Most every weeknight, Tucker Carlson entertains his audience with lies and misleading information. Unfortunately, his show boasts one of the largest audiences on the Fox News Channel. That, regardless the fact that even senior management, and their lawyers, acknowledge that he is not to be believed. It is equally unfortunate that his vast audience does believe much of the information that they are absorbing. While many in his listening audience may not be terribly sophisticated, there are those with advanced degrees, who yet fail to understand, or choose to ignore, the illogical nonsense that they are being fed.
Given the size of the audience, and the amount of false or misleading information put forth, Tucker is arguably very dangerous to the country. The extent of that danger was seen on 6 January, 2021 during which Trump incited an insurrection resulting in the US Capitol being attacked. Frankly, that could not have been achieved without the collusion of Fox News in general, including Tucker Carlson.
Previously, I addressed Tucker’s Tirades. If anything, things have gotten worse. The reason this is important is that millions of people get what they perceived to be news in this forum. By examining some of the misleading statements, it will help unbiased readers come to understand the difficulty that they have in attempting rational discussions with Republican supporters who are the ones listening to Tucker. Their concept of facts is worlds apart from reality. Therefore, I felt it necessary to acquaint readers who do not follow Fox News with the information that audience are subjected to on a daily basis.
After President Biden signed a number of executive orders, Tucker informed his audience that the president’s top priorities were immigration, i.e., open borders, and his concerns about gender equality and women’s sports. He did not mention the numerous executive orders that President Biden did sign regarding efforts to mitigate the pandemic. While executive orders on other matters have been signed, Tucker’s audience would have no idea of the emphasis being placed on creating a national response to the pandemic and its impact on the economy.
On Wednesday, 27 January, Tucker’s lead story had to do with the arrest of Doug Mackey in Florida. According to Tucker “the First Amendment was suspended” and that Mackey was arrested for his display of memes on social media. According to Tucker, “dissent is no felony,” and as he reported, Mackey was only arrested for dissenting political commentary. He assumes, and probably rightfully so, that his audience will accept his word and not look any further into the charges. He also told them that the arresting federal agents did not provide any evidence of the charges which actually were for interfering with the election, not memes he posted. While Tucker knows, but much of his audience would not consider, evidence is not presented at the time of arrest, rather that is reserved for the judicial process.
Of course, to further inflame his audience, he stated that the FBI agents involved in the arrest, or others from that organization had interfered with the 2016 election. Such claims are related to the continued Fox News assertion that the “deep state” was organized to the detriment of Trump’s presidency. A guest on the program later stated “the FBI should be disbanded.”
That Wednesday evening Tucker went on to tell his audience that “we are currently living under martial law.” The proof of course is in the number of National Guard troops presently stationed in Washington DC. He went on to quote Chairman Mao’s statement, “Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” How is that for a not so very veiled threat?
Even before Biden’s inauguration, Tucker was claiming that the National Guard support was ordered by Democrats. He did not seem to know that the authorization came from then-acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller, who was appointed by Trump. Tucker told his audience that this “is a new version of democracy.” He also told them that the government, “now regarded them as dangerous insurgents.” If Tucker wasn’t inflammatory enough, he brought on Congressman Thomas Massie, Republican from Kentucky, who reinforced those concepts. Massie stated specifically, that the troops were there to protect Congress Members during the upcoming and illegal impeachment trial. He added that they were there to cover for Congress which was going to create laws to take away guns. Massie further stated that the presence of the National Guard troops in Washington was “the next forever war.” (Is that the GOP thinking now?)
Downplaying the insurgency events that took place on 6 January, Tucker noted that the whole insurrection was concocted and led by the “Chewbacca guy,” referring to the QAnon shaman. While highly visible, Jake Angeli, was certainly not the leader. Several other attackers have been arrested for their roles in organizing the attack. Interestingly, while he frequently refers to Antifa, as an effective terrorist group. While the FBI claims Antifa has little organization, when it came to QAnon, Tucker quipped, “whatever that is.” QAnon, in fact, is an organization based on wild conspiracy theories and lies. They have gained far too much traction across the country and, however crazy their fantasies, they should not be ignored.
According to Tucker, America is run by oligarchs (all liberals of course). The dangers from white extremism are always minimized or discounted, and as his Canadian guest, Mark Steyn, commented, they are, “inventing an insurgency that does not exist.” He noted what is happening is “not domestic terrorism, but theater.” Rather than addressing the tens of thousands of documented lies and misleading statements from the prior administration, Steyn told the audience that currently they are experiencing, “a blizzard of lies the audacity of which is unprecedented.” Unbelievable, but not to that audience.
During the same program Tucker attacked teachers’ unions stating that the teachers, “wanted to be paid for not working.” That commentary came with repeated clips of one teacher cavorting on vacation. At no point did he address the workload of teachers who are providing the material for remote learning. It is as if they did not exist. Because schools physically are not open to students, he disregarded their current work, as many teachers are involved daily in providing remote learning.
