'Toxic sludge': Paul Ryan torches Tucker Carlson when questioned about Fox News' election coverage

28 February 2023

Paul Ryan, the former House Speaker and current Fox News board member, offered critical remarks about the network's conservative primetime anchor Tucker Carlson when grilled during a recent interview.

Ryan's comments came during a discussion with columnist Charlie Sykes, who questioned Ryan about how much influence he has over the network's news coverage.

In an attempt to defend himself, Ryan addressed the concerns stemming from the latest developments reported on Dominion Voting Sytems' defamation lawsuit against Fox and its hosts.

One of the key points highlighted in Dominion court documents is that Fox News executives had also worried about the validity of former President Donald Trump's voter fraud claims and conspiracy theories.

Ryan was mentioned in the documents as well. Details indicate that he'd appealed to Fox News CEO Rupert Murdoch about the unfounded claims of voter fraud that could not be backed with substantial evidence. At that time, Ryan also suggested that the network "move on from Donald Trump and stop spouting election lies."

During the interview with Sykes, Ryan faced pressure about his professional relationship with the network.

"I think it's very important to have an institution like that. Do I disagree with Tucker on this stuff? Of course, I absolutely disagree with him. Different kinds of conservatives — I don't agree with that part," Ryan said.

Speaking to Ryan, Sykes went on to share details about an open letter titled, "Paul Ryan: It's Time for You to Stand Up to Fox." He summarized the letter by asking:

I said, look, at this particular moment, with Tucker Carlson spreading the Great Replacement theory about race, you know, some of the rawest racism we have in American culture. We had disinformation about the pandemic, we had an ongoing revision of January 6, actually undermining democracy. And I guess the point was, okay, I understand the need to have another point of view, but if you are on the board of directors of a company that is pumping toxic sludge, racism, disinformation, and attacks on democracy, if you don't stand up now, then when?

When questioned about his own level of responsibility, Ryan replied:

I want to make sure that we get through this moment and I think — this screed you just made on Fox — I think that was probably just Tucker. I can go four times as long about other stuff that I think are really good that are on there that are being advanced, and voices that are being heard on Fox News that are giving voice to what I would call proper conservatism properly understood. So it's a long process, a big institution, but I do want to make sure that we get the conservative movement in a good place in America again.

The former lawmaker's statement follows the release of details about the latest brief on Dominion's case.

“Dominion spends much of its introduction and facts section mischaracterizing the record and cherry-picking quotes that it strips of key context," the brief reads. "And it spills considerable ink on facts that are utterly irrelevant under black-letter principles of defamation law."

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