“I did not put my life on pause and leave my four boys and now grandson to come here and just get in spats with people. I came here to legislate and to be effective for Coloradans, Coloradans who are suffering from the Democrats’ policy,” said Boebert before working a few more shots at Democrats into the interview.
“Marjorie is not my enemy. Joe Biden’s policy, the Democrats, that is my enemy that I am combating right now, and I am doing everything I can to make sure I put them in check and hold them accountable.”
Her comments arrived on the same day that Greene confirmed the spat between the two, telling Semafor that Boebert “has genuinely been a nasty little bitch to me” and that she does “absolutely not” see a chance for the two to reconcile.
The congresswomen have had their shareof tense exchanges prior to the Wednesday run-in, including when Greene brought the feud to Twitter as they disagreed on then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s hopes to become House speaker when Republicans took control of the chamber after the 2022 midterm elections.
Boebert, earlier on Thursday, “brushed off” a reporter’s question over her exchange with Greene.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom refused to bow out in defense of his home state as he pushed back at Fox News host Sean Hannity during a newly-released portion of their interview. (You can see a clip of the interview below)
Hannity hit the governor with questions on business in California before Newsom fired back at claims that one company – Tesla – abandoned their HQ in the state to “save money.”
“They moved their headquarters back. They moved their R&D world headquarters back just three weeks ago. Why did they do that?” Newsom asked.
“They’re moving to increase their profits and save money because you tax too much,” the host replied.
“Because we created the conditions where they flourish and then they get to a point of maturity and they get to a point of becoming multinational companies,” Newsom added of his home state.
“Because some find greener pastures or are looking for defensive postures as it relates to economic risk. But there’s thousands – we have a 47% increase in business startups this year compared to last year.”
Hannity later argued that businesses were “paying that high tax bill” in the state before the California governor went after the host’s take.
“This is on its way to becoming the fourth-largest economy in the world. What are you arguing for? Mississippi’s economic policy?” asked Newsom as he spoke over Hannity’s attempts to interject.
“Literally, that’s what you’re arguing for. The great Sam Brownback’s Kansas policy? It was a debacle, no economic growth. Seventy one percent of the GDP in America are [in] blue counties. Seventy one percent of the GDP in America are [in] blue counties, progressive policies. Seventy one percent of the country’s wealth. Seven of the top-ten dependent states are your states. We’re subsidizing your states, Sean, because of your policies.”
“I’m in New York, you’re not subsidizing anything from me,” remarked Hannity, who later said he was “all for” Mississippi and Alabama over New York and California.
“I hate the way you talk to me, And the way you cut your hair. / I hate the way you drive my car, I hate it when you stare. / I hate your big dumb combat boots, and the way you read my mind. / I hate you so much it makes me sick, It even makes me rhyme. / I hate the way you’re always right, I hate it when you lie. / I hate it when you make me laugh, Even worse when you make me cry. / I hate it when you’re not around, And the fact that you didn’t call. / But mostly I hate the way I don’t hate you, Not even close, Not even a little bit, Not even at all.”
Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems settled their case on Tuesday for $787.5 million, abruptly ending one of the most highly anticipated defamation trials in decades before anyone took the stand. “The truth matters,” Dominion attorney Justin Nelsontold reporters outside the courtroom. “Lies have consequences.”
Opening arguments were supposed to begin around 1:30 in the afternoon, after the court took a lunch break. But roughly an hour later, proceedings had yet to resume. “All lawyers appear to be in their seats, but the judge and jury are not seated. Still no updates on why we’re delayed,” tweetedThe Guardian’s Kira Lerner, reporting from Wilmington, Delaware. “The scene in the courtroom: It is sweltering, everyone is up from their seats, going in and out of the room. Fox’s lead lawyer, Dan Webb, has taken several phone calls. Some people are standing, all are talking, others gesticulating,” the Times’ Jim Rutenbergreported. Then one hour became two, and just before 4:00, Judge Eric Davis, took the bench and brought the jurors back in the room. “The parties have resolved the case,” he said.
The end of the Fox-Dominion standoff comes as swaths of reporters had descended this week upon Wilmington, Delaware, and variousoutlets—including this one—prepared special coverage for what was expected to be a six-week-long trial. Top Fox figures like hosts Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity, as well as Fox Corp chairman Rupert Murdochhimself, were expected to take the stand, but no longer.
“Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion that caused enormous damage to my company, our employees, and the customers that we serve,” CEO John Poulossaid at the presser outside the courtroom. “Nothing can ever make up for that. Throughout this process, we have sought accountability, and believe the evidence brought to light through this case underscores the consequences of spreading lies. Truthful reporting in the media is essential to our democracy.”
“We are pleased to have reached a settlement of our dispute with Dominion Voting Systems. We acknowledge the Court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false,” Fox said in a statement. “This settlement reflects FOX’s continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards. We are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues.”
Dominion has been steeped in a legal fight with Fox since 2021, when the election-technology company sued the network for $1.6 billion over its 2020 election coverage. Dominion claimed the network amplified election lies pushed by Donald Trump and his allies and knowingly promoted false claims about the company’s role in the election for the sake of juicing ratings and profit. Fox argued its coverage was protected by free speech and press freedom rights, and that it was neutrally reporting on newsworthy claims by a sitting president. (It should be noted that Judge Davis, the Delaware Superior Court judge who was presiding over the case, ruled last week that Fox News could not argue that it broadcast false information about Dominion on the basis of newsworthiness. “Just because someone is newsworthy doesn’t mean you can defame someone,” said Davis.)
While the settlement means there will be no such spectacle, the discovery process leading up to this moment has already provided an unprecedented look inside Fox News. Through a deluge of internal communications and private text messages Dominion unveiled during the pretrial process, the public got to see top executives, producers, and stars mocking the unfounded claims and unreliable sources in Trumpworld. “Sidney Powell is lying by the way. I caught her. It’s insane,” Carlson told host Laura Ingraham of the conspiracy-peddling Trump lawyer. “Our viewers are good people and they believe it.” In another filing released as part of the suit, Murdoch is seen admitting that hosts Hannity, Jeanine Pirro, and Lou Dobbs “endorsed” Trump’s bogus claims of election fraud. “I would have liked us to be stronger in denouncing it in hindsight,” Murdoch said at one point in his deposition.
Davis appeared to repeatedly clash with Fox during the pretrial hearings. At one point last week he told a Fox News attorney that his team had a “credibility problem” upon learning that Fox has delayed the disclosure of Murdoch’s full role at Fox News, a technicality that prevented Dominion from getting access to documents they otherwise would have during the discovery process. It was also during the pretrial hearings that Davis sanctioned Fox News for withholding evidence. Dominion lawyers asserted they’d found out about other documents and material that they should have received during discovery but didn’t. The judge said he would likely start an investigation into the matter.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated with additional developments.
Washington — A high-stakes court fight between Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News is set to kick off in Delaware superior court on Tuesday, as the voting technology company presses its claim before a jury that Fox knowingly aired false information about its voting machines and software in the wake of the 2020 presidential election.
Jury selection started Thursday and was set to resume before opening statements Monday, but the start of the trial was delayed until Tuesday morning, the judge presiding over the case, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis, said in a statement Sunday. The trial is predicted to last up to six weeks, during which Dominion has the burden of proving to the jury that Fox acted with actual malice in broadcasting the unfounded allegations about Dominion.
To show actual malice, the legal standard established by the Supreme Court for defamation cases, a public figure — Dominion in this case — must prove the publisher knew the offending statements were false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth.
If the jury finds Fox News acted with actual malice, it will also determine whether Dominion is entitled to damages and if so, how much should be awarded.
The network’s top stars and top executives from Fox Corporation, Fox News’ parent company, are expected to feature prominently and could testify in-person during the trial.
Here are the key figures to know.
Fox Corporation
FILE — Lachlan Murdoch, left, and Rupert Murdoch attend the TIME 100 Gala, celebrating the 100 most influential people in the world, at the Frederick P. Rose Hall, Time Warner Center on Tuesday, April 21, 2015, in New York.
(Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, co-chairman and co-chairman and CEO, respectively
Dominion alleges that Fox Corporation’s top officers, including Murdoch, knew that the claims about Dominion were false, and that the evidence demonstrates Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch had editorial responsibility.
In their complaint, the company says that the Murdoch family “plays a central and public role in the managing and oversight of Fox News.”
file: Fox Corporation chief legal and policy officer Viet Dinh.
Fox handout photo
Viet Dinh, chief legal officer and policy officer
Dominion claims that like the Murdochs, Viet Dinh knew the accusations about Dominion were false. He said in deposition testimony that he “sometimes” consults with shows before a particular guest appears because of legal concerns.
