Fox News host Tucker Carlson defends Chris Cuomo after CNN suspension: 'What a thing to be fired for'

On Tucker Carlson Tonight Tuesday, the Fox News host reacted to CNN announcing an indefinite suspension for prime-time anchor Chris Cuomo for helping his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, as he faced numerous sexual-harassment accusations leading to his resignation. And the point Carlson wanted to make was that family comes first.

“Helping his brother is not the worst thing Chris Cuomo ever did, in fact, it may have been the best thing he ever did,” Carlson said. “Not because Andrew Cuomo was a good person — he certainly wasn't a good person, Andrew Cuomo was loathsome — but Andrew Cuomo was Chris Cuomo's brother and that's what you do with brothers, even the loathsome ones. You help them when they need it. Period. It's called loyalty.”

Carlson, who spent a few minutes at the top of his show pointing out how frequently they have criticized and poked fun at Chris Cuomo over the years, made clear that his bigger issue on Tuesday was with CNN, specifically mentioning network president Jeff Zucker, calling this an “alien concept” to them.

“Is there a single person at CNN or any other left-wing network who would risk his job to help his own brother? No,” Carlson said, later adding. “So, when we tell you that the media are corrupt, we don't just mean they are corrupt politically, it is much deeper than that. They don't acknowledge the most important rules in life, your first obligation is to your family.”

Despite already admitting to helping his brother back in August, Chris Cuomo's suspension came after the New York Attorney General’s Office recently released documents showing that Chris was more deeply involved than previously known. As CNN noted in a statement to Yahoo, "When Chris admitted to us that he had offered advice to his brother's staff, he broke our rules and we acknowledged that publicly. But we also appreciated the unique position he was in and understood his need to put family first and job second," the spokesperson said. "However, these documents point to a greater level of involvement in his brother’s efforts than we previously knew. As a result, we have suspended Chris indefinitely, pending further evaluation."

Like most reputable news outlets, the network has very specific guidelines regarding employees' behavior, and Chris Cuomo's actions would have constituted a breach of basic journalistic ethics in virtually any major newsroom — something Carlson declined to acknowledge.

While Carlson called his rival an “illiterate buffoon” and speculated that he will probably never work in front of a camera again, Carlson just doesn’t like why it’s happening.

“Your most basic obligation is to the people you are related to. When they need your help, no matter who they are, even if you're the governor of a state, even if they're horrible people, you help them anyway because it's your family. Chris Cuomo may be an idiot and he is, but he understands that,” Carslon said. “What a thing to be fired for.”

Tucker Carlson Tonight airs weeknights at 8 p.m. on Fox News.

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