In a classic case of projection, Tucker Carlson accused Democrats of “festering hatred” that has driven them “bananas” - as he ignored the facts and wrongly claimed they have been rooting for Donald Trump and Mike Pence to die, so that Speaker Nancy Pelosi becomes president.
On Friday night’s Tucker Carlson Tonight show, Carlson sneered, “There are some who are rooting for the president’s demise and the vice president’s demise so that Nancy Pelosi might become president. That sounds insane, and it is, but they put it on MSNBC anyway.”
His “proof” was a selectively edited clip of MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle asking Speaker Pelosi, earlier Friday, whether she has been contacted by the White House about “continuity of government” because Trump’s case of COVID-19 is “a very serious health threat” and, obviously, Pence’s health is a matter of concern, too.
In order to misrepresent and smear Democrats, Carlson conveniently overlooked the context of Ruhle’s question, which was about the White House incompetence on the pandemic. More importantly, he conveniently ignored how Pelosi mostly deflected on "continuity" and emphasized how “tragic” the situation is. This is the full exchange:
PELOSI: This is tragic. It’s very sad, but it also is something that, again, going into crowds unmasked and all the rest was sort of a brazen invitation for something like this to happen. Sad that it did, but nonetheless, hopeful that it will be a transition to a saner approach to what this virus is all about.
RUHLE: I want to talk about the Heroes bill in the moment, but this is a very serious health threat. You are second in line for the presidency. Has the White House contacted you about the continuity of government?
PELOSI: No, they haven’t, but that is an ongoing – not with the White House but with the military, quite frankly, in terms of the – or some officials in the government. But that – no, let us just all pray for the president’s health. Thank God the vice president has tested negatively and the second lady as well.
So, again, that continuity of government is always in place. I always say it’s a relic of the past, but nonetheless they say we have our job we have to do and this is what we’ll do. So, I wouldn't go so much to that, but I do – I do think that it’s really important for people to know that every infection is a sad one. The president of the United States, of course, but every single one. Now, we’ve gone over such a high number in our country of infections. Every one of them a sad occasion.
Carlson continued with his pernicious projection. He accused Democrats of “political opportunism” and “spiritual sickness.” He added, “Hatred, festering hatred has driven these people bananas truly.”
In his malicious zeal to demonize Democrats, Carlson also ignored former President Barack Obama, who tweeted a wish for Trump’s “speedy recovery. …we want everyone to be healthy, no matter our party.” Similar thoughts were expressed by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and a slew of other prominent Democrats.
So who’s the one truly driven bananas by festering hatred?
You can watch Carlson spew his poison below, from the October 2, 2020 Tucker Carlson Tonight, via Media Matters.
(Carlson image via screen grab)
We should note that any concern about Pence somehow being “worse” than Trump is a bit misplaced. We’ve noted for the past nearly 4 years that the actual decisions about policy have consistently been made by Mike Pence throughout this presidency. It’s the reason that people refer to this administration as the Pence White House. (And this was always the intention – given that the offer to any VP that took the offer from Trump Jr was to be able to set all the domestic and foreign policy while Trump himself would be free to be “out there making America great again”). Trump himself has done very little while in the White House other than act as a public face for the Far Right policies being pushed by the group around Pence. In that way, Trump has actually performed the role of Vice President while Pence has done the work of the presidency. Which is why Trump is more properly referred to as Pence’s childish spokesman.
The saddest part of the situation is that even as a spokesman, Trump has been unable to do more than make vicious statements that cater to the angriest partisans in the mob of bigots who support him. And by emboldening that crowd, Trump has fomented a wave of hatred across the country that has caused real damage. Further, by refusing to behave in any kind of a responsible way in the midst of a pandemic, Trump has contributed in a real way to the massive infection and death count in the United States from COVID.
This miserable epoch of our history will hopefully be brought to an end by the voters in less than one month.
I’m glad to hear that Pence and Harris will be seated 12 feet apart … with plexiglass between them.
Personally, I don’t want the President to die before January 20th 2021, being convinced that Pence is more dangerous (smarter, sneakier and even less dedicated to America’s values). A Trump demise might even trigger a big sympathy surge (which he would be thoroughly p… off to miss). To my mind, Pence and his supporters may be the ones wanting him to die so that they can use his memory it to improve GOP chances.
Should both Trump and Pence become too ill to govern, Pelosi’s “reign” would last less than three months. And I doubt that she would do more than hold the fort. She’s too much a believer in American values and institutions to do otherwise (and we would criticize her bitterly for not taking advantage of her position, e.g. to reverse the nomination of Judge Barrett). Pelosi, unlike Pence, would work closely with the institutions that served America well until the tornado called Trump started doing his best to destroy them. No, the people wishing death on Trump so close to the election are mostly not on our side.
But you can’t mention it. no.
I’m surprised that Carlson is brave enough to even talk about it. Isn’t he afraid of the JINX, or whatever malign entity takes normal conversations and twists them into a viral knife of doom which kills ones enemies. At least that seems like what he’s saying…its so hard to follow his “logic.”
