CNN
Right-wing extremist Tucker Carlson announced Tuesday that he will relaunch his program on Twitter, a platform he praised as the only remaining large free-speech platform in the world after Fox News fired him late last month.
Carlson made the announcement in a video posted to the social media website, which Elon Musk acquired last year. Twitter has devolved in recent months into a chaotic platform where the traditional press has come under assault from the billionaire.
“Speech is the fundamental pre-requisite for democracy. That’s why it was enshrined in the first of our Constitutional amendments,” Carlson said. “Amazingly, as of tonight, there are not that many platforms left that allow free speech. The last big one remaining … is Twitter, where we are now.”
Carlson demonized the news media in his announcement video, accusing journalists of often excluding facts that detract from their narratives. He did not mention Musk has censored speech on Twitter, including banning several prominent reporters from the website just last year.
Although Carlson did not directly address his abrupt firing from Fox News in the video, he strongly alluded to it.
“The best you can hope for in the news business at this point is the freedom to tell the fullest truth that you can. But there are always limits,” Carlson said. “And you know that if you bump up against those limits often enough, you will be fired for it. That’s not a guess, that’s guaranteed.”
The Wall Street Journal, which is controlled by Fox Corporation Chairman Rupert Murdoch, reported last month that Carlson’s contract with Fox News was worth about $20 million a year. The newspaper reported that Carlson was expected to be paid out in full.
