Pentagon officials say 'we're a better country' now that Tucker Carlson is off the air

Officials at the Pentagon are cheering the departure from prime time of Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who frequently took aim at the US military over their diversity policies, war in Ukraine, and lack of accountability to the American public. 

"We’re a better country without him bagging on our military every night in front of hundreds of thousands of people," one senior Department of Defense official told Politico, speaking on conditions of anonymity.

"Good riddance," a second official said.

When asked by the outlet to respond to Pentagon officials’ cheers over his departure, Carlson told Politico by text message, "Ha! I’m sure."

The first senior DoD official said Carlson "made a mockery" of the free press and "repeatedly cherry-picked department policies and used them to destroy DoD as an institution." 

Carlson frequently took aim at military leadership on his show, including Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley. Carlson called for his firing after a direct order from Milley read, "If Donald Trump refuses to leave office, the United States Military must remove him by force and you must give that order."

Carlson slammed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for his 2021 comment that "white people are part of the problem." He spoke out against the firing of a Space Force commander who was let go after voicing concerns over Marxism and critical race theory in the US armed forces. Carlson also blasted the Pentagon’s use of an "inclusion board" to lower training standards, and to prioritize identity politics over military readiness.