Tucker Carlson’s big ball of crap
Tucker Carlson recently showed footage of the January 6 insurrection, and as expected, he used it to show his alternate reality. What a surprise (to no one). The purpose of this exercise in idiocy should be obvious: He and MAGA Republicans are trying to pretend that January 6 never happened. Good luck with that. If you listen to Carlson, you must assume the police officers beat themselves and some mystery people vandalized the Capitol. It was certainly none of the fine sightseers at the Capitol that day. If you believe Carlson, Directors Gédéon Naudet and Jules Naudet staged the entirety of their documentary “January 6,” including showing bloodied police officers and the shooting of Ashli Babbitt. Yet, Carlson had the nerve the say: “Taken as a whole, the video record does not support the claim that Jan. 6 was an insurrection. In fact, it demolishes that claim.” Tell that to Brian Sicknick’s family and the families of the officers who died by their own hands. This crap helps nothing.
Carlson can put together as many phony viewings as he likes, but he can’t change the fact that thousands of Trump supporters smashed windows, were physically violent with police (injuring 140), and ransacked offices, while they “toured” the Capitol. Given that, at last count, more than 1,000 people were arrested-including a military veteran who stupidly told an undercover FBI about plans to “wipe out” the Jewish population-Carlson’s claims looks ridiculous. He painstakingly sifted through hours of footage to find the quiet places that he claims prove no riot took place. According to Carlson: “The crowd was enormous. A small percentage of them were hooligans.” Carlson also claimed: “These were not insurrectionists. They were sightseers.” HuffPost rightfully debunked those claims by pointing out that “most sightseers at the Capitol don’t have to step over police barricades or broken glass…and there usually aren’t loud explosions and screaming mobs.” HuffPost had several reporters on the ground that day who said it would be hard if not impossible to call that day “a normal tourist visit.” So, are all these people lying or is Carlson lying? One guess on that one.
According to HuffPost, Carlson’s “documentary” focused on officers escorting Jake Angeli out, discussing that they didn’t believe Angeli and the other should be charged, but as the New York Post reported at the time, the Capitol Police were merely trying to deescalate things. They were woefully outnumbered that day, and any escalation would have led to even more officer injuries and deaths. They aren’t stupid, but Carlson is, as is McCarthy. They are both guilty of trying to turn January 6 into something it wasn’t. Anyone who wants to believe Carlson’s twisted version of events should sit down and watch “January 6.” Those independent filmmakers-unlike Carlson-had no reason to lie or to paint that day as anything other than what it was-a violent riot. No one caused it other than Donald Trump and his lies. Continuing to play into those lies for ratings is deplorable, but what else would you expect from Tucker Carlson?
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years