Court documents in the Dominion defamation case reveal numerous instances of Carlson's disdain for Trump.
Recent court documents revealed private messages from Fox News host Tucker Carlson expressing contempt for former President Donald Trump and some of his closest aides. These documents were part of the $1.6 billion defamation suit against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems, in which Fox News is accused of spreading false claims of election fraud and defaming Dominion.
Despite Tucker Carlson's public support for Republicans and their policies, the private messages in question show a stark contrast in his views towards Trump. In one message, Carlson expressed his anticipation for no longer having to cover Trump, stating:
“I hate him passionately."
In another message, as he discussed a strategy that would ultimately land Fox News in court for defamation, Tucker said:
“[Trump] is a demonic force, a destroyer. But he’s not going to destroy us.”
Carlson and his producer Alex Pfeiffer discussed Trump's business history and his low rate of success in his ventures, with Carlson stating that:
“All of [Trump’s businesses] fail. What he’s good at is destroying things. He’s the undisputed world champion of that."
The messages also show Tucker Carlson's frustration with Trump's effort to overturn the election and how that placed Fox in a bind of needing to promote accusations it knew were untrue lest it risk losing its audience.
"It's unbelievably offensive to me. [But] our viewers...they believe it.”
“We’re playing with fire, for real … an alternative like newsmax could be devastating to us.”
In addition, he expressed his disappointment with the Trump team's handling of Sidney Powell, a lawyer for Trump and one of the biggest promoters of the unfounded election fraud claims, saying that he had to try to make the White House disavow her.
While Fox News has defended its coverage of the 2020 election and has called Dominion's use of the legal filings "beyond the pale," the private messages from Carlson and other Fox News hosts and gag-order Fox News executives have placed on covering this story raise questions about Fox’s journalistic integrity and true motivations.
As the defamation suit against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems approaches trial in April, it remains to be seen how this case will impact the relationship between Fox News and its audience.
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