USA Politics

Rubio whining that China took all of their jobs (1:10) and that US won't be able to impose sanctions in 5 years from now 2:36.
This is hilarious. Nobody forced business to go to China 20 years back and it was not from their good soul either. Purely to maximise profit. As of sanctions, he's obviously living in his own world not realising that speaking those things publicly he scares the shit out of all the Saudis, Chinese, Brazilians etc etc of this World who fear they could be next and try to escape from dollar.
As a matter of fact, even an ally should be worried by hearing that. Well guess what: Some do. Check what Macron during his visit in China (again with Rubio whining at 1:06)


 
Tucker was the biggest ratings draw for Fox and possibly the biggest prime time show of all the news networks. This is the biggest American cable news story in decades and as far as ramifications it’s the biggest political event in the US since RBG died. It sounds silly, but Fox is a major influence on the Republican primary voters and this seems like a clear signal that Trump and the voting fraud nonsense is way too expensive for them to get behind. The next host may not be pushing conspiracy theories about election fraud as much and may be friendlier to a Trump alternative. Having Tucker around was going to be a big asset for Trump in the primary. On a global scale, Tucker has done great work toward eroding support for Ukraine among Americans. This could have seismic implications depending on what direction the network takes from here. Also very possible there are more firings to come.
 
Here’s an unrelated article with stats that I think could become relevant depending on how things unfold at Fox:
fivethirtyeight.com

Trump Is Racking Up Endorsements In Florida. Should DeSantis Be Worried?

The first one came all the way back in November. The second was on March 20. Then there were a couple more in the first two weeks of April. Then, last week, it …
fivethirtyeight.com fivethirtyeight.com

I am almost willing to bet that DeSantis won’t even run. His campaign is already DOA and it’s a really bad sign that members of his own state legislature prefer Trump. Trump is starting to look increasingly inevitable.

That prime time slot Tucker is leaving creates an opening for a host who will throw support behind a Trump alternative. If DeSantis isn’t viable, Fox has enough influence to direct voters who are curious about someone else. I’m not saying there will be a tack to the center, Brian Kemp is a possibility and he’s as conservative as it gets. I don’t expect Fox to become any less of a far right megaphone, this is purely about Trump.
 
Have to wonder about the reasons for Carlson's exit.
  • Was it an undisclosed term of the Dominion settlement?
  • Was there some as-yet unpublicized scandal with Carlson, and this just presented an opportunity to end the relationship without drawing attention to the real issue?
  • Was it due to Carlson's publicized texts where he clearly demonstrated that he loathes Trump, so he could no longer be a credible pro-Trump mouthpiece for Fox?
  • Was it due to Fox wanting to install someone new to promote Trump alternatives, as @Mosh suggests?
  • Did Carlson choose to leave of his own accord, deciding Fox News is so stained by this scandal that he hopes he can parlay his #1 cable news rating status into something high-paying and less toxic?
Carlson was a douche on Crossfire and a flaming turdbag on Fox; but in between, his short-lived MSNBC show was actually a thoughtful and interesting watch (with permanent panel members Rachel Maddow and libertarian Jay Severin), so it seems like he's not particularly ideological and just adjusts his persona depending on the situation. Maybe he saw this as an opportunity to rehabilitate his image?
 
Jer said:
Was it an undisclosed term of the Dominion settlement?
Click to expand...

This seems most reasonable but then why now?

Jer said:
Was there some as-yet unpublicized scandal with Carlson, and this just presented an opportunity to end the relationship without drawing attention to the real issue?
Click to expand...

Unlikely but you never know.

Jer said:
Was it due to Carlson's publicized texts where he clearly demonstrated that he loathes Trump, so he could no longer be a credible pro-Trump mouthpiece for Fox?
Click to expand...

Wow. Unbelievable. Plus it makes me wonder if he loathes Trump who does he like? Do you have any link for that?

Jer said:
Was it due to Fox wanting to install someone new to promote Trump alternatives, as @Mosh suggests?
Click to expand...

Ultra likely. My take it is that the No. 1 reason Carlson’s leaving is Ukraine. The stakes are high so Murdoch received an immense pressure to support someone else that will go along with current flow.
Many conservatives seem to like DeSantis but I’m of the same idea as Mosh that he won’t even run in the end.

