We’ve long known that Tucker Carlson disdains Donald Trump but we’ve not heard it so plainly as from New York Times’ media correspondent Jeremy Peters.
Readers may recall that I have long suspected Carlson is not a Trump fan, he just wants to look like one. Then-New York Times columnist Ben Smith strongly hinted as much in a 2021 article when he called Carlson “the go-to guy for sometimes-unflattering stories about Donald J. Trump.” Smith also quoted CNN’s Brian Stelter: “’[Y]ou can see Tucker’s fingerprints all over the hardcover’ edition of his 2020 book ‘Hoax,’ which excoriates Fox News for amplifying Mr. Trump’s falsehoods.”
Smith also quoted Vanity Fair writer Joe Hagan who wrote, in 2020: “A canny TV diplomat, [Carlson] won’t say Trump is terrified, weak, politically doomed, in deep denial and surrounded by toadies and mediocrities.”
So, kudos to Peters for not beating around the bush like his former colleague. Appearing on Newsmax TV’s Eric Bolling The Balance, Peters said that in 2020, Carlson had said he was voting for Kanye West, not Trump. “So, he didn’t vote for Trump, as far as we know.”
“We know that Tucker Carlson is one of these people who benefits from having the Trump audience on his side but thinks very little of the people who make up that audience,” Peters continued.
Bolling, a former Fox News host and former colleague of Carlson’s replied, “I would agree with you fully.”
Bolling also noted that while there’s chatter about a Trump/Tucker or Tucker/Trump ticket in 2024, neither one would stand to be the VP for the other. Peters smiled and nodded.
“I think there are a lot of people who snicker behind Trump’s back who say that they support him publicly and they like his ideas and they like him but privately, it’s a different story and that, to me, is the ultimate fallacy of the conservative media,” Peters added. I also have to give Peters credit for saying that on Newsmax TV.
You can watch it below, from Newsmax TV’s August 1, 2021 Eric Bolling The Balance. Full video here.
New York Times reporter Jeremy Peters exposes Tucker Carlson. Says he trashes Trump in private and “he thinks very little” of his audience. pic.twitter.com/8V4OYX3Hna
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) August 2, 2022
While I agree that Tucker Carlson’s conduct has been despicable for his entire career, I must also point out that Bolling’s conduct is equally despicable if not worse.
Let’s remember that Eric Bolling, like Bill O’Reilly, was fired from Fox for shameful conduct, including harassment. Bolling was caught sending lewd phone photos to his female co-workers – a behavior he thought he could get away with since O’Reilly was doing it and since Roger Ailes was known for it. When Yashar Ali wrote a news story about Bolling’s conduct and had multiple Fox employees corroborating the story, Bolling frantically responded in 2017 by threatening to personally sue Ali for 50 million dollars in a SLAPP suit. Ali quickly promised to countersue and Ali’s attorney sent a stern letter to Bolling that eagerly previewed the discovery that would come in the litigation where Bolling would be forced to turn over his phone. Bolling then took advantage of a personal crisis where his son unfortunately died of an overdose, and hid behind that crisis for a couple of years, hoping everyone would forget about his threatened litigation. Bolling then re-emerged and began hosting podcasts and propaganda shows for Sinclair and now “Newsmax”.
Bolling’s quarrel with Tucker Carlson is not about any moral or ethical value. His quarrel with Carlson is about the fact that Bolling is still angry that he was fired and that Carlson got the prime time spotlight that Bolling wanted for himself. It’s the same issue that Bill O’Reilly has regarding how he was not able to achieve his “elder statesman” status at Fox when he got fired over his constant sexual misconduct. It’s the same issue we have seen between Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee – both parties are despicable, but they’re fighting for the scraps of attention they think they can take from each other.
Bolling regularly slags his former “colleagues” from Fox – including Chris Wallace, who he gloated would be hosting “a podcast” after the CNN+ idea faltered. Wallace of course went on to host a different show for CNN and Bolling predictably went silent about it.