Fox News announced on Monday that the network had “parted ways” with top-rated host Tucker Carlson and it ignited a firestorm on social media.

During a segment on “The Five,” co-host Greg Gutfeld joked that Carlson will now run for president — and several of the hosts did not say a word.

Dana Perino took a sip of her drink, Jason Chaffetz laughed, and Jeanine Pirro immediately moved on and kicked the show over to a new segment on a different topic. It seemed as if no one wanted to talk about Carlson or the explosive news, which could suggest that on-air hosts may have been told to not discuss the situation.

But Gutfeld was not afraid to mention Carlson and appeared defiant.

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The conversation at the table began when they discussed President Joe Biden’s re-election prospects. Chaffetz predicted that even though Biden will likely announce re-election, he will ultimately not run. Biden did announce early on Tuesday morning that he is running for a second term.

“I think she actually might be a candidate,” Chaffetz said. “I don’t think Joe Biden – even though he may announce tomorrow – I don’t think by the time he gets to the end of the year he’s actually going to run.”

As the end of the segment neared, Gutfeld joked about Carlson by saying: “And then so in 2024, it’ll be Susan Rice versus Tucker Carlson.”

“Ok,” Pirro said before teasing the next segment and kicking the show to commercial.

WATCH:

Gutfeld Jokes Tucker Carlson Will Run for President After Getting Fired by Fox Newspic.twitter.com/CDcbMfpdZP

— Patriot Alerts (@alerts___) April 25, 2023

Soon after news of Carlson’s firing, reports shed light on who made the final decision to cut ties with the top host.

A new report reveals that Lachlan Murdoch, the chief executive of Fox Corporation, and Suzanne Scott, chief executive of Fox News Media, decided on Friday night to fire Carlson. Then, Scott informed Carlson on Monday morning of the decision.

“The power that Mr. Carlson, 53, wielded outside Fox News could not insulate him from a growing list of troubles inside the network related to his conduct on and off the air, some of which had been grating on Mr. Murdoch and his father, Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of Fox Corporation, who co-founded the network in 1996, according to the two people with knowledge of the company’s decision,” the New York Times reported.

“The host, a polarizing and unpopular figure at the network outside of his own staff, was exposed as part of a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems as a bully who denigrated colleagues and sources, often in profane and sexist language and called for the firing of Fox journalists whose coverage he disliked. He has also drawn condemnation from the right and left for his role in fostering a revisionist account of the assault on the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021,” the outlet added.

The NYT report then suggests Carlson’s segment detailing the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was a “point of contention.”

“One early point of contention was Mr. Carlson’s 2021 documentary, ‘Patriot Purge,’ which advanced the conspiracy theory that the attack that day was a so-called false flag operation designed to discredit the former president and his political movement. Lachlan Murdoch was said to have been caught off guard by the program, which also led two conservative Fox News contributors to quit in protest, Jonah Goldberg and Stephen Hayes,” the NYT reported.

“In March, Mr. Carlson edited down tens of thousands of hours of footage from the attack given to him by Speaker Kevin McCarthy and used them to falsely portray the rioters as people Mr. Carlson called ‘mostly peaceful’ onlookers who had innocently ambled into the Capitol. The broadcast drew a rebuke from Senator Mitch McConnell, who is a friend of Rupert Murdoch’s and said Mr. Carlson had drawn ‘offensive and misleading conclusions,’” the outlet continued.

Lachlan Murdoch and Suzanne Scott Decided to Fire Tucker Carlson on Friday Nighthttps://t.co/moFMCXQm7z

— DragonFly (@dragonfly369hp) April 25, 2023

Fox News made headlines last week when it announced that host Dan Bongino had parted ways with the news network in what is a stunner to his fans and fans of the top-rated cable giant.

“Folks, regretfully, last week was my last show on Fox News on the Fox News Channel,” the host said on his podcast Thursday Variety reported. “It’s tough. It’s tough to say that. You know, I’ve been there doing hits and working there for ten years…so the show ending was tough. And I want you to know it’s not some big conspiracy. I promise you. There’s no acrimony. This wasn’t some WWE brawl that happened. We just couldn’t come to terms on an extension.”

“We thank Dan for his contributions and wish him success in his future endeavors,” the network said.

It said it will air ‘Lawrence Jones Cross Country” in place of Bongino’s show until the network announces a new schedule.