Politics - News Analysis
Tucker Carlson Let Something Slip in His Last Show and Americans are Horrified After Realizing What It Meant
It seems like every day for the last week we’ve written a story about Tucker Carlson saying something sympathetic to the uncontrollable and dangerous MAGAs, including terrifying conspiracy theories.
Perhaps we have that feeling because we have written a story a day and it’s not to attract eyeballs. In fact, our readers are less interested in Carlson than many other dangers from the Right. But this is news and it needs to be documented. It is increasingly dangerous because the man has an astonishingly massive platform. There is talk on the Right about Carlson being a presidential candidate. Before we all have a good laugh, let’s recall who they nominated last time.
Tucker’s “insertion” last night was more subtle, but surely intentional. We are going to borrow Rawstory’s description so we can spend a little more time analyzing what it means below:
While discussing the treatment of a man charged as a part of the Jan. 6 Capitol siege, Carlson tried to draw a comparison to the case of Bree Newsome, a filmmaker and activist who tore down the Confederate battle flag at the South Carolina statehouse in 2015, leading to her arrest.
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But when Carlson described the incident, he didn’t describe her tearing down the “Confederate flag,” but simply “the flag” — a phrase that in American English typically refers to the American flag.
Obviously, Newsome was fighting racism. The rioters on January 6th were fighting democracy. Most of society finds one to be worth celebrating and one to be criminal. But again, this doesn’t seem to be a slip of the tongue, this seemed planned, or the comparison doesn’t work. Tucker has flirted with conspiracy theories of late. This is no conspiracy theory, this is an attempt to whitewash January 6th, sympathize with the MAGAs, even grant them some redeeming value.
In comparing the two “flag issues,” Carlson is both expressing sympathy for the confederacy and downplaying January 6th. In other words, he’s getting closer and closer to coming out as an unrepentant racist, xenophobic, committed, MAGA by the day.
In which far far right wing @FoxNews @TuckerCarlson calls the Confederate symbol “the flag.”pic.twitter.com/TPSWVtd6kx
— Jerry Saltz (@jerrysaltz) April 15, 2021
Every day he becomes more and more explicit. Every day. https://t.co/sVb5VkAvVz
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) April 15, 2021
Ain’t my flag, Tucker. https://t.co/oF3c8H33jI
— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) April 15, 2021
Geez @TuckerCarlson, why don’t you just wear your white robe and hood on the show? https://t.co/pl67K393an
— Susan Denson (@DensonSusan) April 15, 2021
@POTUS @VP @SpeakerPelosi @SenSchumer:@TuckerCarlson's vile lies and racist rhetoric are an anti-American assault on our democracy. Allowing him to spout his poison without consequences is an insult.#Tucker must be punished for his racism and lies. By any means necessary. https://t.co/zKgug8MeZH
— Ezra Cohen (@ECohen756) April 15, 2021
Can we use the word "deplorable" yet?
Too soon? https://t.co/3Luh4a1kcn— @EnderEller (@EnderEller) April 15, 2021
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