Tucker Carlson, oh-so disappointed that Donald Trump didn’t crack down on the rioting protesters, pretended to want solidarity while calling black looters “predators” who will probably start “beating people to death in shopping malls.”
Carlson started off by fear mongering:
CARLSON: The nation went up in flames this weekend. No one in charge stood up to save America. Our leaders dithered. They cowered. They openly sided with the destroyers. In many cases, they egged them on.
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This is how nations collapse.
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So, this isn't over. It might simply be the beginning. We pray it isn't.
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The worst people in our society have taken control. They did nothing to build this country. Now, they are tearing it down. They are rushing us toward mass suicide.
Next, Carlson began his charade of wanting decency. It’s a masquerade we’re all too familiar with.
CARLSON: In the face of such indecency, we must resolve to be decent. We believe this country has a future. We intend for our children to live and thrive here. That is what we are defending.
All our leaders do is set us against each other. They stage a never-ending national cockfight for their profit and amusement.
But we're not going to play along. We will love our neighbors relentlessly in spite of all of it, not because they look like us or share our political views, but we love them because they are human beings and they are Americans.
Those are the bonds that tie us together. The bonds our leaders seek to destroy. We can't let them.
It wasn’t long before Carlson showed us how he really “loves” all Americans:
CARLSON: Some Democrats have openly embraced what is happening. Really they don't have much of a choice. These are their voters cleaning out the Rolex store. These riots effectively are the largest Joe Biden for President rally on record.
Then Carlson started another familiar charade: Feigning concern for racism while blatantly appealing to his white nationalist fans.
CARLSON: The first thing to know is that we can no longer accept race baiting from our leaders. Never. That has become so common now that we barely notice it, but it is dividing and destroying this country. We should make them stop.
Yesterday for example, Mayor Jenny Durkan of Seattle tweeted this and we're quoting, "I want to acknowledge that much of the violence and destruction both here in Seattle and across the country has been instigated and perpetrated by white men." Quote.
Is that factually true? Who knows? Who cares? The skin color of criminals is totally irrelevant to how we prosecute them for the crimes they commit. It must be irrelevant. Otherwise, we're committing the bigotry we claim to abhor.
Yet everywhere on television and social media, prominent people are now talking exactly like this. Not, just a few crackpots, thousands of people, well known people. They are amplifying race hatred at exactly the moment that we need at least at the moment when it's the most dangerous.
Nice sleight of hand there, Tucker, but we’re going to call you out on it, even if nobody else does.
Actually, the focus of the protests is police brutality toward African Americans. Carlson avoided the subject in order to smear Durkan and others who are listening to the protesters as “dangerously” “amplifying race hatred.” Yet he completely avoided what his colleague Chris Wallace noted, that young men of color are two and a half times more likely to die at the hands of police than white men, and that police use of force is the sixth leading cause of death for young men of color.
Carlson went on to attack Art Acevedo, the Cuba-born police chief of Houston, for saying, “We built this city” and “if you've got hate in your heart for people of color, get over it, because this city is a minority-majority city.”
CARLSON: Your obligation is not to consider your people, but all people and consider them equally. Period.
Art Acevedo is not even trying to do that. Imagine being arrested by this creep. Think you'd get a fair shake?
There's almost nothing that hurts America more than this. If you are worried about the rise of extremism here, and honestly, you should be worried. This kind of insanity is absolutely certain to cause it.
Carlson is full of crap here. He could care less about extremism or racism from whites. This is the guy who dismissed the El Paso shooter’s stated white nationalism by calling white supremacy "a hoax." He has supported racial profiling of blacks, along with his pal, noted bigot Katie Hopkins. In fact, there’s probably not a moment that Carlson doesn’t look for opportunities to race bait. Including this one, in which he dog whistled by fear mongering that black “predators” and a black “mob” are about to start “beating people to death in shopping malls.”
