Monday on Fox News Channel’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” host Tucker Carlson elaborated on his earlier statement regarding comments he had made on a radio show between 2006 and 2011.

Carlson explained how the situation unfolded, what he perceived to be the motivations of those involved in the “unearthing” of the clips and vowed he would not “bow to the mob.”

He described Fox News Channel’s primetime line-up as one of the only places where “independent thoughts are allowed,” which Carlson said had drawn the ire of the left.

“For the left, it’s unacceptable. They demand total conformity. Since the day we went on the air, they’ve been working hard to kill this show. We haven’t said much about it in public. It seemed too self-referential. The point of the show has never been us. But now it’s obvious to everybody — there’s no pretending it’s not happening. It is happening. And so going forward, we’ll be covering their effort to make us be quiet.”

“For now, two points to leave you with. First, Fox News is behind us as they have been since the very first day. Toughness is a rare quality in a TV network, and we are grateful for that. Second, we’ve always apologized when we are wrong and will continue to do that. That’s what decent people do — they apologize. But we will never bow to the mob, ever. No matter what.”

Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor