As advertisers rush to end their association with the Fox News star’s anti-immigration rhetoric, Tucker Carlson has opted to boldly maintain his bigotry, even going so far as to frame himself as the victim. In a Monday night rant on Tucker Carlson Tonight, the frozen food heir predictably presented himself as an oh-so-brave truth teller and victim of persecution who would NOT be swayed (and painted the Russia investigation as a “distraction”).
Carlson indirectly addressed the backlash during his Monday night show, after replaying his Thursday night comments about the downside of immigration and doubling-down on them. "That's what we said. It's true," Carlson said. "Those who won't shut up get silenced. ... The enforcers scream 'Racist!' on Twitter until everybody gets intimidated and changes the subject to the Russia investigation or some other distraction. It's a tactic, a well-worn one. Nobody thinks it's real. And it won't work with this show. We're not intimidated. We plan to try to say what's true until the last day."
In addition to doubling down on what he said Thursday night, words that became the first domino in the line of fleeing advertisers, Carlson also added new information to his initial rant.
"And the truth is, unregulated mass immigration has badly hurt this country’s natural landscape. Take a trip to our southwestern deserts if you don’t believe it. Thanks to illegal immigration, huge swathes of the region are covered with garbage and waste that degrade the soil and kill wildlife.”
Carlson goes on to discuss the very real problem of litter and waste found in Arizona borderlands, and encourages doubters to head on over to the Grand Canyon State’s official “border trash website” if they don’t believe him. Because the environmental impact was clearly what Carlson meant in the first place, you see, even if he’s never brought up the environment until now. IT WAS ALWAYS WHAT HE MEANT, YOU STUPID LIBERALS.
Despite his attempt to re-package his xenophobia as a newly formed commitment to saving the planet, advertisers continue to leave at rates last seen when Laura Ingraham mocked survivors of a school shooting earlier this year—she lost 18 brands before taking some time off from her hard job of hatemongering.
As of this writing, the Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that 12 brands have announced that they do NOT stand with Tuck, with seven joining the boycott on Tuesday alone.
...IHOP, the United Explorer credit card, Just For Men, Jaguar Land Rover, Ancestry.com, Zenni Optical and Voya Financial the latest brands to tell The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday that they are no longer advertising on the show.
Pacific Life Insurance was the first to take a stand, followed by Nautilus Inc., SmileDirectClub, NerdWallet, and Minted. Even Indeed, an employment website that severed ties with Tucker Carlson Tonight some time ago, felt the need to make a statement in light of current events.
“Indeed has not advertised on the Tucker Carlson Tonight program in over a month, and has no plans to do so in the future."
According to THR, the list of companies that continue to f*ck with Tuck isn’t as short as one might expect. Farmers Insurance was the first to stand by its man, and has since been joined by Bayer, Sanofi, AstraZeneca, John Deere, and Mitsubishi, though the car manufacturer did leave the door open to a change of plans, telling THR that it might “adjust our advertising if necessary.”
Tuesday, Dec 18, 2018 · 10:46:32 PM +00:00 · Jessica Sutherland
Make that 14:
A spokesperson for TD Ameritrade said on Tuesday evening that it intends to remain politically neutral: " Once news broke about this issue, we instructed our media buying team to avoid the show in the future. This is a decision that we believe is in-line with the strong values of our organization – one of which is People Matter."
At this rate, ol’ Tuck’s going to exceed Laura Ingraham’s “planned vacation” threshold of 18 fleeing advertisers in no time.