On Sunday’s “Inside With Jen Psaki,” MSNBC host and former White House press secretary Jen Psaki took a moment to reflect on the week over at Fox News — particularly in its surprising and unceremonious firing of Tucker Carlson.
But while there continues to be speculation over what Rupert Murdoch’s decision came down to, it’s clear that Carlson’s absence hasn’t changed much of the problematic sentiment espoused on the network daily. Psaki argued that “explicit white nationalist views were never the total problem for the network” and that under Carlson, they even “endorsed all of that.” Now instead, hosts like Laura Ingraham are continuing to push that messaging.
“This is simply who they are,” Psaki said of Fox News.
“The announcement that Fox News had abruptly fired Tucker Carlson caught many by surprise — including Tucker Carlson. And it ignited a flurry of reporting about why, exactly, the conservative cable network parted with its top-rated host,” Psaki began in Sunday’s “Inside” segment. “Was it because of highly offensive and crude messages discovered by the board of directors? Maybe. Like reportedly calling a female executive the c-word? (You know the one.) Was it due to the workplace harassment lawsuit filed by a former producer? Or was it simply that Rupert Murdoch decided that Carlson was more trouble than he was worth? For now, it’s not entirely clear. But what we do know is that for years, Fox News seemed to have ample reasons, many of them, to oust Carlson — and did nothing.”
The host then pulled up several clips of Carlson between 2018 and today to show just where his rhetoric feel, such as a 2018 anti-immigration argument in which he said immigrants make “our own country poorer and dirtier and more divided.”
“Charming,” Psaki responded.
A second clip showed Carlson peddling conspiracy theories on the Jan. 6 insurrection on the Capitol, claiming it was an “inside job.” “FBI operatives were organizing the attack on the Capitol,” Carlson argued, to which Psaki responded, “Obviously crazy.”
Or, Psaki added, there was his “obsessive promotion of the white nationalist replacement theory.” She pulled up a clip to match.
“Throughout it all, Fox backed Tucker. When asked in 2021 to comment on Carlson’s long record of lies and bigotry, Fox News plainly said, ‘We fully support him,’” Psaki said. “And for years, they did. But if you think Tucker’s firing means Fox has seen the light, don’t hold your breath. Don’t judge them on why they fired Carlson, judge them for all the times they didn’t. And judge them for what they’re still putting on the air this week. Since his exit on Monday, it’s been business as usual for their primetime lineup.”
That’s when Psaki pulled up a clip of Ingraham last week claiming that “illegal immigrant dreamers are valued over native-born Americans,” echoing Carlson’s fears of so-called replacement theory.
“Sounds pretty familiar, right?” Psaki said. “Fox News may have had a problem with Tucker himself, but his ideas, the conspiracies, the lies, his explicit white nationalist views, were never the total problem for the network. They endorsed all of that, and continue to do so. This is simply who they are.”
Watch the full “Inside With Jen Psaki” segment in the video above.