Credit: Vanity Fair
Oh boy, now that Megyn Kelly has left the FOX News Channel, some of her former colleagues are letting their real feelings known. Last night, Geraldo Rivera was a guest on “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” the new hit show that replaced “The Kelly File,” and has its ratings going through the roof. Data from Nielsen showed that the audience is loving the program, which airs in the 9 p.m. time slot. Since Kelly bid adieu, there has been a 10% increase in eyeballs.
Carlson, who has been feuding and mocking many of his high-profile guests, had a funny segment with Rivera called “The Friend Zone” where Kelly’s name came up out of the blue. Mr. Carlson asked Rivera if famous people like himself and President-elect Donald Trump were friends and did they sometimes hang out at parties?
It is not known why, but Rivera decided to pivot to Megyn Kelly instead. Rivera said that Trump had managed to get him on television more often than Kelly did.
Rivera said: “I don’t know if that’s true. But I will tell you this; Donald Trump put me on television a lot more than Megyn Kelly ever did.” Carlson replied by: “I’m not getting involved in that! I’m everyone’s friend here.”
Many saw the shot at Kelly as a way for Rivera to lash out of anger or even jealousy after losing his gig on “The Five” now that Bob Beckel has returned. Rivera’s career was launched in 1970 as a journalist for “Eyewitness News,” and he was considered a prominent reporter who could have earned major gigs like Wolf Blitzer and Brian Williams.
Rivera, who once was a war correspondent and covered the War in Afghanistan, is now a part-time commentator on Fox News. Meanwhile, Kelly is one of the highest-paid television personalities and will be leading three programs on the Peacock Network.
Mrs. Kelly is known to be a fighter, so when her show starts on NBC, expect her to take a subtle swipe at Rivera for going after her.