CARLSON: Enforcing the law is not white supremacy, insisting that everyone in the country follows the same rules is not racism. In fact, it's the answer to racism. It is equality, a quality under the law. It is the one thing we must defend and if we don't, it's over. Things fall apart.
Weakness invites aggression. That is true in nature and it's every bit as true in human society.
Our leaders are weak. Predators know it. That's why this is happening.
If you let people spray paint obscenities in City Hall, pretty soon they are overturning cop cars. If you put up with that, they'll come right to the front door of the police precinct and they will burn it down.
The next thing you know, they are beating people to death in shopping malls. And then what? What happens the next time the mob doesn't like something? What will the mob demand next?
Let's hope we never find out because we are close.
As I've previously said, I abhor violence of any kind. But Carlson conveniently ignored how African Americans might feel that they are being preyed upon. It’s not just George Floyd. It’s Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor and Christian Cooper and so many more. Not insignificantly, Carlson suggested that the George Floyd protests were worse than his death.
Until Carlson acknowledges that pain, instead of using it to appeal to his white nationalist fan base, his claim to care about race baiting is nothing but a despicable lie.
You can watch Carlson’s latest despicable rant below, from the June 1, 2020 Tucker Carlson Tonight.
If I recall correctly, about 25% of Americans polled were stubbornly all for Nixon until the very end, when alluvvasudden they weren’t. There was practically no transition. Trump’s weird stunts in front of religious backdrops (especially St. John’s) might be the turning point. Ben Sasse was practically the only GOPer to react against the use of the Bible as a prop, but I just saw Secretary Esper try to put some distance between himself and the President. Even though he was in that group foto during the Bible-waving stunt.
What has me a tad perplexed is …. where were Ivanka and Jared? I saw them at the start of that late afternoon stroll but not at the end.
For example, when I first tuned in Bill Hemmer had half the screen showing live shots of peaceful protests with the other half showing file footage of burning and looting as a clear dog whistle contrast. Hemmer turned it over to Neil Cavuto who immediately tossed his show over to an on-scene reporter in front of a looted business where she pointed out the protesters were so violent they ripped open metal grates. And on to more file footage of violence from there.
It must be noted all the file scenes of violence I saw feature blacks, mostly looters. No mention of the widely documented examples of white instigators being involved too.
So it’s no surprise Tucker here is following the same Trumpian script by opening with a law and order speech with a data-mined example of a local market getting looted. Notice all the subsequent video Tucker features here of people being viciously attacked feature (best I can tell) black attackers (except the guy with the American flag)? Ditto the looting.
Tucker, only focusing on the rioting, is unsurprisingly clueless about what the protesters want. Not a single video clip of peaceful protests where signs and chants might give him a clue. No interviews of peaceful protesters. Live Fox News coverage is devoid of protester interviews too. Live news is just Fox studio analysts applying predictably scripted spin. Some gasoline for that fire?
Tucker contradicts himself – huge surprise – by trashing protesters as being probably so social unaware they don’t even know who George Floyd is then later claims these politically unware looters are active politically voting for Democrats. Huh? Which is it? Clearly it’s partisan 💩. Though Tucker does curiously scold Republicans who dared denounce racism. Why not just wear a white hoodie, Tucker, and end any guessing?
But the most shocking bit Carlson saves for the end where he deliberately ignores the source of the protests, violent or otherwise: The repeated police brutality singling out blacks. Oh no, Tucker saves his outrage for Houston’s police chief who he claims his white nationalist viewers should fear arrest by. Yes, America, white MAGA is the real potential victim of police violence if you live in Houston. Seriously?
All of this Fox News law and order propaganda is a perfect advertisement for Trump to tear gas peaceful protesters before curfew to clear the way for his stroll to St. John’s Church. It’s also the perfect set-up for Trump’s let the military crack heads until the problem goes away solution. Sadly, the MAGAts I see on social media are all in on the Trumpian way.