Tucker Carlson Calls CNN Hypocrites on Free Speech: They ‘Led the Campaign’ Against Alex Jones
On Fox News on Wednesday night, Tucker Carlson said that CNN is one of the “greatest enemies” of free speech, citing their reporting on Alex Jones as one example, arguing that the network is now posing as a First Amendment defender in light of Jim Acosta‘s banishment.
“In the past couple of days, you’ve heard a lot of pumping and puffing about free speech and freedom of the press, and how those freedoms are currently imperiled by the White House, and to be clear, we are for free speech. Unfettered, absolute free speech.” he began. “And we cannot help but notice that some of free speech’s greatest enemies are now posing as its defenders, all of a sudden.”
That’s when he turned to CNN. “Take CNN, for example. It was a CNN that almost single-handedly led the campaign to have broadcaster Alex Jones banished from the Internet, on the grounds that they didn’t like what Jones had to say,” he continued. “Ultimately, CNN succeeded in doing that. The network convinced every major tech platform to ban Jones and his outlet, Infowars. You don’t have to like Alex Jones to see that as a terrifying loss for free speech, because it was exactly that. But CNN was not done trying to silence its critics.”
Carlson went through another example, and then said that CNN is “claiming to defend free speech only when it is their free speech.” He said that CNN did not defend RT when the government made the network register as a foreign agent under threat of imprisonment. “Yes, Russia Today is owned by a foreign government. So is the BBC,” he said. “But because RT is owned by Russia, which the left believes got Donald Trump elected, it is fine with CNN if they are bullied and silenced.”
“Call CNN what you will,” he said. “But don’t pretend they are defenders of the First Amendment. They are not.”
Carlson then turned to his guest, Victor Davis Hanson, and said “I just want to be clear, we are always for free speech. Especially speech that’s offensive, even by obnoxious White House correspondents,” obviously referring to Acosta. “But to see a channel that has lobbied against the right of others to say what they think is true, to all of a sudden emerge as this defender of the First Amendment is nauseating.”
Hanson and Carlson then discussed the merits of the case CNN has brought against the Trump administration, with Hanson arguing that the pass to attend with the White House press briefings is conditional, as would be appearing before the Supreme Court, and that violating rules or protocols can prevent one from access to that pass.
“Remember that the prior administration monitored 28 reporters, and Fox’s own James Rosen, nobody filed a suit on behalf of James Rosen from CNN and said, my god we only learned in 2013 that three years ago the man was being surveilled by the attorney general, this is a violation of press freedom,” said Hanson. “We didn’t hear that.”
Carlson then said CNN wasn’t defending voices being “silenced” by “big tech companies” because their views are “unfashionable,” and asked if you can support free speech in some cases and not others, to which Hanson said no.
Hanson then cited examples of various insults of Trump said on air and stories about Trump that CNN has run as examples of CNN’s bad ethics. Tucker replied, “This doesn’t make sense though, because CNN has argued that others should lose their voice, should be silenced, because they’re quote conspiracy theorists, but you’re listing conspiracy theories that they have promulgated on their air.”
Hanson then said that what the Trump administration is arguing is that none of that is the reason for kicking out Acosta, but rather that “it’s this particular time you went over the edge, you were disruptive you were rude, you took over an optional press conference. Nothing in the constitution says he has to have a press conference.”
Fox News said in a statement today they support CNN’s lawsuit, explaining, “While we don’t condone the growing antagonistic tone by both the President and the press at recent media avails, we do support a free press, access and open exchanges for the American people.”
Watch the clip above, courtesy of Fox News.
[Featured image via screengrab]
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