-The saga of Tucker Carlson's messy and abrupt exit
from Fox News is still ongoing,
with yet more revelations and speculation
about what exactly led to his ouster.
The story is yet another example of just how weak and fractured
the already unpopular MAGA movement has become.
For more on this, it's time for "A Closer Look."
[ Theme music plays ]
[ Cheers and applause ]
After his abrupt and mysterious dismissal from Fox News,
Tucker Carlson posted what I guess was
some sort of proof-of-life video on Twitter last night...
[ Laughter ]
...filmed from what I can only assume is a secret lair
at the base of a volcano
or a fake doctor's office from a low-budget porno.
[ Laughter ]
Seriously, why are you zooming in from your sauna?
That place looks like the Unabomber's hideout
if he updated it and put it on Airbnb.
[ Laughter ]
I also love the carefully planted details
in the background, like the globe.
Ooh! Ooh! A globe on a shelf!
It's like we're supposed to think to ourselves,
"This mother[Bleep] is worldly!"
[ Laughter ]
Also, what is it with these right-wing weirdos
filming incredibly close-up videos
from their phony-looking home studios?
Trump does the same thing now with his stupid campaign videos.
You know, his Zach Galifianakis rip-off between two flags.
[ Laughter ]
Now, Tucker never addressed his ouster from Fox,
and most of what he said in the video is utterly meaningless.
But he did end on a somewhat unnerving note.
-When honest people say what's true,
calmly and without embarrassment,
they become powerful.
At the same time, the liars
who've been trying to silence them
shrink and they become weaker.
That's the iron law of the universe.
True things prevail.
Where can you still find Americans saying true things?
There aren't many places left, but there are some.
And that's enough.
As long as you can hear the words,
there is hope. See you soon.
-I'm impressed by the confidence of a man
who went from filming a top-rated TV show
in a flashy high-budget studio to posting Twitter videos
from what I can only assume is
an episode of "Tiny House Nation."
[ Laughter ]
He looks like he's auditioning to be the new chief
on "Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?"
[ Laughter ] "Hello, gumshoes.
Can you spot Carmen Sandiego in this peaceful protest?"
[ Laughter ]
Let's zoom in. There she is." [ Laughter ]
"Good work, gumshoes." [ Laughter ]
Also, it's very -- it's very chilling
when a figure as nefarious as Tucker
ends a self-taped video from an undisclosed location
with the words "See you soon" and then just disappears.
He should have pointed to the globe when he said that.
"See you soon, Jakarta." [ Laughter ]
That's how a jilted husband ends a voicemail
in a Lifetime movie. Next thing you know,
he's on your balcony in a thunderstorm,
staring at you through your window.
"Hello, darling, it's me. I told you I'd see you soon.
[ Laughing maniacally ]
[ Laughter ]
But that's ridiculous.
This isn't actually a Lifetime movie.
Tucker's never actually started out his show
with some sinister hypothetical like that.
-But, first tonight,
what if your next-door neighbor
suddenly went dangerously insane
and started holding people hostage in his house?
Would you consider that threatening?
Would you even notice it?
-Jesus! [ Laughter ]
That's how you start the show?! [ Laughter ]
How about a little ramp-up, a couple jokes, or something?
He might as well have said, "Good evening.
Look out behind you. He's got a knife!"
[ Laughter ]
Why is he talking about a hypothetical next-door neighbor
who suddenly goes insane?
He sounds like he's pitching a dark reboot of "Seinfeld"
called "Breaking Kramer." [ Laughter ]
Of course, the difference is,
Kramer is not the one who knocks.
-Hey. -Hey.
[ Laughter ]
So, Sal wrote that "not the one who knocks" joke.
And I read it, and I didn't quite get it.
And he goes, "You can cut it if you want."
And I'm like, "If I cut it, how will you learn your lesson?"
[ Laughter ]
[ Cheers and applause ]
But... [ Laughter ]
By the way, if you're curious what --
It was the absence of a laugh. Did you notice that?
[ Laughter ]
By the way, if you're curious
what Tucker was actually talking about
in that deranged hypothetical, he was talking about Canada.
I swear I'm not making that up. Here, watch.
-Those are not theoretical questions.
Something very much like that just happened
in our national neighborhood. Canada...
-It's amazing that the list of Tucker Carlson's
imagined enemies now includes the entire nation of Canada.
And somehow that's not even the weirdest thing on it.
[ Laughter ]
Anyway, Tucker posted this weird little video
to, I guess, prove that he still exists
after the network he worked for
essentially disappeared him overnight.
So far, there's been a lot of speculation
over what exactly led to his exit,
but nothing concrete yet.
On the one hand, the "L.A. Times" reported
that Tucker was pushed out by Rupert Murdoch himself
and that Carlson's exit is related
to a discrimination lawsuit filed by Abby Grossberg,
a producer fired by the network last month.
Meanwhile, the "Wall Street Journal"
reported that Tucker Carlson's vulgar, offensive messages
about his colleagues helped seal his fate at Fox News.
