Right-wingers on Monday lamented Tucker Carlson's abrupt departure from Fox News — and some are calling to boycott the network entirely.
Former President Donald Trump said he was "shocked" during an interview with Newmax's Greg Kelly immediately following the announcement.
"Well, I'm shocked. I'm surprised. He's a very good person and a very good man, and very talented as you know. And he had very high ratings," Trump said. "I don't know if it was voluntary, or was it, somebody fired? But I think Tucker's been terrific. He's been – especially over the last year or so – he's been terrific to me."
"There's a lot of turmoil over there, Fox," Kelly said. "I mean, [$787.5 million] they just paid. Why would they get rid of a guy who's performing – why would somebody do that to their business? Because they're losing money right now. Their stock has gone down."
Trump: Well I'm shocked. I'm surprised. He's a very good person and a very good man and very talented as you know.. He’s been terrific to me pic.twitter.com/S2EnmczM3O
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 25, 2023
Last month, a court filing as part of Dominion Voting Systems' history-making defamation lawsuit against Fox News revealed texts showing that Carlson was looking forward to the end of Trump's term in the days ahead of the Jan 6 Capitol riot.
"We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I truly can't wait," Carlson wrote to staffers. "I hate him passionately," he added.
Former Fox News host Eric Bolling ripped into the conservative network for dropping Carlson, arguing on his Newsmax show that Fox was "moving to the center" and "casting a wider net" to "catch more fish," including "liberals and leftists." He added that Newsmax would "remain steadfast and true to what Americans care about" and would "not waver."
Bolling also argued that Carlson likely also held his view that Fox was falling "further and further away from the plot" and is "moving mainstream, CNN lite, as one of our Balance viewers called it."
Bill O'Reilly, who lost his spot as a primetime host for Fox in 2017 over numerous sexual misconduct lawsuits, suggested that the ouster would result in declining ratings for the network.
"Tucker Carlson took over from me. For the first three years his ratings were soft. He lost about a million, maybe a little bit more of my audience, and then in 2020 he took a hard right turn," O'Reilly said on radio station WABC on Monday. "Carlson basically programmed for a very hard right audience and his numbers came up."
Bill O’Reilly says cutting Tucker will be bad for Fox https://t.co/cPY1wV94AF
— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) April 25, 2023
Other MAGA allies called out Fox over the ouster.
Eric Trump lamented that Fox had also cut ties with his wife and longtime pundit Dan Bongino.
"What is happening to Fox?" he questioned.
First it was @LaraLeaTrump, then @dbongino now @TuckerCarlson… What is happening to Fox?
— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) April 24, 2023
Speaking to conservative radio talk show host Charlie Kirk, Donald Trump Jr. said Carlson's removal from the network "changes things permanently," as he was "an actual thought-leader in conservatism."
"It's mind-blowing," Don Jr. added, claiming that Carlson as "a once-in-a-generation-type talent."
.@DonaldJTrumpJr reacts to Tucker Carlson leaving Fox News exclusively on The Charlie Kirk Show:
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) April 24, 2023
"This changes things permanently." pic.twitter.com/CUfklWpPJs
Conservative author and staunch Islamophobe Brigitte Gabriel accused Fox News of going "woke."
"Fox News has gone woke. Now they must go broke," she tweeted.
Fox News has gone woke. Now they must go broke.
— Brigitte Gabriel (@ACTBrigitte) April 24, 2023
Donald Trump spokesperson Liz Harrington wrote on Twitter that "Fox News is controlled opposition."
Fox News is controlled opposition
— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) April 24, 2023
Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, called Carlson the "most courageous person in America media," while Florida GOP lawmaker Matt Gaetz posted a video thanking Carlson for his support.
Tucker is the most courageous person in American media. https://t.co/gef7SiJEZ2
— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) April 24, 2023
Thank you @TuckerCarlson! pic.twitter.com/iJdlkSUvtY
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) April 24, 2023
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., accused Fox of caving "to the woke mob."
"Americans no longer blindly watch the news like they did decades ago, they only watch the ones who have courage to tell the truth. Americans are about to quit watching," she tweeted.
Cable news is about to be taught a powerful lesson after Fox News caved to the woke mob and fired Tucker Carlson.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) April 24, 2023
Americans no longer blindly watch the news like they did decades ago, they only watch the ones who have courage to tell the truth.
Americans are about to quit…
Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy alleged that "For a while Fox News has been moving to become establishment media and Tucker Carlson's removal is a big milestone in that effort."
He added, "Millions of viewers who liked the old Fox News have made the switch to Newsmax and Tucker's departure will only fuel that."
