WASHINGTON (TND) — Two weeks after being ousted from Fox News, Tucker Carlson announced Tuesday on social media that he will be relaunching “a new version” of his primetime show on Twitter.
In a video posted on Twitter Tuesday evening – captioned “We’re back” – Carlson promised followers that, “Starting soon, we’ll be bringing a new version of the show we’ve been doing for the last six and a half years to Twitter.”
The former Fox host – who grew his audience into the top ratings of primetime cable news – delivered the announcement at the end of a two-minute discussion about truth and manipulation in the media that reflected the kind of monologues he would give at the top of his program.
“Misleading” viewers and readers is what “the news media are doing,” Carlson claimed. “In every story that matters, every day of the week, every week of the year.”
“The best you can hope for in the news business at this point, is the freedom to tell the fullest truth that you can,” he added. “But there are always limits, and you know if you bump up against those limits often enough, you will be fired for it.”
Carlson pivoted from discussing the media to free speech itself, praising Twitter as the “only” platform “in the world” that allows free speech, leading into the formal announcement of the new version of “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on the platform.
His video was praised by one national government official, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who said in a tweet that she can't wait for his new show and "The truth will be unstoppable."
Carlson interviewed Twitter CEO Elon Musk, a self-declared ‘free speech maximalist’ who bought the platform in October, on his Fox program in mid-April and Axios reported Sunday that the two spoke about working together in the last several weeks.
While Musk has not reacted – at time of writing – to Carlson’s announcement, he did share a tweet earlier Tuesday in which a user argued how Twitter could “become the world’s number-one podcast platform in less than 90 days.” The Wall Street Journal suggested in April that Musk may be shaping Twitter to be its own media platform to compete alongside legacy platforms like radio, TV and newspapers.
Axios also reported Sunday that media platforms like Rumble and Newsmax reached out to Carlson about coming to work for them, for more money.
The announcement comes hours after Carlson’s lawyers sent a letter to Fox News accusing his former employer of fraud and breach of contract, according to new reporting by Axios Tuesday.
Specifically, the letter claims that due to breach of contract, Carlson is no longer bound by his non-compete clause with Fox, allowing him to set up his own program (or, if had chosen, to work for another company like Newsmax).
Fellow former Fox host Megyn Kelly shared the Axios article reporting the contents of Carlson’s lawyer’s letter in a tweet with the caption “PREACH.”
Axios further reported that, according to two sources familiar with the conversation, Carlson was told by a Fox board member that he was suddenly taken off the air as part of the network’s settlement over its defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems.The letter alleges that Fox broke promises to Carlson on this front, saying the network had assured him they would not settle with Dominion “in a way that would indicate wrongdoing” on his part; as well as to not take actions in the settlement that would harm his reputation.
A spokesperson for Fox News said it is “categorically” false that Carlson lost his job in the settlement while also pointing back to the statement announcing his departure from the network saying both sides “agreed to part ways” and that “We thank him for his service to the network.”
Carlson’s announcement was hailed by conservative commentators and influencers on Twitter, with some hoping the move would represent a shift in power away from traditional media and news platforms. Others praised the decisions made by Musk during his leadership that allowed for Twitter to become this new space for Carlson, and still others used the moment to express their dissatisfaction with Fox for letting him go.
He has not announced any specifics on when the show will launch.
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