CNN’s Brian Stelter has come to an inarguable opinion about how the Republican party uses the media: “Tucker Carlson is the new Donald Trump.”
Stelter didn’t hedge his assessment of Fox News’ no-holds-barred commentator on Sunday’s “Reliable Sources,” although he did ease into it.
“I have come to one inescapable conclusion about the GOP and the media. I want to see if you agree or disagree with me,” he began. “Even though the Republicans are out of power right now, the use of the media, their use of the media has a major impact on the Democrats and on political dysfunction. So this, what I’m about to say, directly impacts President Biden and his administration. Alright. Are you ready for it? Here’s my conclusion: Tucker Carlson is the new Donald Trump.”
Stelter went on to compare the conservative host with the former president, saying he has “taken Trump’s place as a right-wing leader, as an outrage generator, as a fire starter, and it’s all happening on Fox just like Trump’s campaign did.”
He went on: “Every day Carlson is throwing bombs, making online memes, offending millions of people, also delighting millions of others, tapping into white male rage and resentment, stoking distrust of big tech and the media, generally coursing the discourse, never apologizing for anything and setting the GOP’s agenda. Sounds like a recently retired president, right?”
Day after day, Carlson pokes a stick at someone or something on the left. Most recently, he insulted females soldiers, saying, “So we’ve got new hairstyles and maternity flight suits. Pregnant women are going to fight our wars. It’s a mockery of the U.S. military.” Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Army veteran and Purple Heart recipient who lost both legs in the Iraq War, hit back, saying, “F*ck Tucker Carlson. While he was practicing his two-step, America’s female warriors were hunting down Al Qaeda and proving the strength of America’s women.”
He has also been accused of making misleading or false statements that masks are ruining the environment, that frozen windmills were to blame for Texas blackouts, that teachers “could care less” about your kids, etc. The list goes on and on.
“Even before the 2020 election, there was informed speculation about Carlson as a 2024 candidate,” Stelter pointed out. “Of course, some of Carlson’s detractors say, ‘He’s just a troll. He’s just really good at ticking people off.’ But isn’t that what they said about Trump for years?”
You can watch Stelter’s complete commentary about Carlson in the clip at the top.
