Bongino: Tucker Carlson Story Takes Interesting Turn - 'Somebody's Going to Have to Explain What's Going On'
A lot of people have a lot of questions about Tucker Carlson’s status at Fox News.
One of the people at the head of that long line is conservative podcaster Dan Bongino, a former weekend Fox host who split from the network just days before the wildly popular “Tucker Carlson Tonight” show abruptly went dark.
Bongino discussed the issue on “The Dan Bongino Show” Tuesday on Rumble.
He began by talking about the latest development in the story, in which far-left “watchdog” site Media Matters for America shared a video Monday that purported to show Carlson bad-mouthing his network, or rather, the network’s subscription-supported video streaming site, Fox Nation.
Liberal news outlets seemed to treat the “leaked” video as a possible, or even likely reason that “Tucker Carlson Tonight” was taken off the air. But conservatives largely agreed Carlson had merely spoken the truth on the “behind the scenes” clip.
Bongino said a big question in his mind is who leaked the video — and why.
“So this video leaked yesterday, and everybody assumed it was leaked by Fox,” he said. “I’m not sure that’s the case. I don’t know who leaked this video.”
“I don’t understand why they would leak that. … What would be their motive to leak it? Because Fox Nation did have issues, no doubt about it. We were on Fox Nation. … We had some issues there, too.
“So, they weren’t catastrophic, but it doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense.”
Whoever leaked the video, Bongino said, “It adds an interesting layer to the Tucker/Fox News story.”
But the podcast host said he felt the broader issue is that “Someone’s going to have to explain, from Fox, what’s going on with the Tucker Carlson case.
“It’s getting weird now. Is he out of a job there? Does he not have a job there? Everybody thinks he was fired. [But] Megyn Kelly reported that he’s not fired.
“So he’s not fired? Why is he off the air? Was there a cause? Somebody’s going to have to explain what’s going on.”
Bongino explained that he is familiar with the “entities” who run Fox. He’s also “very friendly” with Carlson, who Bongino described as “a unique, kind of unparalleled talent in the business.”
“But,” he said again, “somebody’s going to have to explain what’s going on, because now it’s getting weird.”
One of the strangest aspects of the story, Bongino said, is that Fox News is suffering horribly in the ratings as a result of its actions against Carlson.
It’s not just a “lose-lose” situation, he said. “It’s a lose-really, really lose scenario — Like, everybody’s not only getting kneecapped, their legs are getting sawed off.”
“The ratings situation last week was an absolute bloodbath,” he said. “It was an apocalyptic massacre.”
He played a clip of former Fox host Megyn Kelly reviewing Fox’s Thursday-night ratings for Carlson’s time slot.
“These numbers are basement, toilet numbers, however you want to look at it,” Kelly said in the clip.
To say it’s not going well for Fox News at 8 p.m. “is the understatement of the year,” Kelly said.
Bongino presented Kelly’s analysis as evidence that Fox needs to mend fences with Carlson.
“This is why I think both parties are going to have to come to some kind of rapprochement sometime soon,” he said.
“Because, it’s not benefitting Tucker or the movement, not having him on the air. We need his voice. That’s clear as day.
“But it’s not benefitting Fox, either.”
“So I’m not sure how this ends,” Bongino concluded the segment. But, he added, “It’s an important story.”
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