Tucker Carlson, wanting his viewers to believe that the Jan 6 riots didn’t happen, used clips of quiet moments to insinuate those who entered the U.S. Capitol buildings were peaceful and that Capitol Police acted like “tour guides.” Even Republicans are freaking out, blasting Carlson and Fox News for the deceptively-edited and presented security footage.
From Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to rank-and-file lawmakers, Republican senators largely rejected Fox personality Tucker Carlson’s vision of the deadly insurrection as a mostly peaceful protest that involved little violence.
Appearing at his weekly news conference, McConnell denounced the leadership of the conservative cable network for airing the entertainer’s vision of the assault on the Capitol, holding up a letter from U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger that accused Carlson’s show of being “filled with offensive and misleading conclusions.”
“It was a mistake, in my view, for Fox News to depict this in a way that’s completely at variance with what our chief law enforcement official here in the Capitol thinks,” McConnell told reporters.
The reason they’re upset is obvious: it was their necks on the line on Jan 6, and by claiming it didn’t happen, Carlson is stoking the rage that led to it in the first place. Nonetheless, McConnell avoided direct criticism of his party’s own House Leader, Kevin McCarthy, who provided Carlson exclusively with the 41,000 hours of footage.
Meanwhile, more legal documents show that Carlson and other Fox News waffleurs don’t even believe the things they say on air.
“We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights,” Carlson texted Jan. 4, 2021. “I truly can’t wait.”
“I hate him passionately,” Carlson added.
Weird to think that when the cameras are off, when he goes home and relaxes, the bowtie goes back on.
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Author: Rob Beschizza
