Veteran journalist Geraldo Rivera has called his former Fox News colleague Tucker Carlson "full of s***" for his stance on the Russia-Ukraine war.
Rivera took issue with Carlson and attacked his views on the war in a tweet on Friday. Both men departed Fox News this year, with Carlson being fired in April and Rivera announcing last week that he was quitting the network after being axed from his role as a co-host of The Five.
Carlson offered effusive praise for former President Donald Trump during an appearance on Russell Brand's Stay Free podcast earlier on Friday, reserving particular commendation for the former president's foreign policy and his beliefs on Ukraine.
"I"m struck by his foreign policy views," said Carlson. "Trump is the only person with stature in the Republican Party, really, who is saying, 'wait a second ... why are we supporting an endless war in Ukraine?'"
"I'm so grateful that he has the position," he continued. "He's right, and everyone in Washington is wrong ... Trump is right on that question ... He is saying true things about Ukraine and God bless him."
Rivera tweeted about Carlson a short time later, seemingly in response to the podcast interview. Rivera compared Carlson's views on Ukraine to his previous sympathetic statements about January 6 rioters, whom he has described as only "sightseers" at the Capitol.
"Due respect to Tucker Carlson, but he's as full of s*** about Ukraine as he was about January 6th," Rivera tweeted. "His smiley face doesn't change fact Russia invaded sovereign Ukraine; 1000's are dead, including women & children, the world order is assailed and Putin is a punk."
Trump, who has repeatedly claimed that he could end the Russia-Ukraine war in less than 24 hours of negotiation, offered reciprocal praise for Carlson in a Truth Social post while sharing a clip of his interview, adding that there were "so many lives wasted" due to the war and "so many lives to be saved!"
Rivera previously denounced Carlson over January 6 just after his firing, tweeting on April 26 that his former colleague's "perverse January 6 conspiracy theory was 'bulls***'" and that Trump "incited an insurrection that sought to undermine our Constitutional process" after losing the 2020 election.
While Carlson asserted his "love" for Trump during the interview on Friday, texts messages revealed as part of Dominion Voting Systems' lawsuit against Fox News revealed that the conservative pundit has held much different views in private.
In a text message to his producers on January 4, 2021, Carlson wrote that he "passionately" hated Trump, saying that "there isn't really an upside" to the former president and suggesting that Fox News employees were "all pretending we've got a lot to show for it, because admitting what a disaster it's been is too tough to digest."
Carlson backpedaled in an interview with right-wing radio host Bo Snerdley weeks after the text messages were revealed, insisting, "I love Trump." He said that he was "enraged" that the messages were released and had fielded a phone call from a "wounded" Trump to explain himself.
Newsweek has reached out to Carlson's attorney Bryan Freedman via email for comment.
