold our country’s leaders to account. It’s been a great ride,” he said.
“We’ve covered five presidential elections, interviewed every president since George H.W. Bush, traveled the world — sitting down with France’s Emanuel Macron and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. And I’ve gotten to spend Sunday mornings with you. It may sound corny, but I feel we’ve built a community here,” the 74-year-old said on his last show on the network.
“There’s a lot you can do on Sundays. The fact you’ve chosen to spend this hour with us is something I cherish. But after 18 years, I have decided to leave Fox. I want to try something new, to go beyond politics to all the things I’m interested in,” said the host, going on to suggest that he will be taking on new projects, though he did not elaborate,” he said.
“I’m ready for a new adventure. And I hope you’ll check it out. And so —for the last time, dear friends — that’s it for today. Have a great week. And I hope you’ll keep watching FOX News Sunday,” the host said.
In a press release of its own, Fox News addressed the departure.
“We are extremely proud of our journalism and the stellar team that Chris Wallace was a part of for 18 years. The legacy of FOX News Sunday will continue with our star journalists, many of whom will rotate in the position until a permanent host is named,” it said.
