Politics
NEW: Tucker Carlson Takes The Gloves Off, Snaps Back At Longtime Fox Colleague
A brewing dispute between Tucker Carlson and his former Fox News colleague hit new heights over the weekend when he fired back in an interview, accusing his critic of being “terrible on TV.”
Carlson was talking about Mark Levin, the conservative legal scholar whose fiery takes on legal affairs frequently go viral on social media, and who in recent weeks has been critical of Carlson and other America First members of the MAGA coalition who are working to discourage President Donald Trump from embroiling the U.S. into the growing military confrontation between Israel and Iran.
“Levin’s the funniest because he’s terrible on TV,” Carlson told Steve Bannon in an interview. “I never had any problems with him at Fox, [but] he kind of trolls [Sean] Hannity in this weird way, I never understood what that was about. I never really cared.”
The dueling personalities at Fox News have been a source of consternation in recent years, especially following the #MeToo ouster of Roger Ailes and Bill O’Reilly and later the firing of Carlson in the wake of the Dominion lawsuit settlement.
“He’s screechy and he’s just not a calming presence,” Carlson went on, mocking Levin’s demeanor and describing how it has held him back at Fox despite the departure of high-profile anchors offering up slots for the first time in years.
“Unless you’re literally floating in and out of consciousness and the attendant has taken the remote to go have a cigarette, you’re flipping the channel,” he added.
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“It’s like listening to your ex-wife screaming about alimony payments,” Carlson laughed.
The dig is sure to provoke the wrath of Levin, one of the more forceful members of the Fox News franchise, who has promised that he will respond in kind to each salvo by Carlson.
He accused Carlson and other America First Trump supporters of antisemitism this month after referring to him as a “neoconservative” over his support for further Middle East engagement by the U.S.
“Levin won’t take your crap,” he said, referring to Carlson. “He doesn’t like bullies, I’m more than happy to engage with you.”
He also blamed Carlson for “constantly lobbying the White House” against war with Iran.
“I know who the leakers are,” he said on his show, adding, “it’s the isolationists who are doing it, it’s them, they’re doing it, they’re trying to undermine the president and what they’re actually doing, America, is they’re making his job 1,000 times more difficult.”
Steve Witkoff, an anti-war member of Trump’s inner circle and his envoy to the Mideast, is currently lobbying for peace, which Carlson said put him in the crosshairs of Levin. Before the first missiles hit Tehran, he was engaging with Iran’s leadership about a long-term agreement over the country’s nuclear program.
Witkoff’s alignment with Carlson has been too much for Levin.
“Do whatever you want, it’s perfectly fine by me. But don’t screw with me, you little bastard, by twisting my words,” Levin fired back at Carlson. “And you should have picked up the phone because I would have cleared things up for you.”
