There has been an emerging trend of ordinarily worshipful Fox News shills mustering up the gumption to be mildly critical of Donald Trump. This may be because the boorish behavior, jaw-dropping ignorance, and off-putting narcissism of Trump might finally be starting to produce the same sense of nausea in these otherwise devoted cult followers that the majority Americans feel. Or maybe they just see the writing on the impending indictments from special counsel Robert Mueller.

The latest apple to fall from the Trump tree is Tucker Carlson. This is significant because no one on Fox News is more supportive of Trump’s white nationalism and his hatred for non-European immigrants than Carlson. And Carlson is the favorite pundit of the neo-Nazi website, Daily Stormer. He has even ranted about his aversion to diversity in America and the need for leaders to “love the people you’re leading,” including the white supremacists. So it’s somewhat surprising to see him criticize Trump in an interview with a Swiss publication. As reported by the Washington Post:

“Carlson said he cannot stand Trump’s self-aggrandizement and boasting. Then, when asked whether Trump has kept his promises, the usually quick-witted and long-winded Carlson had just one word: ‘No.'”

“His chief promises were that he would build the wall, defund Planned Parenthood and repeal Obamacare, and he hasn’t done any of those things. […] He knows very little about the legislative process, hasn’t learned anything, hasn’t surrounded himself with people that can get it done, hasn’t done all the things you need to do, so it’s mostly his fault that he hasn’t achieved those things.”

It’s good to know that Carlson can’t stand Trump’s “self-aggrandizement and boasting” (as demonstrated this week following the Bush funeral). But it would more helpful if he said it on his primetime Fox News program than in a Swiss magazine that his viewers have never heard of and would never read. It’s also nice to see that Carlson recognizes that Trump is an idiot who can’t learn. So he might want to let his viewers know that.

Of course, the reasons for Carlson’s disappointment are that Trump hasn’t successfully implemented the campaign of right-wing bigotry and suppression of the poor that Carlson is hungering for. What Carlson really wants is a more competent leader to clamp down on the people that he doesn’t like who are ruining America for his elite class mates. The one saving grace of Trump’s presidency is that he’s too stupid to get much done. And that’s what’s irking Carlson.

It will be interesting to see if Trump responds to this display of disloyalty with an anti-Tucker tweetstorm. After all, Trump has been generous with his accolades for Carlson. He even tweeted a promotion for Carlson’s book (along with 30+ promotions for other rightist authors).

However, it will be difficult for Carlson to defend himself, at least on Twitter. A month ago Fox News began a self-imposed boycott of Twitter to protest the social media platform’s failure to punish some lefty activists who went after Carlson. But even after the offenders were booted off the site, Fox still hasn’t posted a tweet since then. And neither has Carlson. Resulting in a Twitterverse that is just a little bit more pleasant for everyone else.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.