Tucker Carlson spiked an explosive interview in which he erupted in rage at a prominent Dutch historian, Mediaite reports. That interview was picked up by the news organization NowThis and it’s been retweeted nearly 20,000 times since it was posted on Twitter early Wednesday.
The footage shows Carlson and historian Rutger Bregman discussing topics that included the news network’s role in politics and whether tax rates for the wealthy should be increased, The Hill reports.
In the interview, Bregman, who attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, criticized Carlson, who doesn’t like it one bit”
“I went to Davos to speak truth to power,” Bregman said. “And I’m doing the exact same thing right now. You may not like it. But you’re a millionaire funded by billionaires and that’s the reason why you’re not talking about these issues.”
“But I am talking about these issues,” Carlson said rather weakly.
At that point, Bregman told the Fox News host that all he was really doing was jumping on the bandwagon and that his recent stances against “global elite” weren’t “very convincing.”
And that’s when the flames were turned up.
“Why don’t you go f*”k yourself,” Carlson declares, noting he tried to give Bregman a “fair hearing.”
“And I hope this gets picked up because you’re a moron,” Carlson said. “I tried to give you a hearing but you were too f*cking annoying.”
To which a smiling Bregman replied:
“You can’t handle the criticism, can you?”
Justin Wells senior executive producer for Tucker Carlson Tonight told The Hill last week that Fox News decided not to run the interview because Bregman embarked on a “calculated personal insult campaign.”
“Tucker is someone who appreciates many points of view,” Wells said. “Sadly, the guest turned an opportunity to have a substantive, informative discussion into an obviously calculated personal insult campaign. We were disappointed in the segment and respect our audience’s time too much to consider airing it.”
So NowThis took the next step, releasing the cell phone footage and audio of Bregman during the pre-recording session with Carlson. Bregman can be heard explaining that pundits on the news network rarely mention that the public supports higher taxes for the wealthy and that the channel’s on-air employees make substantial amounts of money.
Carlson grew increasingly angry as Bregman discussed his ideas on how tax systems could be made fairer. The historian spoke of “corruption,” of “people being bribed,” and singled out the Murdoch family for using the network to “scapegoat immigrants” rather than talking about tax avoidance. And Carlson grew even more agitated as he discussed the wealth of Carlson’s colleagues.
Afterward, Bregman took to Twitter to air his thoughts and credited noted philosopher Noam Chomsky who has vociferously shed light on this.
1/ Here’s the interview that @TuckerCarlson and Fox News didn’t want you to see. I chose to release it, because I think we should keep talking about the corrupting influence of money in politics. It also shows how angry elites can get if you do that. https://t.co/hs1474MJNM
— Rutger Bregman (@rcbregman) February 20, 2019
2/ I stand behind what I said, but there’s one thing I should have done better. When Carlson asked me how he’s being influenced by Big Business and tax-avoiding billionaires, I should have quoted Noam Chomsky.
— Rutger Bregman (@rcbregman) February 20, 2019
3/ Years ago, when he was asked a similar question, Chomsky replied: ‘I’m sure you believe everything you’re saying. But what I’m saying is that if you believe something different, you wouldn’t be sitting where you’re sitting.’
— Rutger Bregman (@rcbregman) February 20, 2019
Here’s the fiery exchange below.
Watch Fox News host Tucker Carlson call one of his guests a 'tiny brain…moron' during an interview. NowThis has obtained the full segment with historian Rutger Bregman that Fox News is refusing to air. pic.twitter.com/kERYPUaGLY
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) February 20, 2019
Featured Image Via Screenshot
