Editor’s Note: That “sensitive” topic apparently did not include how they managed to complete basic training as invertebrates.
Anonymous “senior” Pentagon officials trashed Tucker Carlson beneath a blanket of anonymity Politico freely “granted” Tuesday to discuss a “politically sensitive topic.”
“We’re a better country without him bagging on our military every night in front of hundreds of thousands of people,” one anonymous Pentagon official said, according to Politico. (RELATED: ‘Truly Crazy’: Tucker Carlson Breaks Down Where Ukraine Aid Could Have Gone In America)
Fox News announced the departure of Carlson, a co-founder of the Daily Caller News Foundation, from the network Monday morning, saying they had “agreed to part ways.” The network will use rotating hosts to anchor news coverage at the 8 p.m. time slot where “Tucker Carlson Tonight” previously aired, host Harris Faulkner said.
Aerial photo of the Pentagon in Arlington, Virgina on September 26, 2003. (Photo by Andy Dunaway/USAF via Getty Images)
“Good riddance,” another anonymous official said, according to Politico, which noted that Carlson’s views were appealing to rank-and-file military personnel.
Carlson had criticized the Biden administration over aid to Ukraine and claimed the Pentagon under Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was “making a mockery” of the military by adopting maternity flight suits and changing hairstyle regulations, which led then-Pentagon press secretary John Kirby to criticize Carlson.
Army Maj. Gen. Patrick Donahoe, who clashed with Carlson online following the former Fox News host’s criticism of the flight suits, tweeted, “I have thoughts.”
Fox News settled a lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million less than a week before Carlson’s exit, averting a trial that could have seen Carlson and other network personalities forced to testify.
“Ha! I’m sure,” Carlson told Politico in response to the criticism from the anonymous officials.
NewsNation solutions reporter Zaid Jilani criticized Politico for granting the officials anonymity to bash Carlson after his departure.
“You can debate the merits of any of Tuckers criticisms but isn’t it weird the military goes to Politico to cheer on a journalist no longer having a TV show to scrutinize them?” Jilani tweeted. “Free press and all that?”
You can debate the merits of any of Tuckers criticisms but isn’t it weird the military goes to Politico to cheer on a journalist no longer having a TV show to scrutinize them? Free press and all that? https://t.co/Jto2W6ev6J
— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) April 26, 2023
“The military intimidates electeds and the press in countries like Egypt, blurring the line here isn’t great,” Jilani added in a follow-on post.
Townhall.com columnist Kurt Schlichter, a retired Army colonel, took his own shot at the anonymous Pentagon commenters.
“Well @ZaidJilani, you have to understand for these losers, this is the closest thing to winning a war any of them have experienced in their careers,” Schlichter tweeted. “What a freaking disgrace.”
The Department of Defense and Carlson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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