Trump Boosts Embattled Fox News Host Tucker Carlson’s Attack on Rep. Ilhan Omar
As Fox News host Tucker Carlson faces a new wave of criticism for insisting that white supremacy is “not a real problem in America,” President Donald Trump shared a clip from the cable news pundit’s show in which he attacked Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and accused her of committing tax fraud.
“Retweet if you see [Omar] GETS A PASS By The Media says @TuckerCarlson,” the post Trump retweeted on Friday morning read.
Carlson’s latest controversy began after he responded to the racially motivated mass shooting in El Paso by insisting that white supremacy is a “hoax.” The suspect in the Texas shooting published a white supremacist manifesto prior to the attack, in which he warned that white Americans are being replaced via immigration and accused Hispanic migrants of staging an invasion against the U.S. — two narratives that Carlson has pushed on his show in recent months.
“But the whole thing is a lie. If you were to assemble a list, a hierarchy of concerns of problems this country faces, where would white supremacy be on the list? Right up there with Russia probably,” Carlson said on his show Tuesday night. “It’s actually not a real problem in America … ‘White supremacy, that’s the problem.’ This is a hoax.”
The following night, Carlson announced he was going on vacation for a few days: “I am taking several days off — headed to the wilderness to fish with my son. Politics is important, fishing with your son, sometimes more important. So I’m doing it.” (Fox News states Carlson’s vacation was planned prior to his controversial remarks this week).
Despite Carlson’s short departure, Fox News is still losing advertisers. The fast-food chain Long John Silver’s stopped advertising on the network in April, while HelloFresh and Nestle both recently confirmed that they are no longer running ads on Carlson’s show.
[featured image via Chris Kleponis-Pool/Getty Images]
