Ex-Foxer Abby Grossberg Reveals Tucker Carlson’s Stunning Plan To Make McCarthy Grovel on Live Hunger Games-Style Show

Fired Fox News producer Abby Grossberg revealed that fired Fox News host Tucker Carlson planned to have Kevin McCarthy “grovel” for the speakership and extract concessions from him in a live Hunger Games-style spectacle during the vote for speaker of the House.

Carlson was extremely vocal about his attempts to influence the outcome of McCarthy’s chaotic bid for the speaker’s gavel and very publicly got what he was trying to extract from McCarthy in order to attain the speakership.

But on Tuesday night’s edition of CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, Grossberg — a former producer and booker who is suing Fox News over her termination — revealed to host Anderson Cooper the stunning plan to have McCarthy beg for his political life as Carlson’s viewers watched:

COOPER: It’s also incredible, your descriptions of the — I don’t know if it’s he was always like this, or his ratings and power went to his head.

But, from what you say, he talks as if he was in the position to destroy campaigns and would actually threaten politicians: Like, if you don’t come on the show, we’re going to…

GROSSBERG: Yes.

COOPER: To some congressman: If you don’t come on the show, we’re going to destroy your campaign.

GROSSBERG: It was shocking to me.

His lieutenant, Justin Wells, who was fired along with him, I have messages I was just looking at today saying: We are the most powerful political platform in the Republican Party.

And they acted that way, especially leading up to the 2022 midterms. They would say there was — like Ron Johnson, for example, the office called me and said: He will come on the show, but are you going to destroy him? Because this will ruin his chances. It will be over for him.

COOPER: So the politicians were terrified of it?

GROSSBERG: Yes, they were.

And that was a power that I was terrified of too. I don’t think journalists should have that kind of power to threaten and bully people. And Tucker did, and reveled in it.

COOPER: He — he enjoyed that?

GROSSBERG: Oh, yes.

COOPER: I mean, that was part of his persona?

GROSSBERG: Yes.

I mean, they believed that he could broker who was speaker, House speaker. And he wanted to do that live on air. But Kevin McCarthy said no.

COOPER: What do you mean he wanted to do that live on air?

GROSSBERG: His plan was to have Kevin McCarthy come on the show, according to Justin Wells, revealed this grand plan to us.

Tucker, a few days earlier, had sort of set some terms for McCarthy, which included this Church kind of committee that he said about — I think — this was about January 5. So, about January 2, he said: You should have this Church Committee.

So, fast-forward to January 5. They start asking me to book McCarthy on the show that night. I had worked with him a lot when I was at “Sunday Morning Futures” and had a relationship with his team. That afternoon, Justin came in.

And he said: Here’s the plan. Tucker is going to first have Kevin on, hear him beg and grovel. Then we will bring in Matt Gaetz. And Matt Gaetz will then kind of set his terms. Then Tucker will set his terms that McCarthy has to agree to.

COOPER: Tucker Carlson had terms that McCarthy had to agree to?

GROSSBERG: Had terms. Yes, had terms.

COOPER: Wow.

GROSSBERG: And we’re going to make this whole thing happen on air and save the Republican Party.

Now, fortunately, for McCarthy’s sake, he said no. But he did call Tucker the next day from his office with Representative Thomas Massie and had agreed to some of Tucker’s terms, according to a text that Tucker had sent me. And he said that was a win.

Watch above via CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360.