Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson finally broke his silence, to some degree, regarding his sudden exit from Fox News earlier this year. 

According to The Epoch Times, Carlson laid out some of his thoughts on the shocking departure, which sent Fox News into a PR and ratings nightmare as longtime viewers revolted over the decision.

He seemed to hint that part of the issue involved the network's refusal to cover former President Donald Trump, and stated that he believes it's because those running the company aren't fans of the 45th president.

Carlson was joined by Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy, who made several comments regarding Carlson's moves since leaving Fox.

Carlson speaks out

The former Fox News primetime host, who was a ratings giant for the network, blamed his departure on the "small-minded" people running Fox News.

"The Murdochs never got in my way. They were always good to me," Carlson said. "It’s a company run by fearful women, you know what I mean?"

Carlson and Portnoy discussed the interview Carlson had with President Trump during one of the GOP primary debates, with Portnoy noting that it looked like perhaps Carlson was trying to "stick it" to Fox News.

Ep. 21 Dave Portnoy founded Barstool Sports and just completed the most impressive business transaction of our lifetime. He also just got into an epic fight and shared the video with us first. Watch. pic.twitter.com/W7AJ10kZni

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) August 31, 2023

"To me, the Trump interview seemed like something—it looked like you guys were sticking it to Fox," Portnoy said.

Carlson, smiling, replied, "I would never want to stick it to Fox," adding, "No, I'm not mad at Fox. I'm really not."

Not Carlson's decision

Carlson explained that the interview with Trump, which absolutely took a massive dent out of the GOP debate ratings, wasn't his decision.

"Well, it was the night of the debate, but the reason that it was, is because he didn't want to do the debate. I didn't make that decision for him," Carlson said.

The Epoch Times noted:

President Trump, who said he wouldn't attend the debate due to his high poll numbers and other reasons, "approached us and said, 'You know, I'm not gonna do the debate,' but if I'm being totally honest, I didn't really believe him," Mr. Carlson added. He noted that President Trump likely intentionally wanted the video released at the same time as the debate because the former president "doesn't like Fox."

Since leaving Fox News, Carlson's new show, which is available exclusively through X, formerly known as Twitter, has been nothing short of a roaring success.