Tucker Carlson defends teen charged in Kenosha shooting. Now people want him fired
Social media users are calling for the firing of Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who appeared to defend the actions of 17-year-old Kenosha shooting suspect Kyle Rittenhouse.
Rittenhouse, a self-described militia member and supporter of the pro-police group Back the Blue, is awaiting extradition to Kenosha, where he is wanted for first-degree intentional homicide, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The 17-year-old is accused of shooting three people in Tuesday night’s protests, with one person dying after being shot in the head and another dying after a bullet entered his chest, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The protests occurred after Sunday’s police shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man and father of five, including three children who saw the shooting, according to The Washington Post.
Video shows a police officer in Kenosha firing several rounds into Blake’s back as he attempted to get into his SUV. Blake, who survived, is now paralyzed from the waist down, his family said.
Carlson said on his Fox News show Wednesday night he was not surprised about the alleged actions Rittenhouse took.
“Kenosha is devolved into anarchy because the authorities in charge of the city abandoned it.” Carlson said. “People in charge, from the governor of Wisconsin on down, refused to enforce the law. They stood back and they watched Kenosha burn.
“So are we really surprised that looting and arson accelerated to murder?” he continued. “How shocked are we that 17-year-olds with rifles decided they had to maintain order when no one else would? Everyone could see what was happening in Kenosha. It was getting crazier by the hour.”
He reiterated some of those comments in a Twitter post Wednesday night.
#FireTuckerCarlsonNow trended on Twitter Thursday morning as many condemned Carlson’s comments.
Fred Guttenberg, a gun safety advocate whose daughter died in 2018’s Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, called Carlson a “lunatic who will get people killed.”
“I hope advertisers drop you immediately today,” Guttenberg said. “You should be removed for the safety of our kids.”
It appears Guttenberg has gotten his wish — at least part of it. Grayscale, a digital currency investing company, said one of its ads “erroneously ran during a TV program last night that is absolutely not aligned with our values or what we stand for.” The company will reportedly no longer advertise on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
Gabi Insurance also tweeted it does “not condone his words and will not participate in his show indefinitely.” Other companies such as Papa John’s, Disney and T-Mobile have also said they will not run ads on Carlson’s show, Variety reported.
Others spoke harshly about Carlson’s comments. Jon Favreau, a former speechwriter for President Barack Obama, called the clip “revolting” and author Seth Abramson said what Carlson did “to incite mayhem and murder by roaming gangs of armed vigilantes absolutely requires Fox News to #FireTuckerCarlson.”
Conservative voices came to the defense of Carlson, including Donald Trump Jr. The president’s son said Carlson “never endorsed vigilante justice.”
“He just pointed out that when ‘leaders’ cede control of our streets to the mob, it leads to heartbreaking consequences/tragedies like looting, anarchy & death,” Trump Jr. said.
It’s not the first time the Carlson’s comments were met with outrage. There were calls for Carlson to be fired after he said in August 2019 that white supremacy was a “hoax” and “not a real problem in America,” The Huffington Post reported. He then announced a one-week planned vacation, according to CNN.
This story was originally published August 27, 2020 at 12:39 PM with the headline "Tucker Carlson defends teen charged in Kenosha shooting. Now people want him fired."