File: White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah takes questions from reporters during a press briefing at the White House on Monday, March 26, 2018 in Washington, DC.
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Raj Shah, senior vice president
According to messages made public as part of the discovery process, Shah repeatedly indicated he knew the claims about Dominion were outlandish. Shah also led a “brand team” and notified senior leaders from Fox News and Fox Corporation that then-host Neil Cavuto’s pushback to the White House’s voter fraud claims posed a “brand threat.”
FILE: House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican from Wisconsin, speaks to members of the media following a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018.
.Zach Gibson/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Paul Ryan, former House speaker and Fox Corporation board member
Ryan joined Fox Corporation’s board in 2019 and he sent a message to Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch on Dec. 6, 2020, urging “solid pushback” to Trump’s calls for an alternate slate of presidential electors, according to documents made public as part of the case.
“I think we are entering a truly bizarre phase of this where he has actually convinced himself of this farce and will do more bizarre things to delegitimize the election,” Ryan told the Murdochs of Trump. “I see this as a key inflection point for Fox, where the right thing and the smart business thing do line up nicely.”
Fox News Network
File: Fox News CEO, Suzanne Scott, attends the new All-American Christmas Tree lighting outside News Corporation at Fox Square on December 9, 2021 in New York City.
Alexi Rosenfeld / Getty Images
Suzanne Scott, CEO of Fox News
Dominion alleged in its lawsuit that Scott and executives were responsible for airing broadcasts that included the 20 statements the company alleges were defamatory. In court filings, Dominion said Scott elevated concerns about the audience’s backlash to its Arizona call for Joe Biden, and told Lachlan Murdoch in a text that the Arizona call “was damaging but we will highlight our stars and plant flags letting the viewers know we hear them and respect them.”
Jay Wallace, president and executive editor of Fox News Media
Wallace is among the executives who Dominion says was responsible for airing the challenged broadcasts. He spoke with Dominion’s representative on Nov. 17, 2020, and was told of the facts that refuted Fox’s claims, according to the company.
David Clark, senior vice president for weekend news and programming
Messages made public show that Clark received Dominion’s “Setting the Record Straight” emails and told a colleague on Nov. 14 that “I have it tattooed on my body at this point.” He was among the executives who participated in the editorial process and said he oversaw the bulk of programming on the weekends.
Meade Cooper, vice president of prime-time programming
Cooper oversees primetime show content, including Hannity’s, Carlson’s and Pirro’s shows.
Ron Mitchell, senior vice president of prime time programming and analytics
Mitchell advised Carlson’s, Hannity’s and Laura Ingraham’s primetime shows and said during deposition testimony that some of the claims about Dominion “didn’t sound credible to me.”
Lauren Petterson, president of Fox Business
Dominion alleges in court papers that Petterson “had decision-making authority” over what content could appear on Fox Business’s air.
Tom Lowell, executive vice president and managing editor of news
Lowell testified during a deposition that Fox does not “have evidence” to support the baseless allegations about Dominion.
Gary Schreier, senior vice president of programming for Fox Business Network
Schreier was Petterson’s second-in-command and oversaw Dobbs’ show. In a Dec. 13, 2020, email, he warned Dobbs’ producer not to book Sidney Powell and on Jan. 19, 2021, said “We cannot go near dominion. Not the same area code.”
Irena Briganti, senior executive vice president for corporate communications
Briganti wrote the evening that Mr. Biden was declared the winner of the election that “our viewers left this week after AZ,” and according to Dominion’s filings, said that Fox “Gave Powell & Giuliani platform with reach—all true they said crazy things.”
Bill Sammon, former senior vice president and managing editor of Fox’s Washington Bureau
Sammon received pushback from Trump’s team, including then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, after the network called Arizona for Mr. Biden. He exchanged text messages with Chris Stirewalt on Dec. 2, 2020, expressing concern about the claims that Fox was broadcasting.
“More than 20 minutes into our flagship evening news broadcast and we’re still focused solely on supposed election fraud — a month after the election,” he wrote. “It’s remarkable how weak ratings make good journalists do bad things.”
He was let go by Fox News after the election.
Chris Stirewalt, former Fox News political editor, during a hearing of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol, on Monday, June 13, 2022.
Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Chris Stirewalt, former politics editor
Stirewalt was the politics editor and member of the Decision Desk, led by Arnon Mishkin. Mishkin made Fox News’ Arizona call, which projected Mr. Biden would win the state. In a deposition, Stirewalt said that “no reasonable person” would have thought allegations Dominion rigged the election were true.