And then "Vanity Fair" reported yet another, stranger theory
that Tucker Carlson's prayer talk
may have led to his Fox News ouster,
with one source saying, "That stuff freaks Rupert out."
And it wouldn't surprise me.
Rupert Murdoch definitely seems like the kind of guy who,
even if he did go to church, would play hardball
when the collection basket comes around.
"I'm not giving you [Bleep] a bloody cent
unless I get VIP access to Heaven."
"Look, we can't we can't --
We can't guarantee VIP access.
We can tell Saint Peter to expedite the entry process."
"Alright, alright, here's a dollar.
Hold on, I'm taking out 85 cents.
Don't move the basket, ya [Bleep]."
[ Laughter ]
By the way, it also wouldn't surprise me
if, when it comes to a guy like Tucker Carlson,
there was, you know, more than one reason
for getting [Bleep] canned.
Like, when they finally nabbed Jeffrey Dahmer,
they weren't like, "This is just for the last one."
And sure enough, last night,
"The New York Times" reported new information
that Fox News board members had discovered
even more vulgar text messages that were so bad
they felt they needed to sever ties with Tucker ASAP.
-Fox recently settled a defamation lawsuit
with Dominion Voting Systems for nearly $800 million
that alleged the network repeatedly lied
about debunked election-fraud claims.
Private texts and e-mails from Carlson
emerged during the lawsuit, including redacted messages
about Fox News executives.
-"The New York Times" reports Carlson's redacted text messages
were even worse than ones
which were revealed in those court filings.
And there was one message that was particularly offensive,
which added to the concern at the top of the company.
-Wow. So, Fox put up with his racism,
bigotry, harassment, and conspiracy theories for years.
But then they saw this one text message
and said, "We got to get this guy the [Bleep] outta here."
[ Laughter ]
I mean, what did that text message say?
"I'll tell you what -- that Joe Biden
makes some good points"? [ Laughter ]
If you zoom out from the specifics of the Tucker saga
for a second, there's a bigger story here.
The drama and infighting that's now consumed the GOP,
Fox News, and the MAGA movement is due in large part
to the fact that their political project
has been an abject failure. People don't want it.
They've lost in election after election after election,
and their tactics have caught up to them.
That's why they're trying to turn the page
and pivot to guys like Ron DeSantis.
But much like the rest of the MAGA crowd,
DeSantis is so weird and off-putting,
he's falling behind in the polls.
Even his speaking cadence is incredibly weird.
Just listen to him try to deliver a normal speech.
-Republicans need to shake the culture of losing
that has developed in recent years.
The time for excuses is over.
-What is up with this dude?
He sounds like he's starring in a middle-school production
of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat."
[ Stiffly ] Hello, my name is Joseph,
and this is my amazing new Dreamcoat.
It's just regular brown because Technicolor has a gay agenda."
[ Laughter ]
DeSantis is so awkward and uncharismatic,
he's somehow lagging behind an even more off-putting weirdo --
the GOP front-runner/ current criminal defendant,
Donald Trump, who, in addition to being under indictment,
Trump is also, as we've documented many times before,
a weird man. For example,
he was campaigning recently in Florida,
where he stopped at a pizza place
and offered his fans some pizza
in typically weird Trump fashion.
-[ Chanting ] Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump!
[ Indistinct shouting ]
-Jesus Christ. [ Laughter ]
In 40 years, the Republican Party
has gone from, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,"
to, "Does anyone want a piece I've eaten?"
[ Laughter ]
No wonder Tucker Carlson is hiding in a child's playhouse.
"Does anyone want a piece I've eaten?"
Do you mean like, you'll chew it up, digest it,
and then baby-bird it into their mouths?
"Would anyone like a soggy piece of pizza?
It's covered -- covered in my saliva
and has already been premasticated by yours truly.
Masticated. We love masticated, don't we?
It means "chewed," but it's a tricky word
because it sounds like the other one.
Masticated -- it sound --
You know the one I'm talking about, right?
The M-word. We call it the M-word
because we don't like to say it and we don't like to do it,
because if we do it, we go blind."
"And our you-know-whats, they..."
-Shrink and they become weaker.
[ Laughter ]
"My God, what is happening?
Hey!"
[ Laughter ]
That's our new -- I mean, our new slang
for a video clip that doesn't work is Kramered.
[ Laughter ]
Just like the Dominion settlement
or the elections of 2018, 2020, and 2022,
the saga of Tucker Carlson's fall from grace
is yet another example of what happens
when the right-wing echo chamber collides with reality.
It's a movement led by cruel, malicious bullies
who think they're untouchable
and who lie to their audience with contempt.
And now it's catching up to them.
Every time Trump and the MAGA crowd
think they've achieved peace within the Republican Party,
it turns out it's...
[ Laughter ]
This has been "A Closer Look."
[ Theme music plays ]
[ Cheers and applause ]