Monday’s announcement that Fox News was parting ways with its top-rated primetime host, Tucker Carlson, stunned those in Donald J. Trump’s orbit. The former president himself was surprised by the news, according to a person with direct acquaintance, and his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., who is a close friend of Mr. Carlson, described the network’s decision as “stunning”.
“I think it changes things permanently,” said Donald Trump Jr. said on “The Charlie Kirk Show”, adding that Mr. Carlson was “a true thought leader in conservatism” and a “once-in-a-generation type of talent”.
The casual news observer would be forgiven for thinking that Mr. Trump and his family were no longer in a relationship with Mr. Carlson, given the recent revelations of the Fox host’s scathing private text messages, which emerged as part of the legal Conservative network’s struggle against Dominion voting systems.
In early 2021, as Mr. Trump was desperately trying to overturn the 2020 election, Mr. Carlson texted a confidant that he “passionately” hated the president. He also described Mr Trump as a “demonic force”.
When the texts were released in March, Mr. Trump was hurt and called Mr. Carlson to talk about it, according to a person familiar with the outreach. But the two men quickly recovered. Since then, they’ve talked regularly, exchanged texts and appeared to be in a closer relationship than ever before, according to two people close to Trump who are familiar with their relationship and who did not wish to be identified to discuss their relationship . private interactions.
In an interview with Newsmax’s Greg Kelly recorded shortly after Mr. Carlson’s departure was made public, Mr. Trump offered his support for the former host. “I’m shocked. I’m surprised,” Trump said. “I think Tucker’s been great. He’s been great to me, especially over the last year or so.”
Mr. Carlson did not respond to a request for comment.
Last year, some of Mr. Trump’s advisers feared that Mr. Carlson seemed ready to support the potential presidential candidacy of Mr. Trump’s biggest rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Mr. Carlson had given Mr. DeSantis a lot of airtime and praised his policies. But as Mr. Trump and Mr. Carlson spoke more frequently over the past six weeks, the Trump team grew more confident that Mr. Carlson would not weigh in for Mr. DeSantis, who has been heavily promoted by Rupert Murdoch’s media, including Fox news. .
The Trump team liked their chances even more when they learned that Mr. Carlson was disgusted by Mr. DeSantis’ decision in late March to call Russia’s President Vladimir V. Putin a “war criminal.”
Senator JD Vance, an Ohio Republican who is a close ally of both Mr Trump and Mr Carlson, described the Fox News host’s impeachment as a shock.
“Tucker is a giant and the strongest voice against idiotic wars and an economy that placed plutocrats over workers,” Vance said in a text message. “This is a huge loss to a conservative movement that hopes to be worthy of its own voters. I assume he will land on his feet and continue to have a strong voice. If he doesn’t, it will be terrible for the country.”
“The best decision I ever made was leaving Fox. Good for you, @TuckerCarlson. You are free & uncensored!” Kari Lake, a Republican who lost the Arizona gubernatorial race last year, wrote in a tweet. Ms. Lake left her job as an anchor at a local Fox channel in 2021.
Representative Lauren Boebert, Republican from Colorado, struck a cheery tone Monday tweet: “Wherever Tucker Carlson goes, America will follow!”
Joe Kent, a Republican who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in Washington State, tweeted“We are ready for the launch of the Tucker news network, the people are demanding it!”
A close ally of Mr. Trump said he was glad Mr. Carlson would not be able to provide rocket fuel to another candidate on Fox’s airwaves. But for some candidates in the Republican primary field, the loss of Mr. Carlson could mean a minefield they would have to navigate has now slipped off a prominent platform.
For example, Mr. DeSantis’s statement to Mr. Carlson weeks ago describing the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a “territorial dispute” sparked alarm bells and a wave of criticism among Washington Republicans and some donors. It represented the beginning of a period of concern about Mr. DeSantis’ expected candidacy from some who saw him as the best option to stop Mr. Trump.
A Trump adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the feeling in the Trump world was that every pro-Trump host at Fox News had some kind of target on their back after the Dominion lawsuit.
Mr. Trump’s longest-serving adviser, Roger J. Stone Jr., who is also a longtime friend of Mr. Carlson, said in an interview that Fox News had “essentially canceled the most influential conservative commentator in the country, at the same time taking time to to kill a cash cow for the network.
He predicted that Mr. Carlson would take his “huge audience” with him everywhere.
Alice McFadden reporting contributed.
