A former producer for Fox Information host Tucker Carlson made his contempt clear for the “Tucker Carlson Tonight” viewers after he referred to those that falsely believed the 2020 presidential election was stolen as “terrorists” and incestuous.
“Like negotiating with terrorists,” former producer Alex Pfeiffer mentioned in a textual content, “however particularly dumb ones. Cousin fucking varieties, not saudi [sic] royalty.”
The new messages are a part of a trove of proof associated to a $1.6 billion lawsuit leveled towards Fox Information by Dominion Voting Methods. Dominion alleges that Fox Information helped unfold former President Donald Trump’s election lies regardless of realizing the claims had been false.
Lots of of inside textual content messages obtained by means of the lawsuit spell out how prime expertise at Fox Information and Fox media mogul Rupert Murdoch expressed frustration with the mounting lies whereas nonetheless permitting these lies to get airtime.
For example, Fox Information routinely platformed Trump’s private lawyer Rudy Giuliani and marketing campaign lawyer, Sidney Powell, regardless of realizing that they had been spouting baseless conspiracies. A kind of false claims from Powell was that she had an affidavit linking Dominion to Venezuela in a plot to present the election to President Joe Biden.
“Sidney Powell is mendacity, by the best way,” Carlson mentioned in a textual content to fellow host Laura Ingraham on Nov. 17, 2020. “It’s insane.”
“I hate him passionately.””
– Tucker Carlson, referring to former-President Donald Trump in a non-public textual content message.
A couple of days later, after Carlson publicly doubted Powell’s claims on his present, Carlson’s former producer went into injury management after getting pushback from Powell and the Fox Information viewers.
“Would possibly wanna handle this, however these items is so fucking insane,” Raj Shah, a former senior aide in Trump’s White Home who was later employed at Fox, texted former producer Pfeiffer. “Vote rigging to the tune of thousands and thousands? C’mon.”
Pfeiffer known as Powell’s claims “insane” however added that “our viewers imagine it, so addressing once more how her silly Venezuela affidavit isn’t proof may insult them.”
Pfeiffer texted Shah, in accordance with the lawsuit: “This entire factor is surreal. Like negotiating with terrorists, however particularly dumb ones. Cousin fucking varieties, not saudi [sic] royalty.”
In a 2021 textual content message with an unknown recipient, Pfeiffer apparently discovered humor in Carlson’s potential to unfold falsehoods.
“Haha, Tucker at all times adlibs in mistaken info,” Pfeiffer wrote.
The trove of messages provides an unprecedented look into the internal machinations of Fox Information. It reveals that prime hosts on the community praised Trump publicly whereas seething about him privately.
“We’re very, very near having the ability to ignore Trump most nights,” Carlson texted on Jan. 4, 2021. “I really can’t wait.”
He added, “I hate him passionately.”
After insurrectionists attacked the Capitol two days later, Carlson instructed Pfeiffer in a textual content that Trump was “a demonic pressure, a destroyer. However he’s not going to destroy us” — regardless of persevering with to defend Trump on his program on the time publicly.
The most recent texts are one other instance of Carlson following Trump’s lead regardless of privately disagreeing with him. For example, Carlson drove to Trump’s Florida resort to warn him to take COVID severely originally of 2020.
“I attempted, man,” Carlson instructed Infowars host Alex Jones afterward, in accordance with a sequence of personal textual content messages first obtained by JHB.
But by the next month, after it grew to become clear Trump had no need to deal with the risk severely, Carlson appeared to fall in line, utilizing his large platform to unfold Trump’s conspiracies in regards to the virus.
Carlson and Fox could quickly be taught that their loyalty to Trump received’t defend them from the injury they triggered in his title.