All eyes on Tucker

Massive media news has gazumped all else in Washington today, with politicos far more interested in what is happening at Fox News and CNN than at the White House or on the Hill. In truth, it is the news that Tucker Carlson and Fox have parted ways that really has DC talking; Don Lemon’s acrimonious dismissal from CNN a less consequential, if amusingly bitchy, chaser.

Given the blurred lines between politics, entertainment and news in America today, the Tucker story is almost as big a political story as it is a media story. (And for more…

Massive media news has gazumped all else in Washington today, with politicos far more interested in what is happening at Fox News and CNN than at the White House or on the Hill. In truth, it is the news that Tucker Carlson and Fox have parted ways that really has DC talking; Don Lemon’s acrimonious dismissal from CNN a less consequential, if amusingly bitchy, chaser.

Given the blurred lines between politics, entertainment and news in America today, the Tucker story is almost as big a political story as it is a media story. (And for more details on the circumstances of the departure, read Cockburn’s juicy diary entry below.) In terms of the political consequences of the ousting, the man who was, until today, the country’s most watched cable news host is arguably its second most influential conservative voice, topped only by Donald Trump. And so what he says and does next matters a great deal.

As well as being agenda-setting, Carlson has also always been unpredictable. Like or loathe Carlson, it’s hard to disagree with Freddy Gray’s assessment that in a world of repetitive TV, his “shows covered the talking points in a different key. He introduced new opinions and ideas into the media bloodstream.” He would go where many of his colleagues wouldn’t. That made him watchable. It also made him a liability for Fox, though, ironically given the timing of his departure, he did not venture as far off-piste as many of his colleagues on the voting fraud claims in the wake of the 2020 election that have just cost the network $787 million.

The most direct way in Carlson’s departure could shake up politics would be if the outgoing Fox host threw his hat into the ring and set about running for president. This has always been an amusing hypothetical bandied about in Washington. On the site, Stephen L. Miller dares to wonder whether this might actually happen. “Tucker has served as a sort of kingmaker for American conservatives and Republican politicians in recent years. But what would happen if Tucker decided that he himself is the king now?” he asks.

It is worth noting that Carlson has always pooh-poohed the idea. When he was asked about it by Semafor’s Ben Smith last year, he replied, “I have zero ambition, not just politically but in life. My ambition is to write my script by 8 p.m., and I’m not just saying that, ask anyone who works with me or knows me.”

There are many more probable scenarios than Carlson 2024 that would still carry big political implications. As of today, perhaps the most influential man in political media is a free agent. He can take a massive audience wherever he wants and is no longer constrained by Fox. That is a thought that will make plenty in conservative media, and Republican politics, nervous.

On our radar

A BIG HIRE IN DESANTIS LAND Former Nevada attorney general and longtime Donald Trump ally Adam Laxalt has been hired to lead Never Back Down, the pro-DeSantis super PAC. Laxalt and DeSantis are old friends, having roomed together during naval officer training.

BIDEN TAPS RODRIGUEZ With Joe Biden poised to announce his re-election bid this week, he has announced that Julie Chavez Rodriguez will be his campaign manager. Rodriguez is the granddaughter of labor activist Cesar Chavez and worked for Kamala Harris’s famously inept 2020 presidential bid.

TRUMP TO PUBLISH ROYAL LETTER A new book of letters to former president Donald Trump will include a 1995 note from King, then Prince, Charles. Cockburn has the details.

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Untucked

All change at Murdoch Towers: Tucker Carlson has hosted his last primetime show at Fox News. His departure was clearly a shock: his 8 p.m. show was being trailed on Fox & Friends this morning.

In a rather neutral press release, the network announced that “Fox News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways.

“We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor.”

The reasons for Carlson’s shock departure are unclear — Cockburn understands from a source with knowledge that no reason was given. People at Fox are said to be “blindsided” and “upset.”

Rumors had been circulating the Fox offices that a big dismissal could follow the $787 million settlement of the Dominion case — but most had assumed that Carlson was invulnerable. According to Cockburn’s sources, that may have all changed when the content of various Fox hosts’ text messages was revealed as part of discovery. “Tucker’s texts actually looked worse because they came across as hypocritical: that he was smarter than the audience, that he actually dislikes Trump,” a source told Cockburn.

“Murdoch cleans house after these things. See News of the World. He doesn’t mess around.”

“This could only have happened with Murdoch in the driving seat,” another source told Cockburn. “He hates when any of his ‘employees’ get too big for their boots.

“Dominion discovery showed Carlson talking about share price, profits, et cetera. ‘What the F has this got to do with him,’ Murdoch would have said.

“There will be a cleaning of house now, led by Murdoch. Lachlan, languishing most days in Sydney because his wife hates America, is just a spectator.”

Carlson gave the keynote address at Friday’s Heritage Foundation gala, in which he talked about, among other topics, the value of the truth.

“The truth is contagious. Lying is, but the truth is as well,” he said. “And the second you decide to tell the truth about something you are filled with this power from somewhere else. Try it! Tell the truth about something. You’ll feel it every day. The more you tell the truth, the stronger you become.”

In a Q and A after the speech, Heritage chief Kevin Roberts joked that “if things go south at Fox News, there’s always a job for you here.”

“Well, you’ve saved me before,” replied Carlson.

–Cockburn

What Ron DeSantis is doing in Japan

Florida governor Ron DeSantis is visiting Japan today, the first in a four-stop tour including South Korea, Israel and the United Kingdom — all top American allies. Visiting under the guise of bolstering Florida’s economic relationships with these countries, it is more likely meant to strengthen DeSantis’s less-than-stellar foreign policy bona fides.

DeSantis met with Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida, who offered flattering words on Florida’s handling of Covid-19 and its economic success. DeSantis hailed Tokyo’s defense spending renaissance and the critical nature of the US-Japan alliance, saying he “really appreciate[s] what a great ally Japan has been to the United States over many, many decades.” According to the Wall Street Journal, DeSantis and Kishida conferred about North Korea and China.

The meeting also harkens back to former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Trump Tower shortly after Trump’s election in 2016. As the New York Times noted, it serves the interests of both parties in this case: DeSantis wants to show he would be a responsible helmsman, and Kishida is able to get his foot in the door with a man who has a decent chance of reaching the Oval Office next year.

–John Pietro