Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has weighed in on Tucker Carlson’s dismissal from Fox News, and the “Morning Joe” team on MSNBC was scratching their heads in worry, recalling Carlson’s habit of echoing some of the Russian government’s rhetoric.
“I heard that Tucker Carlson has left Fox News. It’s curious news,” Lavrov said during a speech at the United Nations on Tuesday. “Who does it concern? One can only guess, but clearly the wealth of ideas in the American information sector has suffered as a result.
The comment baffled the hosts of “Morning Joe” Wednesday.
“I cannot underline this enough. There was a host on an American network who relentlessly attacked the United States military and told millions of Americans that the United States military was going to bring helicopters that they used in the war in Afghanistan to the United States. States to kill Americans who voted for Donald Trump.” co-host Joe Scarborough said. “That was the dark overture — that with law enforcement officers from the FBI going after people who voted for Donald Trump were going to close the doors for Lavrov and the Russians couldn’t have had better, more propaganda points than a man who said ‘Why wouldn’t I support Vladimir Putin invading Ukraine?’
Vanity Fair special reporter Molly Jong-Faust joined the “Morning Joe” panel, noting that “there were times where Tucker Carlson was saying what you were seeing on Russian TV.”
“I would say if you’re an American cable news host, you want to live your life so that Sergei Lavrov isn’t upset when you’re fired and doesn’t bring it up in conversation,” she said. “Obviously, Tucker Carlson is big for these guys, and that’s not a good sign.”
Scarborough pointed out how troubling it is that Fox News is owned by the same company that owns the Wall Street Journal, one of whose reporters is “rotting in a Russian prison right now.”
“Talk about a house divided against itself,” Scarborough continued. “I’m not exactly sure why he was fired, but he certainly wasn’t fired for saying things that played the right role in Russian television propaganda every night, he wasn’t fired for that. But your Pass is actually a Wall Street reporter rotting in prison right now, kidnapped by the same Russian government that Tucker Carlson was saying, “I have nothing against them. Why wouldn’t I for Vladimir Putin?” ?’ I think at one point he might have said he was cheering for Russia.
Co-host Jonathan Lemire said the Russians “clearly thought Tucker Carlson was useful” and “wanted to get out there spreading a message.”
“They were more than happy to amplify him on their airwaves and their state television had already offered him a job,” Lemire said.
According to the Los Angeles TimesThe decision to fire Carlson was made by Fox Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch and was related to a discrimination lawsuit filed by former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg.
In her lawsuit, in which she also accused the network of setting up the fallout in a defamation case against Dominion Voting Systems, Grossberg said that as a producer on Carlson’s show, she witnessed sexist jokes and host Maria Asked about Bartiromo’s sex. Life after Bartiromo moves on from the show in 2022. Grossberg also said that Carlson’s employees often made sexist and antisemitic jokes.
A person with knowledge of the matter told TheWrap that Carlson has “no clue” why she was fired from her top-rated Fox News show on Monday and suggested it had a lot to do with the Grossberg lawsuit Not there.
“She was in our office for several months. If [Carlson and Grossberg] Talked on the phone, I don’t remember it,” the person said. “If it was something new I would be shocked.”
The news of Carlson’s departure also came after the aftermath of a $787.5 million defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems, the parent company of Fox News.
Watch the full “Morning Joe” segment in the video above.
