Tucker Carlson shared his delight after Fox News contributors Jonah Golberg and Stephen Hayes quit the network over its controversial Capitol riot series, according to a report.
The Fox News talisman said it was "great news" the pair had left their positions as paid contributors after "Patriot Purge" aired as part of the Tucker Carlson Originals series on Fox Nation, according to the New York Times.
In a telephone interview with the publication on Sunday, Carlson added: "Our viewers will be grateful."
Goldberg and Hayes confirmed in a Sunday post on their conservative online magazine, The Dispatch, that they had left Fox News over "irresponsible" voices at the network.
In a joint statement, the pair said: "Fox News still does real reporting, and there are still responsible conservatives providing valuable opinion and analysis. But the voices of the responsible are being drowned out by the irresponsible.
"A case in point: Patriot Purge, a three-part series hosted by Tucker Carlson. The special, which ran on Fox's subscription streaming service earlier this month and was promoted on Fox News, is presented in the style of an expose, a hard-hitting piece of investigative journalism.
"In reality, it is a collection of incoherent conspiracy-mongering, riddled with factual inaccuracies, half-truths, deceptive imagery and damning omissions."
Goldberg and Hayes then drew a distinction between what they saw as two sides of Fox News, one opinion and the other news, an aspect which they praised for doing "what it is supposed to do."
They added: "Over the past five years, some of Fox's top opinion hosts amplified the false claims and bizarre narratives of Donald Trump or offered up their own in his service.
"In this sense, the release of Patriot Purge wasn't an isolated incident, it was merely the most egregious example of a longstanding trend."
Carlson has defended Patriot Purge following an avalanche of criticism over the trailer for the three-part series.
'True Story' Behind Capitol Riot
A promo for the program said it would provide the "true story" behind the riot carried out by supporters of former President Donald Trump.
Carlson had claimed that the FBI had a role in organizing the attack on the Capitol on January 6.
But critics said the show would only serve to promote "wild conspiracy theories" about the riot at the Capitol.
Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY), the Republican vice-chair of the House select committee investigating January 6, previously tweeted that Fox News had given Carlson "a platform to spread the same type of lies that provoked violence on January 6."
Carlson said in response: "This is not CNN. We work for Fox News. Our bosses don't pull people off the air just because some screechy little politician doesn't like what we say.
"Keep in mind that Liz Cheney has not even seen the film that she is so angry about—just the trailer."
Newsweek has contacted Fox News for comment.
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About the writer
Anders Anglesey is a U.S. News Reporter based in London, U.K., covering crime, politics, online extremism and trending stories. Anders ... Read more
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