'Panicked' Fox News ousts producer behind 'wannabe dictator' Biden chyron

16 June 2023

Longtime Fox News producer Alexander McCaskill has been ousted from the right-wing network, The Daily Beast reports.

On Tuesday, June 13, the former Tucker Carlson Tonight editor oversaw coverage of former President Donald Trump's first speech following his arraignment after "pleading 'not guilty' to 37 criminal courts in a federal courtroom in Miami," according to the report.

During the former president's speech, Fox News host Brian Kilmeade referred to Trump as "President of the United States."

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden gave a speech the same night as his immediate predecessor, which the conservative network also aired, along with a chyron, saying: "Wannabe Dictator Speaks At The White House After Having His Political Rival Arrested."

The producer's exit comes after the Fox released a statement saying, "The chyron was taken down immediately and was addressed."

Per The Daily Beast, McCaskill "parted ways with" the network Thursday, which led another recently ousted Fox News employee — Tucker Carlson — to respond via his Twitter video series.

"First they scolded the producer who put the banner on the screen," Carlson said. "Less than 24 hours after that, he resigned. He had been at Fox for more than a decade. He was considered one of the most capable people in the building. He offered to stay for the customary two weeks, but Fox told him to clear out his desk and leave immediately."

Furthermore, the former star host mocked Biden in defense of McCaskill, saying, "Of course Joe Biden's not a wannabe dictator. Just because he's trying to put the other candidate in prison for the rest of his life for a crime he himself committed doesn't mean he has a totalitarian impulse. That's absurd! It takes a lot more than jailing your political rivals to earn the title of 'wannabe dictator.'"

The Daily Beast reports:

Though his years of service earned McCaskill some kind words from Carlson, a lawsuit filed by his former colleague, Abby Grossberg, paints a different picture.

Grossberg, a former producer for Tucker Carlson Tonight who was fired by Fox in March, has alleged that there was a misogynistic culture at Carlson's show — naming McCaskill repeatedly as a ringleader among staff.

The Beast also notes that after the chyron ran, Carlson claimed "the women who run the network panicked."

Washington Post's Jeremy Barr responded the day following the incident, suggesting the "wannabe dictator" chyron was "startling even for the conservative network during its raucously opinionated prime-time hours."

Additionally, Democratic strategist and commentator Ameshia Cross tweeted, "The chyron is wrong. Offensive. A flat out lie. Trump literally led an attempted coup to overthrow the results of the 2020 election, he's taken a page from the dictator playbook in calling the press an 'enemy of the people.'"

The Daily Beast's full report is available at this link (subscription required).

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