Jer said:
Did Carlson choose to leave of his own accord, deciding Fox News is so stained by this scandal that he hopes he can parlay his #1 cable news rating status into something high-paying and less toxic?
Click to expand...

I wouldn’t rule that out. I think at this point he could be successful anywhere without being too bonded to Trump in cases he truly loathes him.
 
____no5 said:
This seems most reasonable but then why now?
Click to expand...
The settlement was just agreed to last week, and Tucker’s last day of work was last Friday. It lines up.

____no5 said:
Wow. Unbelievable. Plus it makes me wonder if he loathes Trump who does he like? Do you have any link for that?
Click to expand...
www.cbsnews.com

New documents show Tucker Carlson texted colleague he hates Trump "passionately"

Two days before the January 6 attack, Tucker Carlson wrote in a text message that he hated Donald Trump "passionately," according to the newly released court documents.
www.cbsnews.com www.cbsnews.com
www.mediaite.com

‘That C*nt. I Hope She’s Punished’: New Texts Show Tucker Carlson Fumed About Trump Team’s Stolen Election Claims

Newly released messages show the extent to which Fox News host Tucker Carlson fumed about the claims being made by Trump's team about the election.
www.mediaite.com www.mediaite.com
www.nbcnews.com

Here’s what Fox News was hiding in its Dominion lawsuit redactions

Emails after the 2020 election show Fox's own "Brain Room" concluding the voting myths about Dominion were false, according to previously redacted slides released Wednesday.
www.nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com
That’s just from a quick search. The full dump of damning texts and emails from all the Fox hosts is floating around out there in public court records if you look hard enough.
 
@Jer
What about this? Carlson's fired (also) because he gave a platform to the most (sort of) anti-establishment Democrat there is now. From the little I watched, I don't expect he will get much airtime if not character assassination.

 
Yes. This is right angle if Kennedy was a normal candidate. But he isn’t.

It’s deeper than that. A Trump -Kennedy battle would be terrible for the establishment because both of them have unconventional stances and they seem able to deliver at least a bare minimum to their audiences.

Both candidates would be a risk for the interests of military industrial complex & big pharma. Even maybe energy sector considering what Trump hinted for Nordstream & Kennedy’s record on that matter. Plus whatever Kennedy says about socialism for the rich are quite radical for a candidate who is not Sanders.

And frankly, Bernie no matter his internal policies would go along with Ukraine whereas Kennedy’s voice is surprisingly critical. And his son having served in Kharkiv give him an immense credibility.

For all the above I believe that him giving national -wide platform and respect would have been -if not the main reason- at least the last straw.

EDIT: Fact checked and deleted.
 
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____no5 said:
For all the above I believe that him giving national -wide platform and respect would have been -if not the main reason- at least the last straw.
Click to expand...
Except Brian Kilmeade just used Tucker Carlson’s old time slot to interview Marianne Williamson, another candidate with unusual ideas who is also running for the Democratic nomination.

Fox wants to sell a narrative of dissent and nuttiness within the Democratic Party to its viewer base. They amplify fringe figures as part of this whether Tucker’s there or not.
 
More likely is the prospect of further lawsuits which involves either primarily Tucker, or Tucker by extention (like the upcoming smartmatic latsuit). They got rid of O'Reilly with zero sentimentality to avoid (?) a lawsuit regarding sexual harassment by him towards female coworkers.
 
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The “gotcha” moment where he mistakes Carroll for his wife should make this an open/shut case considering his entire defense is resting on her not being his type. We’ll see.
 
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I tried to watch the Trump town hall tonight, I really did. I lasted about 40 minutes before I felt so thoroughly exhausted by his constant whining and lying that I just couldn’t take it anymore. He’s still clinging to the 2020 election lies, he’s mocking the woman who he was just found liable for sexually assaulting and defaming, he’s recommending that the U.S. government default on its debt if McCarthy can’t get 100% of what he wants, he’s promising to pardon the vast majority of the Jan 6 rioters, and apparently he can’t decide who should win the Ukraine war.

I continue to be astonished that anyone who doesn’t already own a MAGA hat would ever consider voting for this guy again.
 
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