Tucker Carlson's Texts About Hating Trump Resurface After Interview

Tucker Carlson's text messages professing "passionate" hatred of former President Donald Trump have resurfaced following the airing of the Fox News host's latest interview with the former president.

Trump's appearance with Carlson, his first sit-down interview since being charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in Manhattan last week, aired on the Tuesday edition of Tucker Carlson Tonight.

While Carlson has consistently offered pro-Trump commentary on air, text messages released last month as part of Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News suggest that the host may have a much different view of Trump in private.

In text messages with producers on January 4, 2021, Carlson wrote that "there isn't really an upside to Trump" and suggested that Fox News employees were "all pretending we've got a lot to show for it, because admitting what a disaster it's been is too tough to digest."

"We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights," Carlson wrote in one message. "I truly can't wait."

"I hate him passionately," he added in another. "I blew up at [former Trump adviser] Peter Navarro today in frustration. I actually like Peter. But I can't handle much more of this."

A message Carlson sent on the day of the attack on the U.S. Capitol—January 6, 2021—described Trump as "a demonic force, a destroyer."

Carlson backpedaled in an interview with right-wing radio host Bo Snerdley weeks after the text messages were revealed, insisting, "I love Trump." He said that he was "enraged" that the messages were released and had fielded a phone call from a "wounded" Trump to explain himself.

"I said this to Trump when he called me, you know, all wounded about those texts," said Carlson. "That was a moment in time where I was absolutely infuriated ... and those were all grabbed completely illegitimately, in my opinion."

Carlson has continued to repeatedly praise Trump on his own show. While introducing his new interview on Tuesday, Carlson said that Trump was "moderate, sensible and wise" with views "more nuanced and sophisticated and pro-American than the moronic neocons currently in charge."

Despite Carlson having walked back the text messages, a multitude of reminders that the host had privately held hostile views toward Trump appeared on social media as his interview with the ex-president aired.

"Just in case Tucker forgets what he wrote about Trump and 1/6:," MSNBC host Katie Phang wrote while sharing to Twitter an image of some of Carlson's anti-Trump text messages.

"Tucker Carlson on Donald Trump: 'We think you'll find what he says moderate, sensible, and wise,'" tweeted the @AccountableGOP account. "Also Tucker Carlson: 'I hate him passionately.'"

"Tucker Carlson, who privately called Trump 'a demonic force, a destroyer,' and claimed to 'hate him passionately,' now says on Fox News: 'For a man who is caricatured as an extremist, we think you'll find what he has to say moderate, sensible and wise,'" Puck founding partner and senior correspondent Dylan Byers tweeted. "#FoxDominion"

"Remember Tucker hates Trump 'passionately,'" tweeted MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell. "But Tucker fears his audience, so Tucker publicly worships Trump. Trump knows Tucker said he hates him 'passionately' but Trump wants Tucker's audience. Hence, two men full of hate telling lies on TV."

"Perhaps Trump should ask Tucker precisely what he meant when he said, in reference to Trump, 'I hate him passionately," Christopher Orr, senior opinion editor for The New York Times, tweeted.

Highlights of Trump's interview with Carlson on Tuesday included the former president claiming that New York City Criminal Court workers "were crying" during his arraignment, and Trump giving unexpected praise to Chinese President Xi Jinping and Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom.

Newsweek has reached out via email to the office of Trump for comment.