In the Dec. 2, 2020, exchange with Sammon, Stirewalt wrote, “What I see us doing is losing the silent majority of viewers as we chase the nuts off a cliff.” Like Sammon, he, too, is no longer with the network.
The Hosts
Tucker Carlson, host of “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” poses for photos in a Fox News Channel studio on March 2, 2017, in New York.
Richard Drew / AP
Tucker Carlson
Carlson hosts the 8 p.m. show “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” and his Jan. 26, 2021, broadcast is among the 20 that included falsehoods about Dominion said were defamatory. That show featured Mike Lindell as a guest, and he claimed he found “machine fraud.”
File: Sean Hannity, host at Fox News, broadcasts from the Republican National Convention at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020.
Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Sean Hannity
Hannity is the host of the eponymous “Hannity,” airing at 9 p.m. His Nov. 30, 2020, broadcast contained challenged statements from Sidney Powell, who peddled baseless claims Dominion’s voting machines flipped votes from Trump to Mr. Biden.
Laura Ingraham seen speaking during the American Conservative Union’s Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Oxon Hill, MD, on February 28, 2019.
Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Laura Ingraham
Host of the 10 p.m. show “The Ingraham Angle,” Ingraham exchanged messages with Carlson and Hannity calling Powell “a bit nuts,” and the three lamented about the backlash Fox News was receiving from viewers after its Arizona call.
File: Judge Jeanine Pirro of FOX News Network makes remarks to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at National Harbor, Maryland, February 23, 2017.
MIKE THEILER/AFP/Getty Images
Jeanine Pirro
Pirro hosted the show “Justice with Judge Jeanine” on Fox News until January 2022, when she became a permanent co-host for its show “The Five.” But two of Pirro’s broadcasts on her earlier show, on Nov. 14, 2020, and Nov. 21, 2020, contained statements that Dominion alleges were defamatory.
File: Host Maria Bartiromo with Lee Zeldin, former New York gubernatorial candidate as he visits “Mornings With Maria” at Fox Business Network Studios on Feb. 08, 2023, New York.
Roy Rochlin / Getty Images
Maria Bartiromo
Bartiromo’s show “Sunday Morning Futures” airs weekly on Fox News, and Dominion has identified her Nov. 8, 2020, broadcast as containing information about it that the network allegedly knew to be false.
That episode featured Sidney Powell claiming without evidence that Dominion used an algorithm to manipulate vote counts.
Before the interview, Powell sent Bartiromo an email with the subject line “Election Fraud Info,” which Powell received from a Minnesota woman claiming Dominion’s software flipped votes from Trump to Biden. The email also claimed the late Justice Antonin Scalia was killed in a “human hunting expedition,” and she receives messages from “the wind.”
File: Lou Dobbs interviews Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin during “Lou Dobbs Tonight” at Fox Business Network Studios on Sept. 23, 2019 in New York City.
John Lamparski/Getty Images
Lou Dobbs
Dobbs, who is no longer with the company, hosted the show “Lou Dobbs Tonight,” airing on Fox Business Network. Dominion points to eight of Dobbs’ broadcasts that it said contained false information about it, as well as four of his tweets.
Will Cain
Cain co-hosts Fox & Friends Weekend, and on its Dec. 12, 2020, show, Giuliani was a guest and made accusations about Dominion’s voting machines. The company said that as of that date, the public record “clearly demonstrates” that those claims were false.
File: Bret Baier of “Special Report with Bret Baier” interrviews Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg on Jan. 05, 2023 in Washington, D.C.
Paul Morigi / Getty Images
Bret Baier
Baier is the chief political correspondent for Fox News and encouraged a fact-check of voter fraud allegations posted on social media by Bartiromo to Sammon, writing “We have to prevent this stuff. … We need to fact check.”
He also wrote in a text message on Nov. 5, made public in the case, that “there is NO evidence of fraud. None. Allegations—stories. Twitter. Bulls**t.”
Eric Shawn
Another Fox host, he was the subject of an email about a fact-check he did about voter fraud claims. In the email, Scott told Cooper, “This has to stop now. … This is bad business and there is clearly a lack of understanding what is happening in these shows. The audience is furious and we are just feeding them material. Bad for business.”
