Anti-Trump Republicans Say They Quit Fox News Over Tucker Carlson’s January 6 Content

Two longtime never-Trumpers say they quit their gigs as contributors to Fox News because of Tucker Carlson’s recent content about the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

On Sunday, the Steve Hayes and Jonah Goldberg announced their resignations from Fox, where they have worked since 2009. They said in a joint statement that Carlson’s recent “Patriot Purge” special, which aired earlier this month on the network’s streaming service, portrayed the January 6 riot as a deep state “false flag” operation that sought to justify the subsequent persecution of conservatives.

“Fox News still does real reporting, and there are still responsible conservatives providing valuable opinion and analysis. But the voices of the responsible are being drowned out by the irresponsible,” they wrote. “A case in point: Patriot Purge, a three-part series hosted by Tucker Carlson.”

We joined Fox News as contributors in early 2009. Combined, that’s more than 20 years of experience, relationships, and friendships. For most of that time, we were proud to be associated with the network, if not necessarily with every program, opinion, or scandal that aroused controversy. We believed, sincerely, that the country needed Fox News. Whether you call it liberal media bias or simply a form of groupthink around certain narratives, having a news network that brought different assumptions and asked different questions—while still providing real reporting and insightful conservative analysis and opinion—was good for the country and journalism.

Fox News still does real reporting, and there are still responsible conservatives providing valuable opinion and analysis. But the voices of the responsible are being drowned out by the irresponsible.

A case in point: Patriot Purge, a three-part series hosted by Tucker Carlson.

The special—which ran on Fox’s subscription streaming service earlier this month and was promoted on Fox News—is presented in the style of an exposé, a hard-hitting piece of investigative journalism. In reality, it is a collection of incoherent conspiracy-mongering, riddled with factual inaccuracies, half-truths, deceptive imagery, and damning omissions. And its message is clear: The U.S. government is targeting patriotic Americans in the same manner —and with the same tools—that it used to target al Qaeda.

“The domestic war on terror is here. It’s coming after half of the country,” says one protagonist. “The left is hunting the right, sticking them in Guantanamo Bay for American citizens—leaving them there to rot,” says another, over video of an individual in an orange jumpsuit being waterboarded.

This is not happening. And we think it’s dangerous to pretend

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