Tucker Carlson is being criticized for suggesting that no one should be surprised by the killing of two demonstrators during social unrest in Kenosha, Wis.
FNC’s Carlson Takes Heat For Kenosha Remarks
NEW YORK (AP) — Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, no stranger to the hot seat for his commentary, is being criticized for suggesting that no one should be surprised by the killing of two demonstrators during social unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Authorities “stood back and watched Kenosha burn,” he said on Fox News Channel on Wednesday. “So are we really surprised that looting and arson accelerated to murder? How shocked are we that 17-year-olds with rifles decided they had to maintain order when no one else would?”
Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old Illinois resident and police supporter, was taken into custody on suspicion of homicide after the killings of two people involved in unrest following last weekend’s police shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake.
Carlson’s commentary drew an angry response online because it was seen as sympathetic to Rittenhouse or offering justification for murder.
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich tweeted the Fox management “is complicit in Tucker Carlson’s racist, murderous rants” if they take no action against him. Author Don Winslow called the comments disgusting.
Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was killed in the Parkland shooting, called Carlson a “lunatic who will get people killed. … You should be removed for the safety of our kids.”
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But presidential son Donald Trump Jr. tweeted that “the left-wing media is willfully twisting Tucker Carlson’s words to smear him. He never endorsed ‘vigilante justice.’ He just pointed out that when ‘leaders’ cede control of our streets to the mob, it leads to heartbreaking consequences.”
Twitter flagged a link in one of Carlson’s tweets for sensitive content. Carlson’s tweet had quoted words he used on the air.
Carlson, who usually competes with colleague Sean Hannity to be the most popular news host on cable television, has been criticized in the past for comments considered sympathetic to white nationalists. Last month his show’s head writer quit after it was revealed he was posting racist comments online under a pseudonym.
When asked for comment Thursday, Fox provided a transcript of Carlson’s segment from the night before.
Fox management infrequently comments on individual statements by its personalities. Instead, Fox is more likely to express displeasure by taking someone off the air — temporarily or permanently — and Carlson is expected at his post on Thursday.
He didn’t stand alone in his commentary, either.
Conserative provocateur Ann Coulter tweeted about Rittenhouse: “I want him as my president.”
Three hours before Carlson’s statement, Fox’s Jesse Watters said Rittenhouse acted inappropriately and “unfortunately this is what happens when a governor abdicates his responsibility to keep the streets safe.”
Former Fox personality Megyn Kelly trended on Twitter for a series of retweets, including one that said “Jacob Blake was armed with a KNIFE when cops shot him.” While authorities found a knife in Blake’s car after he was shot by police, it wasn’t clear if he had possession during the confrontation.
She also emphasized a quote in a Real Clear Politics article by Ben Shapiro: “The narrative has been set. The (police) shooting was unjustified, and racist at that. No evidence has been presented, none need be. And if the facts don’t match the accusations, the facts will be put aside.”
Kelly declined comment on Thursday.
In an article on the website Outkick.com, writer Jason Whitlock wrote that professional athletes who have sat out competitions due to police shootings are “useful idiots” convinced that some police shootings were examples of racism when they were really about resisting arrest.
In the publication American Spectator, author Scott McKay said that while 17-year-olds should not cross state lines to carry rifles into demonstrations, protest groups like Black Lives Matter bear “total responsibility” for Rittenhouse doing so.
“What did you morons think was going to happen?” McKay wrote. “That you could continue to burn down a small city in middle America without any resistance?”
But “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace on Thursday rejected any notion that Rittenhouse’s alleged actions are justifiable.
“Vigilante justice is a completely inappropriate response to rioting in the street,” Wallace said. “There is no justification for what happened in Kenosha and vigilante justice is a crime and should be punished as a crime.”
Comments (8)
2018bstyrevr says:
August 28, 2020 at 7:39 am
No one listens to the Commies in the mainstream media and washed up hacks like Robert “Reichaaaa”..We are fed up with you losers and we are going to beat you down and defeat you!!! Keep it up Tucker ..if they are whining you are right!!!
tvn-member-3011604 says:
August 28, 2020 at 12:41 pm
The radical left, which apparently does not believe in opposing viewpoints, has tried for a long time through lies, fake scandals and distortion to take down Tucker Carlson. They won’t succeed for two reasons. One, Tucker is far and away the most popular news commentator of any of the news channels. The clowns on CNN and MSNBC can’t even get near him, let alone touch him in ratings. Second; the radical left have tried to starve FNC of oxygen by boycotting its advertisers. What they apparently don’t know is that Fox News makes very little of its money through advertising. They make most of their money through carriage fees and these companies are willing to pay top dollar for FNC because it is the most popular and most watched of the news channels. The radical left would be better off trying to compete with Tucker in the marketplace of ideas but, of course, they need to have compelling and appealing ideas in the first place which they don’t.
RIDGELINE-TV says:
August 28, 2020 at 3:01 pm
“…How shocked are we that 17-year-olds with rifles decided they had to maintain order when no one else would?” Carlson said.
Maintain order??? By killing people??? By committing murder???
What color is the sky in Carlson’s Fauxworld??? Must be some very, very unpleasant shade of hatred…
tvn-member-3011604 says:
August 28, 2020 at 6:59 pm
The transcript of his monologue makes it clear that Carlson was NOT advocating vigilante justice. As he pointed out when mayors and governors abdicate their responsibility to protect citizens, as these Democrats have done, others like a 17 year old with a pistol will step in and do it. Why should we be surprised if that happens?
RIDGELINE-TV says:
August 29, 2020 at 1:10 pm
Big fail @tvn-member-3011604, you’re sounding just as ignorant as Carlson. Police were out on patrol trying to stop looting and rioting but they were vastly outnumbered. It’s not like mayors are saying, hey, it’s OK to riot and loot.
And then you stupidly repeat the same tripe as Carlson, suggesting that a 17 year old stepped in to keep order. He didn’t keep order. Let me repeat that. He didn’t keep order. In fact, he murdered two people.
Stop with the silly political positioning and come back to reality.
tvn-member-3011604 says:
August 29, 2020 at 4:08 pm
It’s one thing to lie to prove your point but quite another to resort to bullying and ad hominem attacks to prove it. The latter is not only unprofessional but exposes a serious character flaw you have and an inability to argue a point rationally.
RIDGELINE-TV says:
August 30, 2020 at 1:20 am
I’ll give you this, it is possible that Carlson’s point was taken out of context, and I’ll go further and suggest that I may have misinterpreted your take. If I was mistaken, so be it.
But when you (and Carlson) make broad, sweeping comments like “…when mayors and governors abdicate their responsibility to protect citizens, as these Democrats have done…” you might want to peer in your mirror and you’ll see who’s lying.
Again, stop with the silly political positioning and come back to reality.
2018bstyrevr says:
August 31, 2020 at 8:14 am
Ridgelin..you moron …. he was defending businesses that the communists were taking away..its sad sacks like you that would run at the first gun shot!!