Tucker Carlson used some comments from prominent Trump critics – none of whom advocated any violence – to repeatedly suggest that liberals are about to engage in physical harm against Trump and/or his supporters.
Temporarily putting aside his obsessive fear mongering about the dangers of people of color, Carlson focused on an article by Robert Reich calling for the annulment of Donald Trump’s presidency.
In his article, the labor secretary under Bill CLinton argues that the proper path to annulment would be to amend the U.S. Constitution. Reich never even come close to advocating for any kind of physical conflict.
Nor did former CIA Director John Brennan. He spoke about Donald Trump’s “treasonous” behavior with Bill Maher last week. The two agreed that the crisis the U.S. now faces is worse than the Great Depression but they also agreed that it’s not as bad as either the American Revolution or the U.S. Civil War. In fact, Brennan expressed concern that the divisiveness fomented by Trump might turn violent. That conversation was another basis for Carlson's incendiary claims.
Isn’t it funny how Carlson never seems to mind Trump’s explicitly violent rhetoric? Yet with his trademark furrowed brow, apparently designed to give viewers the impression he’s engaged in pure-hearted, serious-minded cogitation, Carlson announced: “The left is officially out of epithets. All that’s left is physical harm. Who’ll be the first to call for that?”
Later, with like-minded guest Mark Steyn, Carlson reiterated this baseless fear mongering:
CARLSON: So, if the supposed adults on the left – Reich and Brennan and many others are talking themselves into this frenzy, where each round becomes more extreme than the last, how long before someone convinces himself that we need to storm the White House, we need to take action, like physical action here? That’s the terminus of this, right? How could it not be?
What’s even worse is that this is not the first time Carlson has engaged in this kind of hideous rhetoric. Last month, he said, “The left has run out of possible verbal attacks on President Trump – there are none left – all that’s left is violence. … The left is recklessly egging it on.”
This is the kind of talk that could actually incite violence (think: Pizzagate). It’s almost as if Carlson is disappointed it hasn’t happened yet. I have not seen a single discussion in which Carlson made an effort to heal or resolve the divisions he warns of. Instead, his rhetoric is designed to further inflame them.
And Fox News gives Carlson a pass.
Watch this dangerous rhetoric, disguised as concern for the country, below, from the August 27, 2018 Tucker Carlson Tonight. Underneath is the discussion between Brennan and Maher, from the August 24, 2018 Real Time with Bill Maher.
No matter how outrageous Robert Reich is, he doesn’t speak for the entirety of “the left”. Worse, while I don’t agree with Reich’s editorial, Tucker leaves out important context to stir the pot. To listen to Tucker it sounds like a coup. What Reich really is talking about is annulling Trump’s presidency (removal from office, reversing his decisions in office) if and only if Mueller finds some slam-dunk evidence Trump colluded with the Russians to win the election. In other words, there would be slam-dunk evidence Trump’s presidency was an illegitimate fraud requiring his entire administration – vice president too – to be reversed.
If Tucker was a real journalist and not a hopeless demagogue he would have invited Reich on to discuss (without Tucker employing his usual debate tactics) the issue. The fact Tucker chose to invite like-minded Steyn to bobblehead in agreement with his demagoguery proves this is just propaganda.
Run out? Are you kidding me? We won’t run out until he starts acting like a decent human being – and I certainly don’t anticipate that happening anytime soon.
