During a segment on Tucker Carlson Live on Tuesday, the conservative host lashed out at the media for criticizing President Donald Trump's response to the El Paso and Dayton mass shootings.
"It's not the job of this show to defend the president and everything he says," Carlson said after airing a clip demonstrating the media criticisms of Trump's speech on Monday. "Some things we are not going to defend. But in point of fact, he never endorsed white supremacy or came close to endorsing white supremacy. That's just a lie. But he condemned it anyway. Their response, 'he didn't really mean it.'"
Carlson goes on to allege that "the whole [white supremacy issue] is a lie."
"If you were to assemble a list, a hierarchy of concerns of problems this country faces, where would white supremacy be on the list? Right up there with Russia probably," he said. "It's actually not a real problem in America. The combined membership of every white supremacist organization in this country would be able to fit inside a college football stadium."
"This is a country where the average person is getting poorer, where the suicide rate is spiking — 'white supremacy, that's the problem' — this is a hoax," Carlson added. "Just like the Russia hoax, it's a conspiracy theory used to divide the country and keep a hold on power."
Later in the broadcast, Carlson claimed that he has "never met anybody who ascribes to white supremacy" or believes it is a "good idea" in the 50 years that he's lived in America.
A gunman opened fire at a Walmart in Texas on Saturday, leaving 20 dead and at least 26 others injured. According to the Washington Post, authorities confirmed they are investigating a manifesto, allegedly written by the shooter, containing strong anti-immigration sentiments and sympathy for the Christchurch gunman, who was involved in attacks on New Zealand mosques that left 49 dead earlier this year. Hours later, another shooter killed nine in Dayton, Ohio.
Democrats and Republicans have since argued over whether Trump's inflammatory racial rhetoric about immigrants are responsible for the hate and violence involved in the El Paso shooting. Conservative commentators, such as Carlson and Fox Nation's Tomi Lahren, have also staunchly defended the president and the Second Amendment, which protects the individual right to keep and bear arms, from Americans advocating for tougher gun control laws.
Speaking in front of cameras in the White House's Diplomatic Reception Room on Monday, Trump talked about "domestic terrorism" and "white supremacy" in addressing the mass shootings, but failed to mention his own racial rhetoric.
The president also blamed violent video games for the attacks and suggested mental health could have played a part. "Mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger," Trump said. "Not the gun."
Their propaganda then was far more subtle.
R.C.