Cross posted to the MRC's NewsBusters blog
On Wednesday's CNN Tonight, CNN media correspondent Brian Stelter filed a report in which he decried Fox News host Tucker Carlson for calling Illinois Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth a "coward" for refusing to come on his show to discuss her suggestion that statues of George Washington should perhaps be taken down.
As Stelter hyperbolically claimed that Carlson had made "victims" out of "all of us," he did not mention that part of what angered Carlson was Duckworth's false claim that President Donald Trump had honored "dead traitors" in one of his July 4 speeches, held at Mt. Rushmore, when he, in fact, spent the speech lauding former Presidents.
At 11:53 p.m. Eastern, setting up the pre-recorded report, CNN host Don Lemon recalled:
[video:https://www.mrctv.org/node/551638 align:center]
DON LEMON: Fox News host Tucker Carlson is at it again, taking a page from President Trump's playbook -- the same playbook used by right-wing media -- questioning someone's patriotism. This time accusing Illinois Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth of hating America. The Senator is an Army vet who lost both legs while serving in Iraq.
The piece began:
TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: It's long been considered out of bounds to question a person's patriotism.
BRIAN STELTER: Yes, and for good reason, but Tucker Carlson keeps doing it --
CARLSON: These people actually hate America.
STELTER: -- prompting denunciations from Democrats but cheers from his fans. This latest Fox controversy stems from an interview on CNN with Senator Tammy Duckworth last Sunday.
Then came a clip from Sunday's State of the Union, CNN fill-in host asked Duckworth about the issue of whether statues of Washington should be taken down because he owned slaves, leading Duckworth to begin her reply: "Well, let me just say that we should start by having a national dialogue on it at some point --"
As if it negated her suggestion that she is open to taking down statues of some of the greatest former Presidents, Stelter then added: "Then she pivoted and said America has much bigger issues right now, like coronavirus, but Carlson decided to pounce."
After playing a clip of Carlson, from his Monday show, asking, "Can you really lead a country that you hate?" Stelter gave the Democratic Senator's response:
STELTER: Duckworth -- evidently stunned by the smear -- tweeted a reference to her service in Iraq where she lost both of her legs "Does Tucker Carlson," she said, "want to walk a mile in my legs and then tell me whether or not I love America?" That was on Monday night.
After playing clips from Carlson's Tuesday show in which he called her a "coward" because he office had demanded an apology before she would agree to appear on his show, Stelter suggested that Carlson owed an apology as he continued:
STELTER: Shaming Duckworth for declining his interview request because, he said, she wanted him to apologize first. Carlson adheres to President Trump's "never apologize" playbook. And Trump has been parroting his egregious "hating America" accusations.
Similar to his CNN colleague, John Avlon, Stelter did not mention that one of the things Carlson complained about was Duckworth incorrectly claiming that Trump had only spoken of "dead traitors" at his Mt. Rushmore speech when he spent the speech honoring former Presidents and American heroes, and never mentioned Confederates or anyone else who would be considered "traitors." In her Sunday appearance, Duckworth asserted:
[video:https://www.mrctv.org/node/551630 align:center]
SENATOR TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D-IL): What really struck me about the speech that the President gave at Mt. Rushmore was that he spent more time worried about honoring dead Confederates than he did talking about the lives of our 130,000 Americans who lost their lives to COVID-19 or by warning Russia off of the bounty that they're putting on Americans' heads. … He spent all his time talking about dead traitors.
Stelter concluded by suggesting that "all of us" are "victims" of Carlson's behavior:
STELTER: Millions of people watch this every night -- watch this toxicity. He and Trump are aligned -- they are stoking this divide. You know, what Tucker does -- he says he's the victim, he's the victim of people who are trying to stamp out his free speech. But the real victims are all of us. Whenever you get into this nasty debate about hating America, it should be beneath any cable news host.
This episode of CNN Tonight was sponsored by Swiffer, Cup Call, and My Pillow. Their contact information is linked.
Below is a complete transcript of the report from the Wednesday, July 8, CNN Tonight:
11:53 p.m. Eastern
DON LEMON: Fox News host Tucker Carlson is at it again, taking a page from President Trump's playbook -- the same playbook used by right-wing media -- questioning someone's patriotism. This time accusing Illinois Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth of hating America. The Senator is an Army vet who lost both legs while serving in Iraq. Here's Brian Stelter.
TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: It's long been considered out of bounds to question a person's patriotism.
BRIAN STELTER: Yes, and for good reason, but Tucker Carlson keeps doing it --
CARLSON: These people actually hate America.
STELTER: -- prompting denunciations from Democrats but cheers from his fans. This latest Fox controversy stems from an interview on CNN with Senator Tammy Duckworth last Sunday.
DANA BASH (hosting CNN's State of the Union): There are leaders like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson who were slave owners, and some people are demanding that their monuments come down, too. So, in your view, where does it end? Should statues, for example, of George Washington come down?
SENATOR TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D-IL): Well, let me just say that we should start by having a national dialogue on it at some point --
STELTER: Then she pivoted and said America has much bigger issues right now, like coronavirus, but Carlson decided to pounce.
CARLSON: Can you really lead a country that you hate?
STELTER: Duckworth -- evidently stunned by the smear -- tweeted a reference to her service in Iraq where she lost both of her legs "Does Tucker Carlson," she said, "want to walk a mile in my legs and then tell me whether or not I love America?" That was on Monday night.
CARLSON CLIP #1: To morons like Tammy Duckworth --
STELTER: Carlson lashed out again on Tuesday.
CARLSON CLIP #2: What a coward.
CARLSON CLIP #3: -- a fraud --
CARLSON CLIP #4: She has an obligation to explain herself and answer our questions.
STELTER: Shaming Duckworth for declining his interview request because, he said, she wanted him to apologize first. Carlson adheres to President Trump's "never apologize" playbook. And Trump has been parroting his egregious "hating America" accusations.
CARLSON: We cannot let them run this nation because they hate it.
STELTER: The other day, Trump shared Carlson's commentary, and the two men are known to speak in private, too.
CARLSON: Hating America is a major theme in the Democratic party right now -- it's everywhere -- turn on the TV.
STELTER: And Trump does. Millions of people watch this every night -- watch this toxicity. He and Trump are aligned -- they are stoking this divide. You know, what Tucker does -- he says he's the victim, he's the victim of people who are trying to stamp out his free speech. But the real victims are all of us. Whenever you get into this nasty debate about hating America, it should be beneath any cable news host.
