Fox New fires staff for on-air chyron calling Biden 'Wannabe dictator'
3 Min Read
Fox News let a news producer go after he aired a message describing Biden as a 'Wannabe dictator' during live coverage of Trump's indictment.
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A chyron that refers to US President Joe Biden as a “wannabe dictator” during a Fox News broadcast covering former US President Donald Trump's indictment on Tuesday, June 13, 2023 (Screengrab)
A Fox News producer was let go earlier this week after he was held responsible by the outlet's management for airing a message describing US President Joe Biden as a "wannabe dictator" after the indictment of former President Donald Trump last week.
Alex McCaskill, Tucker Carlson's former producer, confirmed the news on his Instagram account, stating that, after 10 years of working for the American broadcaster, "The time has come. I asked them to let me go, and they finally did.”
Addressing McCaskill's dismissal, his former superior Carlson said that the decision was linked to the briefly displayed on-air banner “Wannabe dictator speaks at the White House after having his political rival arrested.”
Without mentioning the former Fox producer, Carlson said in his Twitter show that “those words were up for less than 30 seconds, but the effect was immediate,” adding that the message “panicked” the agency's executives.
McCaskill was "scolded" before being fired, Carlson said. Despite offering to stay for the “customary two weeks," the producer was asked to “clear out his desk and leave immediately,” Carlson stated during his latest Twitter episode.
In a statement, the news channel confirmed ousting the producer, saying that the chyron was “taken down immediately” and that the incident “was addressed,” without explaining how.
The "wannabe dictator" screen banner appeared on Tuesday during Fox's coverage of Trump's indictment.
Asked about the caption by reporters, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “There are probably about 787 million things that I could say about [the chyron] that was wrong… but I don’t think I’m going to get into it."
On April 25, Fox News announced that the network and its star primetime host Tucker Carlson have "agreed to part ways." Carlson worked for Fox News for over a decade and never got the chance to sign off to his viewers as his last show aired on Friday, April 21.
According to Fox News, the network had reached the decision to part ways with Carlson a few days after the network reached what was dubbed by Axios a "historic 11th-hour settlement with Dominion Voting Systems for over $787 million."
