During an interview with Vanity Fair which was published Sunday, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow had praised the Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
In the new interview, Rachel Maddow has sparked a social media backlash after gushing praise for Tucker Carlson, with some claiming she was giving her liberal fans a “giant middle finger.”
“Tucker’s doing fantastic right now,” Maddow boasted in the interview.
Rachel Maddow, who reduced her nightly hosting spot on MSNBC to once per week recently, has been appearing on Tucker as a guest panelist. She started out in 2005 as a paid guest on “Tucker” when she began contributing regularly to Vanity Fair.
“The first program that I worked on was Tucker’s 11 p.m. show on MSNBC, which no one remembers,” Maddow said to the publication. “He has always been interested in the industry and has always been so talented. It is just that this turned out to really be his moment.”
The two have maintained a good relationship, with Carlson complimenting Maddow in a 2019 New York Times Magazine profile, according to Vanity Fair. After meeting at an event, Maddow remarked that it was “really great to see him again.”
Maddow had also explained to Vanity Fair that she viewed Tucker Carlson and other competition the same way that an athlete would view their rivals.
“Consider baseball players, who are fiercely competitive and are striving to win, and have rivalries with one another. That doesn’t negate the importance of studying their star pitcher’s pitching technique,” Maddow stated. “It does not mean you don’t appreciate it when a player puts their shortstop in a position to give them an even better defense. There is something to be said for, say, respecting the game, regardless of how well or how badly someone is doing it.”
Maddow has praised Carlson in the past as well, telling Salon in 2013 that she really wished him “all the best” as he was preparing to leave MSNBC for “Fox & Friends.”
“Tucker and I may not agree on much, but he’s always been nice to me and a fun adversary. I wish him the best of luck.”