The Producers
Alex Hooper, senior producer, Lou Dobbs Tonight
Jerry Andrews, executive producer, Justice with Jeanine
Abby Grossberg, former senior booking producer for “Sunday Morning Futures”
The three producers are identified as “responsible employees” who knew the statements airing on their respective broadcasts were “false or recklessly disregarded the truth.”
Grossberg, in particular, has emerged as a figure whose importance in Dominion’s case appears to be growing. She is a former employee of CBS News.
Grossberg filed a separate lawsuit against Fox News, Scott and its lawyers in Delaware state court alleging she was misleadingly coached and manipulated to deliver incomplete answers during a deposition taken as part of Dominion’s lawsuit against Fox.
In court filings Tuesday, she said Fox News had recordings, through an app called Otter, of separate conversations Bartiromo had with Giuliani and Powell that showed they had no evidence to support claims they amplified about Dominion on Fox’s air.
Fox turned over the recordings to Dominion last week, and during a pretrial conference Wednesday, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis, who is overseeing the trial, sanctioned Fox’s attorneys for withholding evidence.
The Guests
File: Rudolph Giuliani, attorney for President Donald Trump, conducts a news conference at the Republican National Committee on lawsuits regarding the outcome of the 2020 presidential election on Thursday, November 19, 2020.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Sidney Powell
Rudy Giuliani
Mike Lindell
The three appeared as guests of Carson, Hannity, Pirro, Bartiromo and Dobbs, where they raised the unfounded accusations about Dominion and its role in the 2020 presidential election. Giuliani and Powell were the subject of internal messages from Fox’s primetime hosts, who pushed back among themselves about the validity of the allegations.
Donald Trump’s love for autocrats is on full display in a new video from his critics on the right.
It’s embellished with hearts… and has some music to set the mood:
Trump has long had starry eyes for dictators and strongmen, and spent much of his presidency cozying up to such leaders ― while at the same time often keeping traditional U.S. allies at arm’s length.
He sided with Putin when questioned about U.S. intelligence that found Russia interfered on his behalf in the 2016 election, and boasted that he got along so well with Kim that they “fell in love.”
On the flipside, he dismissed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a “far left lunatic” and accused French President Emmanuel Macron of being “very insulting.”
The Republican Accountability Project has been releasing videos, ads and billboards calling out Trump and the GOP lawmakers who enabled his lies about the 2020 election and supported the Jan. 6 insurrection.
“I am not running against him; I’m running on a vision for our nation,” Ramaswamy told Hannity.
“Wait, wait, but you’re not running for him. You’re running against him. Let’s be honest,” responded Hannity as his audience broke out into chuckles.
The candidate, who swiftly fired back and said he was running for America, said he’d talk about his differences from Trump before claiming the former president was the “O.G. of ‘America first.’”
“I am taking that to the next level with America First 2.0,” Ramaswamy said. “Let’s get the job done, which means dismantling federal bureaucracy.”
The candidate added that he’d propose eight-year sunset clauses “for anybody in the federal bureaucracy” and shut down federal agencies including the Department of Education.
Ramaswamy isn’t the only 2024 presidential candidate who has struggled to define how they differ from Trump.
It’s Tucker Carlson versus Sean Hannity in the Republican Party.
The divisions inside the GOP, being laid bare on national television via the dramatic fight between Kevin McCarthy and a faction of rebels over the House speakership, mirror the rift that has been forming for some time in right-wing media and which is strikingly clear in Fox News primetime.
Some corners of the right-wing media universe, represented by the Carlsons of the world, revel in the chaos. Carlson has made that clear on his broadcasts this week, effectively cheering on the Never Kevin camp in the House and arguing that what we are seeing on television — a paralyzed GOP unable after six votes to elect a House speaker — is healthy.
“If you prefer democracy to oligarchy, if you prefer real debates about issues that actually matter, it’s pretty refreshing to see it,” Carlson said of the public infighting taking place in the House, which is set to go back into session at noon on Thursday.
Then there are the personalities and outlets that more closely align with Hannity, who has gone on record against the mutiny facing McCarthy and argued on the California congressman’s behalf.
To be clear, Hannity hasn’t outright bashed the Republicans staging the rebellion against McCarthy. He’s mostly played polite. And he’s tried downplaying the friction, insisting it’s not a crisis. But Hannity has represented the wing of right-wing media — and the larger GOP — that would like to see Republicans unite and not be consumed by disorder.
“Should Republicans have worked this all out in private, long before yesterday? Yeah, absolutely. And behind the scenes I spoke to many of them, and I urged them to work it out,” Hannity said Wednesday night. “They apparently did not listen to my advice.”
