(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Fox News announced Monday that its most popular host, Tucker Carlson, is leaving the company—causing Fox stock to immediately crater.
Fox’s announcement was unexpected and abrupt. Carlson had promised to “be back on Monday” when he signed off on his Friday show in typical fashion.
This was Tucker Carlson Tonight’s last moment.
Eating pizza with the hero delivery man who stopped a car jacker.
I can’t think of a better way for the greatest cable news show in history to end.
pic.twitter.com/cfzNZ6QY4l— Greg Price (@greg_price11) April 24, 2023
“We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor,” a Fox News spokesperson said in a statement shortly after 11 a.m. Monday.
Fox News later reported that Carlson’s show will be replaced by “a rotation of various Fox News personalities.”
“Tucker Carlson Tonight” began airing in 2016 and had gained a dedicated audience of around 3.5 million nightly viewers as of February, Forbes reported.
Fox’s stock cratered upon the announcement. Its class B stock—which allows shareholders to vote on the company’s board of directors makeup—dropped from around $30.90 at 11 a.m. to $29.30 by 11:50 a.m., while its class A stock dipped from $33.68 to a low of $31.80.
Both stocks had begun to rebound around noon, but not by much.
Fox stock is crashing as news of Tucker Carlson leaving the network spreads. pic.twitter.com/w23odbFIV8
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) April 24, 2023
Meanwhile, left-leaning media outlets have begun to attribute Carlson’s departure to the recent $787 million settlement between Fox and Dominion Voting Systems over the outlet’s coverage of voter-fraud allegations.
However, conservative pundits noted Carlson’s recent criticisms of the mainstream media and the GOP.
Carlson’s ouster also follows numerous shows that received harsh blowback from critics, including his decision to publish previously unaired footage of the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill protests. Jan. 6 provocateur Ray Epps has hinted that he plans on suing Carlson for implicating Epps as a federal asset.
Conservatives have speculated that Fox News caved to pressure campaigns from advertisers and activists who sought to undermine Carlson for his reporting. Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Glenn Greenwald noted all the times Carlson has opposed the deep state, even when doing so was unpopular with establishment Republicans and media.
Tucker was the cable host who most:
* Opposed US proxy war in Ukraine;
* Denounced CIA, FBI and DHS for its systemic lies and corruption;
* Devoted himself to a pardon for Julian Assange;
* Objected to regime change efforts in Cuba;
* Criticized Trump Admin's militarism. pic.twitter.com/PEduNzOyW6
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) April 24, 2023
Still others speculated that Carlson might be prepping for a move into politics.
“What are the chances Tucker runs for president?” asked Chronicles magazine editor Pedro Gonzales.
What are the chances Tucker runs for president👀
— Pedro L. Gonzalez (@emeriticus) April 24, 2023
Immediately following his final broadcast on Friday, Carlson made an appearance at the Heritage Foundation’s 50th anniversary gala—an event at which Floriday Gov. Ron DeSantis had spoken earlier in the day. DeSantis is widely expected to announce his candidacy in early May.
During the discovery phase of the recently settled court case, text messages came to light revealing that Carlson, who had staunchly defended Trump on air, had sent text messages expressing his disdain for the former president, who is the current presidential frontronner for the 2024 GOP nomination.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
