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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
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Arwa Mahdawi

So Tucker Carlson secretly hates Donald Trump … is anybody surprised?

Tucker Carlson,President Donald Trump<br>Tucker Carlson, left, and former President Donald Trump, talk while watching golfers on the 16th tee during the final round of the LIV Golf Invitational at Trump National in Bedminster, N.J., July 31, 2022. A defamation lawsuit against Fox News is revealing blunt behind-the-scenes opinions by its top figures about Donald Trump, including a Tucker Carlson text message where he said “I hate him passionately.” Carlson's private conversation was revealed in court papers at virtually the same time as the former president was hailing the Fox News host on social media for a “great job” for using U.S. Capitol security video to produce a false narrative of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
‘The increase in political tribalism means that hypocrisy is more rampant and more easily forgiven.’ Photograph: Seth Wenig/AP

“I hate him passionately.”

Thanks to new court filings in a $1.6bn defamation lawsuit against Fox News we now know exactly how the network’s star host, Tucker Carlson, really feels about Donald Trump. Two days before the insurrection at the Capitol, around the same time that Carlson was publicly singing Trump’s praises to his audience of millions, he was also sending private texts to members of his staff about how much despised the guy. It’s almost like Carlson doesn’t believe a single word he says on TV.

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