What would a new media empire built by Tucker Carlson and Elon Musk look like?
Well, we don’t know yet, but we are about to find out.
According to sources who spoke exclusively to Axios on Sunday, the former Fox News host and billionaire entrepreneur have had some discussions of late after Carlson was unceremoniously taken off the air by the network about two weeks ago.
And now, we know the subject matter behind those discussions: Bringing Tucker’s show to Twitter.
The former Fox News star made the announcement earlier Tuesday in a video posted to the platform.
“There aren’t many platforms left that allow free speech. The last big one remaining in the world is Twitter,” Carlson said in his short monologue – in which he took a shot at Fox, saying, “If you bump up against the limits [in the news business] you will be fired for it.”
“The rule of what you can’t say defines everything,” he said, adding, “You can’t have a free society if people aren’t allowed to say what they think is true… There aren’t many platforms left that allow free speech. The last big one… is Twitter, where we are now.”
“Twitter has long served as the place where our national conversation incubates and develops,” he continued, noting further that other networks are “thinly disguised propaganda outlets.”
“You see it on cable news, you talk about it on Twitter,” said Carlson. “The result may feel like a debate, but actually, the gatekeepers are still in charge. We think that’s a bad system. We know exactly how it works and we’re sick of it.”
WATCH:
We’re back. pic.twitter.com/sG5t9gr60O
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) May 9, 2023
Carlson remains under contract with Fox News until January 2025, and it’s not clear if putting a show on Twitter will violate it.
It’s also not clear if Musk is paying Carlson anything to carry the show, though he wouldn’t need a salary since he’s still getting paid by Fox.
That said, Carlson has retained high-powered Hollywood lawyer Bryan Freedman, who told Axios: “The idea that anyone is going to silence Tucker and prevent him from speaking to his audience is beyond preposterous.”
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