New York (CNN Business) A version of this article first appeared in the "Reliable Sources" newsletter.

While some of his colleagues have downplayed coronavirus fears, Tucker Carlson over the last few weeks has taken a much different approach. And that approach was on full display Monday night when Carlson seemed to call out both President Donald Trump and some of his colleagues on Fox News — without naming them specifically — for dismissing what he told viewers is a "very serious problem."

"People you trust, people you probably voted for, have spent weeks minimizing what is clearly a very serious problem," Carlson said. "'It's just partisan politics,' they say. 'Calm down. In the end this was just like the flu and people die from that every year. Coronavirus will pass."

Carlson said people who make such arguments may have good intentions, but they're wrong. "They may not know any better," Carlson said. "Maybe they're just not paying attention, or maybe they believe they're serving some higher cause by shading reality. ... And there's an election coming up. Best not to say anything that might help the other side. We get it. But they're wrong" Carlson called it a "major event," stressing, "It's definitely not just the flu."

At one point in his monologue, it appeared as if Carlson were speaking directly to Trump. Carlson said the "surest sign of strength" is to "tell the truth" instead of just "assuring people that everything will be fine." Carlson added that "tax cuts and lower rates" probably won't revive an economy if factories, restaurants, and other areas of American life are "shut down to contain the virus."

Read More