Tucker Carlson Roasts Fauci’s Enablers, But Was Too Scared to Bring Him Up to Trump
Seth Wenig, AP
Tucker Carlson has strong feelings about Dr. Anthony Fauci, the face of the American government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic under former president Donald Trump.
But you would never know it from his pandering primetime interview with Trump opposite the first Republican primary debate last week.
In an appearance on the Adam Carolla Show released Wednesday, Carlson lays into the so-called “experts” in Washington, D.C. and brought up Fauci as an avatar of this group.
“The conceit that they’re smart — what do they call themselves? ‘I’m a wonk,'” remarked Carlson before bursting into laughter. “I’m smart? They’ve never read a freaking book! I mean these are like truly dumb people, and somehow they’ve hoodwinked the nation into thinking they’re experts in something.”
“Like I literally wouldn’t hire Anthony Fauci to do anything other than apply for government grants. That’s the only thing he’s good at,” he added. “I would not hire him to run a business. I would not hire him to cure a cold. I wouldn’t have him give my wife a pedicure — he’s not qualified!”
Yet Carlson’s roast of Fauci elides the truth that “the nation” didn’t cast Fauci in a starring role to handle a generational crisis — Trump did.
In 2020, Trump made Fauci a high-profile member of his Coronavirus Task Force and a ubiquitous presence at White House press conferences.
Despite Trump’s occasional critiques of Fauci’s performance, Fauci boasted that Trump followed his recommendations, and Trump kept him on through the end of his presidency, even using Fauci’s praise of him in an ad cut by his reelection campaign.
Carlson made no mention of Trump’s reliance on Fauci — or even his administration’s performance during the pandemic — in an interview with the former president that even conservatives derided for its obsequiousness.
“The nature of this particular interview was just Tucker not asking him anything remotely difficult,” argued Ben Shapiro in a recap of the conversation, which he described as “a propaganda, 45-minute softball for Trump.”
It should come as no surprise that Carlson declined an opportunity to interrogate Trump about his record; this isn’t the first time he’s chickened out.
After private text messages discovered during the Dominion defamation lawsuit against Fox News betrayed Carlson’s revilement of the former president (“We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I truly can’t wait,” “I hate him passionately”) Carlson quickly recanted in a radio interview.
“I spent four years defending his policies and I — I’m going to defend them again tonight. And actually, and I’m pretty straightforward, I’m — I love Trump. Like, as a person, I think Trump is funny and insightful,” insisted Carlson shortly after his private thoughts were made public.
Carlson is revered by his biggest fans for his reputation as a brave truth-teller blessed with the courage of his convictions. He alone, to hear some tell it, is willing to buck the Overton Window of the uniparty establishment and challenge Republicans with as much vigor as he does Democrats.
That narrative takes quite the hit every time Carlson pulls his punches — or commits to a hilarious backpedal — to avoid the wrath of the GOP frontrunner and his fans.
“We’re all pretending we’ve got a lot to show for it, because admitting what a disaster it’s been is too tough to digest,” reflected the ex-Fox News host privately about Trump’s first term in office.
Might it be time for some of Carlson’s admirers to be as honest with themselves about his value?
This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.