Regarding Covid, he called Dr. Anthony Fauci, “a malignant buffoon.” Then his guest from the New York Post conflated comments made early in the pandemic with the current situation. Worth noting is that all of Tucker’s guests regarding the pandemic minimize the impact, deny severity, and often specifically blame Democratic governors for the state of affairs. Contrary to the findings of US intelligence community, Tucker repeatedly has supported the notion that Covid-19 was created in a Chinese military laboratory and intentionally introduced to the world. He also pushes the notion that regulations put in place for public health reasons (masks and social distancing), are really just part of the plan for suppression of the people, and to train them to be subservient and not question authority. (Read generate fear)
Tucker Carlson did note that Fox News Channel was the “one remaining bastion of free speech.” The problem is that free speech and providing accurate information are quite different, and on Fox News almost antithetical. His audience members are probably unaware of the defense that he and Fox News lawyers put forth in his recent trial for slander. Basically, the corporate lawyers stated that the show was primarily entertainment, not to be confused with news. They actually won the case based on the assertion of Tucker’s lack of credibility. The judge in the case, Mary Kay Vyskocil, found, “Fox persuasively argues… that given Mr. Carlson’s reputation, any reasonable viewer ‘arrive[s] with an appropriate amount of skepticism’ about the statements he makes,” Vyskocil wrote. “Whether the Court frames Mr. Carlson’s statements as ‘exaggeration,’ ‘non-literal commentary,’ or simply bloviating for his audience,…”
Unfortunately, Tucker’s bloviating has had severe negative consequences for the country. Fear is a strategic component of the message that Tucker transmits. It is rare that a broadcast is completed without some images of violence, usually fiery riots. Repeatedly, he enjoins his audience that their rights are about to be taken away from them. For them, some nefarious elite cabal is executing and intricate undertaking that likely will lead to world domination. The concept of the deep state comprised of faceless bureaucrats from the Intelligence Community and Justice Department is frequently heard. Unnamed, it was the operatives of the deep state that worked to prevent Trump from achieving success. The traditional organs of the governments are not to be trusted.
Tucker Carlson is symptomatic of far larger problems looming in America. However, he, and his organization, do play important roles in the fomenting the divisiveness that everyone agrees exists in the country today. In a court of law, the state of mind of the accused, or mens rea, is a critical element in the prosecution of any crime. What is not known is whether or not he actually believes the nonsense that he puts forth, or is simply playing his audience. But, if you ever wondered why seemingly intelligent friends/relatives/acquaintances did not respond logically to your statements, it is probably because they get their news from Tucker or his cohorts.
It is long past time for Rupert Murdoch, and his media empire, to acknowledge and accept responsibility for the extensive damage that he has done to our nation, and the world, all in the name of profit. If leaders continue down the path of supporting predatory capitalism, the outcome is likely to be disastrous. The wealth differential in America is well known and getting worse. That is especially true for communities of color. Historically, such apparent disparities have never had a positive outcome. Profit uber alles leads to highly undesirable future.
The issue is not one of differing opinions, which are certainly legitimate. Rather, it is a failure to establish and recognize a common set of fundamental facts based on observable ground truth. Currently, America is saddled with a spineless and amoral Republican Party that seems irretrievably split internally. If they choose to continue on the path of supporting counterfactual data and repeating the Big Lie, the prognosis for the country is not promising. Similarly, the Democratic Party is diffuse in purpose, so much so that they may undermine the prospects of achieving the doable, and the outcomes desired by most Americans. (Think evolution versus revolution.)
Whether or not the cavernous divisions can be bridged has not been determined. Optimists will suggest that truth and common sense will prevail. Pessimists suggest the chasm is too wide, we have passed the point of no return, and are on the verge of an uncivil war. Some observers suggest that conflict is already begun and the events of 6 January and was a precursor to more violence to come.
There seems little doubt that the changing national demographics play an important role in determining the outcome. Within the foreseeable future, United States will become a majority, minority country. That is a prospect that is very frightening for many of those who have enjoyed dominance for decades. The age differential will play a critical role in the future of governance. We have already seen the younger generations are more tolerant of differences in race, religion, ethnicity, and sexual orientation.
There are rapid and dramatic changes in the methods of communication that will have profound impact on societal development. The falsely instigated fear of globalization must pass. Nationalism and populism will not flourish in a world that is totally interconnected. Hopefully, Tucker and Fox News, will fade into oblivion. Unfortunately, that will not happen quickly enough to avoid the hurricane-like turbulence in which we are now engulfed. What can and must be done, is to take measures to mitigate against the counterfactual influence that they purvey.
Two red and black storm warning flags are waving.