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FOX News host Tucker Carlson has set social media ablaze after he stated on his Fox News show on Tuesday night that white supremacy is “a hoax.”
Watchers of Tucker Carlson Tonight heard the host dispel the idea that white supremacy exists and essentially labeled it as a fake problem. The topic arose in response to how President Donald Trump has addressed the mass shootings in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas where 31 people were killed.
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“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. It’s actually not a real problem in America,” Carlson said
The Wrap details while Carlson is issuing the idea that white supremacy is a hoax, a four-page, anti-immigration screen was issued by the El Paso Walmart shooter, 21-year old, Patrick Wood Crusius, who is white and deliberately wanted to kill Latinx people.
The FBI, who clearly does not think white supremacy is a fake concept, is treating the shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and a possible hate crime.
Even so, Carlson would go on to dispel the concept that white supremacy is impacting America by stating that all of the groups and their members could “fit inside a college football stadium.”
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“I mean seriously. This is a country… where the average person is getting poorer,” Carlson said. “The suicide rate is spiking. White supremacy — that’s the problem? This is a hoax. Just like the Russia hoax; it is a conspiracy theory used to divide the country and keep a hold on power. That is exactly what’s going on.”
Across social media, Americans are critical of his response using the hashtags #FireTuckerCarlson and #BoycottTuckerCarlson to let their thoughts be known.
Tucker Carlson just called white supremacy a hoax — just days after a white supremacist killed 22 people in El Paso.
Here’s some of his top advertisers:@StarKistCharlie@Nestle@WeatherTech
RT to ask if they support this rhetoric. #BoycottTuckerCarlsonpic.twitter.com/zGpxHQ3MKs
— Bend the Arc: Jewish Action (@jewishaction) August 7, 2019
Why does this still have a job! #BoycottTuckerCarlson #BoyottFoxNews#BoycottHateakaTrump pic.twitter.com/kjuwQ9ieXO
— Anita Hicks (@AnitaHTweets) August 7, 2019
Criticisms of Carlson’s claims were also swift with CNN’s Don Lemon who stated, “Was that not the dumbest thing you’ve ever heard?” Jon Cooper, chairman of the Democratic Coalition, labeled Carlson as a “White supremacist Fox News host” on Twitter.
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President Donald Trump has not directly mention Carlson’s comments on Twitter or otherwise, however, in his morning run of tweets he did celebrate a New York Times article that used a headline which questions whether or not Trump’s rhetoric is steeped in racism. He proudly tagged Carlson, likely as a guarantee to be mentioned on tonight’s show.
Carlson has yet to address the backlash.