One of the sources described Carlson as “angry” with network executives, particularly the PR team, “for not supporting him”.
“The tensions are sky high,” said the person.
Another source pointed out that Carlson “always had tensions with” management but said he was “extra pissed” at the moment.
Carlson has complained to colleagues and employees about the lack of support.
Two Fox News spokesmen did not respond to requests for comment over the weekend.
In a text to a CNN reporter on Sunday night, Carlson called the claim that he was angry with Fox executives “absurd”.
“I’m not mad at anyone at Fox,” he said. “If it were me, I would say that. I’m mad at you for lying relentlessly. What a disgusting person you are.
For the better part of two weeks, Carlson – the highest-rated presenter on Fox – has repeatedly claimed that the Biden government spied on him.
Fox specifically did not cover its claims on its newscasts, although such intrusion would normally be a major news story. Fox has also shown no external evidence to investigate Carlson’s claims.
Carlson originally attributed his information to a “whistleblower within the US government who wanted to warn us”. He said, “The NSA, the National Security Agency, is monitoring our electronic communications and planning to leak them to take this show off the air.”
However, Carlson, who has propounded conspiracy theories in the past, has provided no evidence to support his allegations.
The NSA even issued a statement, on a rare move, saying that Carlson was not the target of an investigation and the agency had no intention of blasting him.
A week later, Carlson claimed that Biden’s NSA had passed the contents of his emails to other media representatives. One of the banners on his show said, “NSA leaked Tucker’s emails to journalists.”
Ordinarily, a TV station would be quick to denounce something like this if it actually happened. But Fox News executives were noticeably silent during the back and forth.
Suzanne Scott, the network’s executive director, and Jay Wallace, the network’s president, have not made statements of public support for Carlson, nor have they condemned the NSA for the massive abuse of power Carlson claims.
Lachlan and Rupert Murdoch, who control Fox Corporation, have also remained silent on the matter.
When Axios reported that Carlson’s espionage allegations emerged after seeking an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin – which raised the likelihood that his emails were intercepted in the wake of US intelligence efforts – Fox made a vague and concise statement .
“We support any of our hosts who conduct interviews and stories without government interference,” an unnamed network spokesman told Axios.
One of the sources said Carlson saw this statement as totally inadequate.
Carlson’s show, on the other hand, works almost like its own planet, away from the scrutiny and oversight that goes with normal cable news broadcasts.
This could be why other Fox programs have largely avoided addressing Carlson’s allegations on the air – a sign that management doesn’t know if the allegations are legitimate.
Fox’s Maria Bartiromo, also known for promoting conspiracy thinking, is one of the exceptions – she has repeatedly brought up Carlson’s claims.
Saturday night presenter Jesse Watters also framed an entire segment about Carlson over the weekend – but he did it in the form of a question and asked: “Is Tucker Carlson being spied on by the Biden administration?”
