Tucker Carlson Says Donald Trump ‘Recklessly Encouraged’ Violence At Capitol
Fox News host Tucker Carlson said Thursday evening that President Donald Trump “recklessly encouraged” violence at the U.S. Capitol, The Hill reported.
Violent riots in the nation’s capital broke out on Wednesday, when thousands of Trump supporters gathered to protest the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Carlson — who has been vocally supportive of the outgoing administration — admitted that Trump bore responsibility for the riots and argued that Democrats will use the riots as an excuse to crack down on civil liberties and take aim at conservatives.
Carlson said that powerful national figures have already embarked on an effort to disenfranchise and ostracize Trump supporters.
“Just in the last several hours we have heard people in positions of power and authority demand that those who support Donald Trump should no longer be allowed to publish books or use the internet or fly on airplanes.”
“What happened yesterday, they’re telling us, wasn’t simply that a political protest got out of hand after the president recklessly encouraged it,” Carlson continued, stressing “that is in fact what happened.”
“But it’s not what they’re saying. Instead they’re calling it domestic terrorism, CNN describes it as an insurrection,” Carlson pointed out.
As The Hill noted, both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have called on Trump to accept responsibility for inciting violence and inspiring his followers to invade the Capitol building.
Trump encouraged his supporters to do so at a rally on the National Mall, but after the building was stormed and looted he called on everyone remain calm.
Less than 24 hours later, Trump formally conceded defeat in the 2020 presidential election. He condemned the violence at the protests and said that his focus “now turns to ensuring a smooth orderly and seamless transition of power.”
As The Daily Beast reporter Justin Baragona pointed out via Twitter, CNN anchor Brianna Keilar responded to Carlson. She slammed the host for refusing to call the protests an insurrection and accused him of spreading propaganda.
Brianna Keilar fired back at Tucker Carlson, who insisted the Capitol riot wasn't "insurrection" but merely a "political protest":
"He’s trying to eliminate the present… what he didn’t cop to is he is part of the illness, a propagandist, a liar, a parasite." pic.twitter.com/LpvXrXm9mV
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) January 8, 2021
As The Inquisitr reported, in a Twitter thread on Thursday, Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald echoed some of Carlson’s arguments.
Greenwald said that President-elect Joe Biden and members of his administration will use the ongoing crises and the violent protests at the Capitol as an excuse to wage a new, domestic war on terror and crush dissidents.
Greenwald warned that liberals should think twice before supporting such tactics, pointing out that George W. Bush’s decision to declare war on radicalism after the September 11 attacks led to an unprecedented crackdown on civil liberties.
