When it comes to certain conservatives turning a blind eye to former Republican President Donald Trump's numerous indiscretions–including misuse of public funds, sexual misconduct, failure to disclose vital information, and repeated violation of ethics– even they have their limits of keeping up with the charade in favor of the GOP.
It turns out Fox News host Tucker Carlson–who for years has been publicly ingratiating himself with the beleaguered twice-impeached President as an ally and has frequently parroted Trump's misinformed rhetoric on Fox programs–has privately expressed his extreme hatred of Trump.
Carlson's real thoughts about 45 came to light with the release of text transcripts mentioned in legal documents as part of Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News.
The lawsuit alleged the hosts at Fox amplified conspiracy theories that Dominion's voting machines were used to rig the 2020 Presidential election against Trump.
According to text transcripts, Carlson texted an unnamed recipient and said of Trump:
“I hate him passionately."
\u201cTucker on Trump in a text on Jan 4th, 2021: \u201cI hate him passionately.\u201d\n\nTucker on July 31st, 2022:\u201d— Mehdi Hasan (@Mehdi Hasan) 1678245744
The texts Carlson sent on January 4, 2021 revealed that he couldn't wait for Trump to leave the White House.
“We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I truly can’t wait.” he said.
The Daily Beast political correspondent Will Sommer shared a screenshot of some of the redacted text exchange.
@willsommer/Twitter
News of Carlson backstabbing Trump was especially jaw-dropping given his propensity for downplaying the Trump-incited violence that unfolded at the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021.
The MAGA mob wreaked havoc inside the Capitol after being emboldened by Trump's false claim of a stolen 2020 Presidential election–a narrative that was perpetually pushed by Fox.
Carlson recently shared selected Capitol surveillance footage of that day obtained from Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and inaccurately portrayed the violent protest as a peaceful gathering of "sightseers"–even though the building had been closed to the public due to the pandemic.
Not everyone was surprised about Carlson's fake devotion to Trump and total lack of dignity.
\u201c@willsommer We all knew the truth, secretly they hate Trump, but they put up with him for reviews and ratings. Total sellouts.\u201d— Will Sommer (@Will Sommer) 1678239018
\u201c@willsommer @TrinityMustache Why can\u2019t these hacks just be normal? Haven\u2019t they made enough $ off of their prey?\u201d— Will Sommer (@Will Sommer) 1678239018
\u201c@willsommer This explains the eagerness Tucker Carlson shows in trying to take the MAGA line\u201d— Will Sommer (@Will Sommer) 1678239018
\u201c@willsommer Lying liars gonna lie.\u201d— Will Sommer (@Will Sommer) 1678239018
\u201c@willsommer Oh, spine, where art thou?\u201d— Will Sommer (@Will Sommer) 1678239018
\u201c@willsommer Tucker: c\u2019mon Kevin, gimme the 1/6 tapes, please! They\u2019re about to drop those Dominion texts! C\u2019mon, kevvvv\ud83d\ude2d\u201d— Will Sommer (@Will Sommer) 1678239018
\u201c@mehdirhasan @MelissaJPeltier Liar and a hypocrite walk into a bar. Bartender says, "What'll it be, Tucker?"\u201d— Mehdi Hasan (@Mehdi Hasan) 1678245744
\u201c@mehdirhasan He never thought that statement would ever see the lightning day. The beauty of the current media capabilities to memorialize everything is quite remarkable.\u201d— Mehdi Hasan (@Mehdi Hasan) 1678245744
\u201c@willsommer He\u2019s not done a very good job of ignoring trump\u2026\u201d— Will Sommer (@Will Sommer) 1678239018
Also mentioned in the documents pertaining to the lawsuit against Fox were private emails from the co-chairman of the Fox Corporation, Rupert Murdoch, who wondered if the conservative network's hosts like Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham over-delivered with their misinformed take on the 2020 presidential election.
"Maybe Sean and Laura went too far," Murdoch said in a January 21, 2021 email to Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott.
"All very well for Sean to tell you he was in despair about Trump but what did he tell his viewers?”
Last month, the media mogul testified under oath that the Fox News hosts had endorsed the false narrative of a stolen election, which wound up discrediting the network's best line of defense against the voting machine manufacturer.
Murdoch, who said he saw no evidence of Dominion tampering with the votes in the 2020 election to disadvantage Trump, maintained that the inaccurate claims about January 6 were endorsed by the network hosts that he mentioned by name–not by Fox News as an entity.
A trial for the defamation case is expected to begin in April