David Smith: Is Fox News finally falling out of love with Trump? It’s complicated

Court documents revealing the private views of Fox stars about the former US president suggest there's no love lost — but experts suggest each needs the other, writes DAVID SMITH

Fox News star Tucker Carlson with Donald Trump Jr and former US president Donald Trump in July 2022. One of Carlson's recently-released texts reads: 'We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I can’t wait ... I hate him passionately.' File picture: Seth Wenig/AP

“He’s a demonic force, a destroyer. But he’s not going to destroy us ... We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I can’t wait ... I hate him passionately.”

These were not the text messages of a liberal journalist whose spirit was crushed by the Donald Trump era. They were, according to US court papers, the words of Tucker Carlson, one of Trump’s biggest cheerleaders on the right-wing Fox News network.