The Fox News producer responsible for setting up a chyron calling Joe Biden a “wedgling dictator” quit the network shortly after, Tucker Carlson said in his latest Twitter video.
Carlson didn’t name the producer, but The Daily Beast reported it was Alexander McCaskill, who had worked for a long time at Tucker Carlson tonight and continued on the network after Fox News pulled Carlson’s show. The Daily Beast cited sources and McCaskill’s Instagram feed, with a photo of him leaving Fox’s offices with a box and the message, “I asked them to let me go, and they finally did.”
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The chyron, which read “Aspiring dictator speaks in White House after arresting political rival,” appeared on air Tuesday night as Fox News aired Donald Trump’s post-impeachment speech and featured a split screen of Joe Biden speaking to a crowd on the White House Lawn. The chyron was only in place briefly before being removed, but was reported on social media.
The following day, the network released a statement saying, “The chyron was removed immediately and has been addressed.”
Carlson, who is embroiled in a legal battle with Fox News after his exit, made the incident a centerpiece of his Twitter show, which he launched last week.
He told viewers that after the chyron appeared and was quickly removed, “Inside Fox, the women running the network freaked out. They first scolded the producer who put the banner on the screen. Less than 24 hours later, he resigned. He had been at Fox for over a decade. He was considered one of the most competent people in the building. He offered to stay for the usual two weeks, but Fox told him to clear his office and leave immediately. Afterwards, the company released a public apology for the 27-second line from the “wannabe dictator.” The chyron was removed immediately, Fox’s public relations department said, then ominously added that it was “dealt with”.
Carlson then claimed that Fox’s assessment of Trump’s arrest “seemed to overshadow the arrest itself,” citing social media comments about the chyron by the likes of Alexander Vindman and John Cusack.
Fox News has not commented on Carlson’s remarks. Lawyers for the network recently sent him a cease and desist letter via his Twitter show, as Carlson’s contract with Fox News runs until the end of 2024. One of his lawyers accused the network for trying to “silence” him. Talent contracts usually include exclusivity clauses that prevent them from working for other outlets.
McCaskill was among those named in a lawsuit filed in New York last spring by another Tucker Carlson producer, Abby Grossberg, in which she described a culture of sexism and retaliation, among other allegations. Fox News had said the lawsuit was “tricked with false allegations.” CNN reported Thursday that a settlement of Grossberg’s claims is in the works.
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