After those comments, Hannity invited on Rep. Lauren Boebert for an interview which turned quite combative. The Fox News host repeatedly pressed the far-right congresswoman on what the rebel group plans to do, given that they are clearly a small minority of the GOP. Hannity at times noted that Boebert was evading and not answering his simple questions.
“I asked you a simple question congresswoman. I feel like I’m getting an answer from a liberal,” an exasperated Hannity said toward the conclusion of the interview, in which Boebert repeatedly kept speaking over him.
Of course, while Hannity, McCarthy, and others might be frustrated with the rebels now, they all played roles in bolstering their power in recent years. Which is the irony that cuts straight to the heart of the matter.
Much like the Republican Party laid the groundwork over the years for the rise of Donald Trump, people like Hannity have laid the groundwork for the rise of people like Carlson. They’ve catered to their views, refused to call out their nonsense, and chosen to attack entities like the media instead of dealing with the own mess in their backyard.
Now they’re reaping what they sowed: a party comprised of a growing number of erratic figures who don’t mind — and even perhaps prefer — watching the world burn.
The Republican battle over the next House Speaker has bled into the most vital media organ in conservative politics: the Fox News prime-time lineup. On one side stands Sean Hannity, who is urging the 20-or-so far-right holdouts to let Representative Kevin McCarthy claim the gavel. And on the other is Tucker Carlson, who has thrown his support behind that very group in an apparent pressure campaign to quash McCarthy’s bid.
The disagreement boiled over Wednesday, when Hannity, who had urged the holdouts to “work it out,” confronted Representative Lauren Boebert, one of the anti-McCarthy ringleaders, on air. “So, if I’m gonna use your words and your methodology and your math, isn’t it time for you to pack it in, and your side to pack it in, considering he has over 200 and you have 20?” Hannity asked the lawmaker. Boebert responded by saying she understood “the frustration” but refused to capitulate amid the host’s grilling.
Carlson, for his part, delivered an anti-McCarthy monologue Wednesday. “Oh, you’ve got reservations about Kevin McCarthy? You don’t want to be ruled by a man who wears a Ukrainian flag lapel pin and lives with Frank Luntz?” the host asked his audience, referencing McCarthy’s 2021 admission that he had rented a room from Luntz, an establishment Republican pollster. Carlson then argued that McCarthy was making no effort to reconcile with his detractors, most of whom are members of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus. “Instead, like the left they purport to oppose, they’re using threats and fear to force people to support the candidate,” he said of McCarthy’s team. Carlson has also defended the cohort of insurgents from attacks made by fellow Republicans: After Representative Dan Crenshaw, a pro-McCarthy Republican from Texas, insisted that his party “cannot let the terrorists win,” the Fox host described the lawmaker as “the snarling face of the donor class.” Crenshaw replied by urging Carlson to “grow thicker skin.”
Late Wednesday evening, after a sixth ballot failed to produce a Speaker, McCarthy offered a number of concessions to the 20 hard-liners blocking his path to the gavel. The new terms would acquiesce to many demands made by the holdouts, including allowing a rule change that would let one GOP member call a vote to oust the Speaker; granting Freedom Caucus members top committee assignments; and promising to bring likely nonviable border-security legislation to a floor vote, according to The Wall Street Journal.
As far as Fox News goes, Carlson is in the minority. On Thursday, Fox & Friends’ Brian Kilmeade had even harsher words for the holdouts than Hannity, calling the “Never McCarthy” set “insurrectionists”—a term he switched to “saboteurs” on the suggestion of his cohosts, Steve Doocy and Ainsley Earhardt. Doocy was similarly irate in another Fox & Friends segment Thursday. “I heard so many people say, ‘You know, that’s just how democracy works.’ This is not democracy. This is a televised hijacking,” he declared. “They are intent, simply, on blowing up the party, which they are doing, and this Congress. They do not care.”
Still, Carlson did find a friend in Laura Ingraham, who ultimately sided with the exact group of conservatives whom Doocy criticized. “What looks chaotic and kind of seems counterproductive to many—it’s actually, in its own way, refreshing because it’s democracy in action,” Ingraham said Wednesday. Carlson trotted out the same line, calling the chaos a “refreshing” showcase of democracy that is only “embarrassing if you prefer the Soviet-style consensus of the Democratic Party’s internal elections.”
