Despite Fox News supposedly “parting ways” with Tucker Carlson he’s still under contract with the network through the 2024 election.
And with the network’s executives seemingly content to pay his full $35 million salary each year to keep him sidelined, many have assumed the ruling class elites had succeeded in silencing him.
But now Tucker Carlson is reportedly planning a major second act that has Democrats and Fox News executives bracing for a showdown.
While Democrats and the media have danced on Tucker Carlson’s grave for weeks now, an important detail has been overlooked by many – Fox News never actually “fired” the host.
Instead, Fox Corporation Chairman Rupert Murdoch, and his son, Fox News Chairman Lachlan Murdoch, merely made the decision to take Carlson off air while continuing to keep him under a contract that runs through the 2024 election, meaning the most influential personality in traditional media could be kept off the air until at least January 2025.
“As of right now, the plan remains the same: pay out Carlson’s contract and keep him on the sidelines through the 2024 elections,” a Fox News source told Breitbart.
For his part, Carlson has retained a high-powered legal team with a reputation for being able to get their clients out of contracts with massive media conglomerates, like Fox, in order to free himself from what has turned into a situation where Fox News is essentially holding him hostage.
Of course, unlike most hostage situations, Carlson is being paid handsomely to sit at home – reportedly $35 million per year – but reports have indicated that he’s made it very clear that he would be willing to walk away from a significant portion of the nearly $70 million he’s reportedly still owed in order to play a role in 2024.
Axios even reported that the most watched primetime host in all of cable news and the richest man in the world, Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, had a conversation about working together, presumably on a deal to host his immensely popular show exclusively on Twitter.
Regardless of what Carlson’s long term future holds, what is clear is that his top priority appears to be ensuring he’s not sidelined for the 2024 election, and can be a factor in the process.
Now, according to a report from the Washington Post, Carlson has spoken with former President Donald Trump – who recently suggested he wouldn’t take part in Republican Primary debates as he believes he should just be given the nomination a third time – about hosting a forum for GOP presidential candidates outside the official Republican National Committee debates.
Obviously, such a forum would be something that the former President would certainly be interested in taking part in, as he’s recently decided to shun Fox News completely throughout his third White House run, choosing instead to take part in a CNN town hall – as if that will be a more fair playing field for him.
And for Carlson, hosting such a forum would be an incredible opportunity to undercut Fox News, and the RNC’s role in the Republican Presidential process, potentially revolutionizing the nominating process by going straight to the American people, and taking away much of the ruling class elites’ control over the Primary.
“He could go straight to the candidates, stream it live, invite the networks but maintain control over the process,” a source told the Washington Post of a potential Carlson-hosted GOP forum.
Carlson, of course, has plenty of experience going the independent media route, as he co-founded the Daily Caller in 2010 at the height of the Tea Party movement.
And according to the Daily Caller’s Vince Coglianese, who is also a longtime friend of the former Fox News host, it really doesn’t matter what route Carlson takes – either way, he’ll succeed.
“Tucker’s too gifted a writer and host not to put those talents to use every day,” Coglianese said. “I don’t know what format he’ll end up in, but I’m confident he’ll be a massive success, which will be good for the country. Anything that breaks the corporate stranglehold on our debates is a huge win.”
Taking the independent route, hosting his own show and Presidential debates, would certainly go a long way to breaking that corporate stranglehold on political debate.
Political Animal News will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
