In a Friday op-ed for Fox News , the network’s top-rated primetime host, Tucker Carlson , took aim at the Democratic Party for the riots that have been spreading across the country in the wake of George Floyd’s death. In particular, Carlson highlighted Mark McCloskey and his wife’s encounter with Black Lives Matter activists and the death threats they have allegedly received since the encounter.
“American citizens trapped in their home by a violent mob, knowing that something awful could happen to them very soon,” Carlson said. “Totally undefended. This is your country.”
According to Carlson, the “mob” he describes is not comprised of protestors or civil rights activists but “violent criminals.”
“They are being used as a militia by the Democratic Party to seize power. That’s the truth.”
Carlson used the second half of his article to shed insight into the people who have thus far been arrested for riot-related offenses, including Devin Montgomery, Lore-Elisabeth Blumenthal, and Stephan Cannon, the latter who is charged with the killing of retired St. Louis police officer David Dorn.
At the conclusion of his piece, Carlson spotlighted the arrest of Jason Charter in Washington, D.C., who is accused of being the leader behind the tearing down of the Andrew Jackson statue as well as the toppling of the Albert Pike statue in Washington.
The Fox News host claims Charter is associated with Antifa and studied computer science at George Washington University, which reportedly has one of the highest tuitions in the country.
“Another angry, rich kid. There are so many of them. Still far more than five people were involved in the attacks on those statues in Washington. Hundreds more have attacked monuments and destroyed public property around the country.”
In an op-ed for The Washington Post , Erik Wemple pushed back on Carlson’s recent spate of attacks against rioters. Wemple noted that Carlson previously attacked rioters instead of addressing the questions raised by Floyd’s death, including the Minneapolis police department’s record on the use of force and the justification that was used to kill Floyd.
“Credit Carlson for honesty: He wants riot footage, and that’s about it,” Wemple wrote.
According to Wemple, Carlson’s “panicky desperation” is a sign that his “world is collapsing.”
Still, Carlson’s attack on the Democratic Party and BLM movement appears to be registering with the Republican Party. As reported by Politico , the GOP is abuzz at the possibility of Carlson carrying Trump’s populist torch in 2024. According to the report, many Republicans believe Carlson would be an immediate frontrunner in the primary.