Tucker Carlson says Fox News is behind him amid a controversy over vulgar comments he made on a Florida shock jock’s radio show more than a decade ago.
And he’s not apologizing.
“Fox News is behind us, as they have been since the very first day,” Carlson told viewers Monday night, adding: “We will never bow to the mob. Ever. No matter what.”
In his opening remarks on “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” the conservative host referred to the release of the old comments as a “bewildering moment,” and then characterized the revelations as an attack by the left.
“One side is deadly serious,” he said of the release by the left-leaning Media Matters for America of recordings of his call-in to shock-jock Bubba the Love Sponge.
“They believe that politics is war. They’re not interested in abstractions or principles, rules or traditions. They seek power. They plan to win it, whatever it takes. If that includes getting you fired, or silencing you, or threatening your family at home, or throwing you in prison, OK, they know what their goal is. If you’re in the way, they will crush you.”
Tucker also defended his opinion show and branded his critics on the left as demanding “total conformity.”
“Since the day we went on the air, they’ve been working hard to kill this show,” he said. “We haven’t said much about it in public. It seemed too self-referential. The point of this show has never been us. But now it’s obvious to everybody. There’s no pretending that it’s not happening. It is happening. And so, going forward, we’ll be covering their efforts to make us be quiet.”