Fresh off being unceremoniously ousted by Fox News, Tucker Carlson is boasting about a resurgence.
The right-wing pundit and amplifier of white nationalism said in a video tweeted on Tuesday, “Amazingly, as of tonight, there aren’t many platforms left that allow free speech. The last big one remaining in the world, the only one, is Twitter, where we are now.”
The 53-year-old heralded Twitter as being “not a partisan site” but rather “the place where our national conversation incubates and develops,” where “everybody’s allowed.” From there, Carlson babbled about free speech and warned he’ll create a “new version of the show we’ve been doing.” He also slid in a mini-screed about how “the rule of what you can’t say defines everything. It’s filthy really and it’s utterly corrupting.”
Of Carlson’s firing, the New York Timesreported that a text message he sent “set off a panic at the highest levels of Fox on the eve of its billion-dollar defamation trial” against Dominion Voting Systems. His words (below) showed the network’s “most popular host sharing his private, inflammatory views about violence and race.”
Hours after Carlson’s tweet, Twitter CEO Elon Musk logged on to add clarification.
“On this platform, unlike the one-way street of broadcast, people are able to interact, critique and refute whatever is said,” Musk wrote when quote-tweeting Carlson. “And, of course, anything misleading will get @CommunityNotes. I also want to be clear that we have not signed a deal of any kind whatsoever. Tucker is subject to the same rules & rewards of all content creators.”
Musk, 51, said those rewards refer to “subscriptions and advertising revenue share (coming soon), which is a function of how many people subscribe and the advertising views associated with the content.” The billionaire added that he wants “many others, particularly from the left” to make content on Twitter.
The final episode of Tucker Carlson Tonight aired April 21. Three days later, Fox News fired Carlson, with Axios reporting that the host will forgo “at least $25 million” owed by the network to break a non-compete clause with the new show.
