On Fox News, Christians deserve full free speech. But, according to Tucker Carlson and his Fox friends, the same rights are not accorded to Hollywood stars who, gasp, have the audacity to make sardonic comments about Fox's newest deity, Donald Trump!
On Saturday's Fox & Friends, Clayton Morris reported that Donald Trump was Matt Damon's "target" during Damon's commencement address at MIT. Carlson wasted no time in attacking Damon: "So let's say you're graduating from MIT and you just spent four years studying electrical engineering and you're a legitimately smart person trying to make the world a better place [can't be said about the Fox friends] and for the commencement speech it's not Stephen Hawking but some pampered actor who lectures you about politics. That happened." (Carlson attended posh St. George's prep school and TrinityCollege in Connecticut. And he thinks Matt Damon is "pampered.")
Video of Damon's speech, during which he made some innocuous digs about Donald Trump and Wall Street bankers, was shown. It should be noted that the audience was quite amused by the comments. After Damon said that if justice comes in this life (to Wall Street bankers) "it will be in the form of Elizabeth Warren," the gang, collectively, gasped "wow."
Carlson didn't waste an opportunity to diss higher education which, for Fox News, is a bastion of evil liberalism: "Let's be honest, a lot of these schools are way less impressive than we pretend they are. Ew, MIT, Yale, they're so impressive, so smart." Sandra Smith noted that Damon dropped out of Harvard to pursue acting. Carlson whined that "it's just not impressive." He opined that "you can make a critique of Wall Street, but I don't think that was a smart critique." He claimed that Damon was selected because "he's famous and liberal."
In reality, Damon made just one general comment about Trump: "And if there are multiple simulations, how come we’re in the one where Donald Trump becomes the Republican nominee? Can we, like, transfer to a different one?" Fox must have seen a different speech because the banner, which provided the GREAT BIG FOX MESSAGE: "Slammed in Speech, Damon Hits Trump For Controversial Stances," told a different story.
Working in the requisite Fox attack on liberal Hollywood, Morris went on about how Hollywood "likes to woo" presidential candidates with fancy dinners. More messaging in the banner: "Blasting Bankers, Damon Accuses Wall Street Bankers of Fraud, Theft." Video was shown of oh, so posh Stuart Varney, on an earlier Fox & Friends segment, having a fit of vapors over a "lefty" being invited to MIT "to spout economic nonsense." Varney, of course, blamed - wait for it - Obama for economic problems.
Concluding the segment, Carlson expressed sympathy "for all these kids saddled with debt" over a "half rate education." Laughter ensued at Morris' suggestion that Damon should tell students to drop out of school, like Damon did, to avoid debt
When Carlson said that prestigious schools, like MIT, are "way less impressive than we pretend they are," he could have been describing Fox News - and himself! Can we talk overrated?
Personally, I’d prefer politics not be brought up at commencements. But the selective outrage from FOX hypocrites is just too much to bear. Especially when their snide remarks turn whiny like Tucker’s leading to broad smears far outside of any context. He’s venting like his hero Der Furor.