A newly revealed text message published by The New York Times shows former Fox News host Tucker Carlson expressing white supremacy and describing a momentary thirst for violence to a producer on his now-canceled show.
The message was redacted in court filings as Fox faced a looming defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems over lies about the 2020 election told by Carlson and others on the air. The parties ultimately settled out of court.
The Times says the content of the text message, which has not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, was confirmed in interviews with several people close to Dominion’s lawsuit. A representative for Carlson told the Times that he had no comment; Carlson’s attorney and Fox News did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
The Times reported that in the text, sent the day after the Jan. 6 attack, Carlson described watching a video of at least three Trump supporters jumping an “Antifa kid,” saying he hoped they would kill the kid but bemoaning that “jumping a guy like that” is not “how white men fight.” Carlson went on to express regret for his momentary bloodlust.
Here’s the message in full, according to the Times:
A couple of weeks ago, I was watching video of people fighting on the street in Washington. A group of Trump guys surrounded an Antifa kid and started pounding the living shit out of him. It was three against one, at least. Jumping a guy like that is dishonorable obviously. It’s not how white men fight. Yet suddenly I found myself rooting for the mob against the man, hoping they’d hit him harder, kill him. I really wanted them to hurt the kid. I could taste it. Then somewhere deep in my brain, an alarm went off: this isn’t good for me. I’m becoming something I don’t want to be. The Antifa creep is a human being. Much as I despise what he says and does, much as I’m sure I’d hate him personally if I knew him, I shouldn’t gloat over his suffering. I…
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