Tucker Carlson is officially out, effective immediately. Fox News announced Monday that the top-rated prime-time right-wing pundit's last show had aired on Friday and Carlson wouldn't even get a farewell episode of his long-running interview and commentary program. The network said that "Tucker Carlson Tonight" would immediately be rebranded as "Fox News Tonight," anchored by a rotating roster of interim hosts.
Carlson's Friday evening broadcast gave audiences no hint of a coming departure for the host, concluding with Carlson's usual assurance: "We'll be back on Monday" assurance. In fact, for several hours on Monday morning, Fox News aired promos of Carlson's planned Monday-night interview with marginal Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. While the internet is already rife with speculation about the reasons for Carlson's departure and his possible future plans, Carlson has so far made no comment.
The exit comes in the wake of Fox News' $787.5 billion settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, the conclusion of a defamation suit that could have put Carlson and several other Fox News celebrities on the witness stand and risked the network's future. One source told the Washington Post that Carlson's exit was influenced by his comments about Fox management, as revealed in the Dominion case. Carlson had made numerous potentially damaging remarks in private exchanges, including admitting that Fox was actively deceiving its viewers, expressing his "passionate" hatred for Donald Trump, and making clear he distrusted "expert" guest commenters who perpetuated lies about widespread election fraud.
As it happens, on Friday night, Carlson delivered a keynote address at the 50th anniversary gala for the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that has become increasingly aligned with Trump. A video clip of his speech, captured by conservative media mill Townhall, shows Carlson lamenting the fact that people are often willing to compromise personal ethics to keep their jobs.
"You look around and you see so many people break under the strain, under the downward pressure of whatever this is that we're going through. And you look with disdain and sadness as you see people you know become quislings. You see them revealed as cowards. You see them going along with a new, new thing which is clearly a poisonous thing, a silly thing — saying things you know they don't believe because they want to keep their jobs," Carlson told the room.
This could be interpreted as Carlson speaking pointedly, and with uncharacteristic candor, about his own role perpetuating deceptive political narratives.
"You see people going along with this, and you lose respect for them," Carlson said. "That's certainly happened to me at scale over the past three years. I'm not mad at people. I'm just sad. I'm disappointed. How could you go along with this? You know it's not true but you're saying it anyway?"
But then he swerved abruptly away toward easier and more conventional targets: "You're putting your pronouns in your email? You're ridiculous."
At the same event, Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts appeared to tell Carlson: "If things go south at Fox News, there's always a job for you at Heritage."
Conservative media voices and political figures surged online to mourn the loss of Carlson. In a segment clipped from his webcast, former Trump adviser and strategist Steve Bannon's live reaction to Carlson's departure was a blend of remorse and apparent confusion.
"Tucker's really the reason to watch Fox. With this, I don't know why anybody needs to watch anything on the Murdoch empire because Tucker was the mainstay of the populist voice over at Fox," Bannon said.
Another conservative celebrity, Candace Owens, announced she was "positively shocked" at Carlson departure, calling the ex-host the "greatest talent at Fox News."
Conservative YouTube personality Jackson Hinkle dubbed the moment the "end of an era."
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., chimed in with a rallying cry: "Wherever Tucker Carlson goes, America will follow."
Libertarian journalist (and former Salon columnist) Glenn Greenwald, a frequent guest on Carlson's show in recent years, praised the host for his opposition to U.S. military adventurism, including the war in Ukraine. In similarly confusing territory, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — who plans to run against President Biden for the 2024 Democratic nomination — called Carlson "breathtakingly courageous" for airing anti-vaccine views.
Not all self-described conservatives were in mourning. The Lincoln Project was quick to applaud his departure.
"Tucker Carlson is an abomination, a driver of conspiracy and the worst our nation has to offer. Good riddance," the never-Trump organization tweeted Monday.
Among Carlson's critics, Twitter quickly overflowed with stinging insults and celebration.
"In a win for democracy, Tucker Carlson won't have a primetime platform to spread lies about the insurrection anymore," tweeted Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
"History books will reflect how Tucker Carlson's final moment on Fox News involved him eating pizza and talking about munching on bugs," said the Daily Beast's Jose Pagliery.
Some unexpected theories surfaced about Carlson's next moves.
"Tucker Carlson is out at Fox News! I've been saying that he has been trying to get fired from there for quite some time now. Why? To potentially run for president. And it's not too late yet for 2024. So, things could get real interesting around here," said Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks.
Ultimately, however, Twitter seemed to seize the moment as a chance to reflect, perhaps, on the larger personal resonance of this change.
"If Fox News can break up with Tucker Carlson, maybe today is the day you break up that toxic relationship you're in," wrote Dr. Ruth Westheimer.
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