Tucker Carlson is a very good liar. As the WASP racist he is, he really knows how to take the edge off, mask his racism with coded language. No wonder Fox pays him all that money: racism is their brand, and he's their best brand ambassador! So of course we knew there was nothing authentic in his little speech last night about Blake Neff, his white supremacist minion, resigning his job.
Carlson has long sneered at the implication that there’s anything racist about his show, with particular vitriol for those who point out the long track record of Caller staff hired under his tenure and later revealed to have white nationalist ties.
But as Washington Post media columnist Erik Wemple pointed out, CNN’s report “removed any plausible deniability” for Fox. “Of course Carlson wouldn’t cop to harboring racist thoughts,” Wemple wrote. “His innovation lies in finessing the hatred. … Thanks to Darcy’s exposé, the public can now view that mindset in its raw, repugnant format.”
Even before CNN’s report, major advertisers worried about being associated with Carlson’s commentary had already fled his program in droves, costing his network tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue. Its commercial blocks are a wasteland, propped up by network promos and public service announcements and spots for My Pillow, run by right-wing mogul and possible GOP candidate Mike Lindell.
Fox had to protect its brand from further damage, and so Neff took the fall.
And then he went fishing.
______________
