Kimmel Breaks Down. Carlson Undermines Himself. NRA Convention. Stunning Revelations. | Winners & Losers in Today’s Green Room
MEDIA WINNER: Jimmy Kimmel
Jimmy Kimmel offered two powerful and heartfelt commentaries on the Wednesday and Thursday episodes of his eponymous show regarding the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and they’re both worth watching.
Kimmel’s Tuesday show had been taped prior to the shooting, so Wednesday was his first time to comment on the tragic events. He broke down in tears while questioning how tragedies like this can “make sense to anyone.”
“Here we are again, on another day of mourning in this country,” said Kimmel. “Once again, we grieve for the little boys and girls whose lives have been ended and whose families have been destroyed.”
Kimmel slammed Fox News and Republicans in Congress for “warn[ing] us not to politicize this…because they don’t want to speak about it. Because they know what they’ve done and they know what they haven’t done, and they know that it’s indefensible. So they’d rather sweep this under the rug.”
He singled out Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), making it clear he wasn’t calling him “evil” but appealing to the senator’s humanity to “admit you made a mistake.”
Kimmel was more forceful on Wednesday, lambasting Cruz and calling out his “powerful” need for attention, highlighting recent media appearances.
“He has been everywhere this week doing interviews, pontificating in that little, ‘I care’ voice that he puts on, defending this disturbing allegiance these guys have to semi-automatic weapons,” he said. “Which Ted says aren’t the problem. The problem, according to Ted Cruz, is that schools need to be more like prisons.”
“Listen, Ted,” Kimmel continued, “I know you’d rather spend your days doing impressions of The Simpsons and googling stepmom porn, but at some point you might have to get down to it and do your job.”
Watch Wednesday’s show here and Thursday’s here.
MEDIA LOSER: Tucker Carlson
Sigh. Your friendly neighborhood Mediaite newsletter correspondent initially contemplated drafting today’s communiqué to name Tucker Carlson as today’s winner, for the very salient points he made regarding the claims by Uvalde police and other Texas officials about their response to Tuesday’s mass shooting. It was Carlson’s moment to be the broken clock that’s actually telling accurate time. But then Tucker had to Tucker, and flipped our interpretation 180 degrees.
To be clear, the Fox News host’s remarks that it was “a moral crime at the very least” regarding reports that police entered the school to rescue their own children while blocking other parents from doing the same was spot on. He was also right to excoriate these public servants for what almost certainly were lies regarding the timeline of events and mind-boggling delay of almost an hour before entering to engage the shooter.
“The authorities are not allowed to lie to us in the aftermath of an event like this,” said Carlson. “No matter how pro-law enforcement you are – and we are – there’s only so much B.S. you can take in the face of a tragedy like this.”
That’s all well and good, but Carlson wrapped these points into a commentary whining about how “they” wanted to take your guns away, accusing President Joe Biden, Senate Democrats, and even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) of “blam[ing] you because you dare to exercise your constitutional rights” to bear arms.
Never mind trying to figure out how federal politicians are conspiring to get Texas officials to bumble their stories so badly. You’re not supposed to analyze Carlson’s logic. You’re just supposed to be outraged.
In retrospect, we were naïve to consider awarding Carlson points for criticizing the Texas officials for something that pretty much the whole country recognizes is a conflagration of clusterf*ckery. His use of a valid argument to promulgate yet another wild rant is sadly all too predictable.
Links We Like:
The Long Disgrace of the NRA
– Charlie Sykes, The Bulwark
Tale of two senators: Cruz doubles down against gun regulation while Cornyn leads GOP in negotiations
– Abby Livingston, Texas Tribune
A Year of “Protecting Children” in Texas
– Christopher Hooks, Texas Monthly
The FDA Completely Botched Its Response to the Baby Formula Shortage
– Eric Boehm, Reason
Read the full Mediaite Green Room Newsletter here, including the latest stunning revelations about the timeline of the Uvalde shooting and our coverage of the NRA Convention in Houston, Texas.
