Tucker Carlson speaking with attendees at the 2020 Student Action Summit hosted by Turning Point USA. (Photo by Gage Skidmore)
This weekend, the gunman of the Buffalo shooting was revealed to be a supporter of a Tucker Carlson conspiracy theory the Fox News host has been promoting for the last year.
Carlson has dedicated several segments of his show on the so-called "white replacement" or "great replacement" theory. Loosely, the theory goes that Democrats are intentionally trying to bring immigrants into the U.S. to win elections.
Monday night, responding to criticism following the Buffalo mass shooting, Carlson told his audience that they were the ones that were under attack. Carlson said "you cannot be allowed to express your political views out loud. That’s what they’re telling you."
Carlson went on to falsely claim that "hate speech" is just speech that other people hate.
Tucker Carlson makes himself the victim amid Buffalo shooting: "What is hate speech? Well, it's speech that our leaders hate. So because a mentally ill teenager murdered strangers, you cannot be allowed to express your political views out loud. That's what they're telling you."— Brian Tyler Cohen (@Brian Tyler Cohen) 1652747263
After seeing clips of the show, political experts and news nerds flocked to social media to critique Carlson.
Actually, I think what they're telling you is that if your political views are virtually identical to the manifesto a mentally ill teenager who murdered strangers, then *maybe* you should think hard about your political views.https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1526354040044457985\u00a0\u2026— Kevin M. Kruse (@Kevin M. Kruse) 1652749521
You can see the responses to Carlson's Monday show below:
I\u2019d love to see the internal memos at Fox News today to refer to a racist mass shooter only as a \u2018mentally ill teenager\u2019 because you know it exists and butthurt Tucker opened with it. @TuckerCarlson— NoelCaslerComedy (@NoelCaslerComedy) 1652748868
Tucker Carlson needs to get out of Dodge.— Stephen King (@Stephen King) 1652751994
Also the product of a diseased mind: @TuckerCarlson\u2019s show.pic.twitter.com/MTqmC1tPtw— The Lincoln Project (@The Lincoln Project) 1652752472
Daily reminder that Tucker Carlson will not back down from spreading dangerous conspiracy theories that lead to mass shootings against non-whites because that violence isn't an accident, it's the *goal.*— Brian Tyler Cohen (@Brian Tyler Cohen) 1652747497
Fox\u2019s greatest gift is that they\u2019re able to air things previously only seen on The Daily Stormer and Infowars and convince their partners that it\u2019s no different than regular old TV.\n\nThey did it slowly and methodically and it fucking worked.— Sleeping Giants (@Sleeping Giants) 1652752611
No matter what Tucker Carlson says now, he\u2019s largely responsible for mainstreaming the white supremacist lies that radicalized this terrorist to violence. We have receipts.https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1526353536061165569\u00a0\u2026— Ahmed Baba (@Ahmed Baba) 1652746656
.@TuckerCarlson telling his audience that THEY are the victims. Not the ten innocent souls killed in Buffalo. Nope, Tucker\u2019s audience are the real victims here.https://twitter.com/acyn/status/1526354040044457985\u00a0\u2026— Joe Walsh (@Joe Walsh) 1652746748
"what about my feelings"https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1526354040044457985\u00a0\u2026— darth\u2122 (@darth\u2122) 1652747426
\u201cWon\u2019t likely change unless White people work overtime to counterprogram the replacement narrative. This is necessary work of White Americans bc minorities cannot alone dismantle exploitive brand of fearmongering that\u2019s built around their very existence.\u201dhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/16/white-americans-speak-against-great-replacement-theory/\u00a0\u2026— Leslie Proll (@Leslie Proll) 1652748984
Yes, Tucker Carlson shares the bulk of the blame for the Buffalo Supermarket attack, and hopefully, the bulk of the financial burden, should the victims' families choose to file a civil suit..— Old Man Lefty (@Old Man Lefty) 1652746538
Seems like Tucker is implicitly acknowledging here that white replacement theory is one of his political views.https://twitter.com/acyn/status/1526354040044457985\u00a0\u2026— Bill Kristol (@Bill Kristol) 1652749255
After every racially motivated mass shooting, Tucker has to devote an entire show defending himself for influencing all this violence.\n\nBuffalo is what happens when we tolerate intolerance because whiny right-wing fascists complain they're having their free speech stifled.— Alex Cole (@Alex Cole) 1652753657
Tucker is doing what Rupert wants. As long as Murdoch is loading his bank account by being a hate merchant, Tucker will be on Fox acting like a victim instead of being a man who takes responsibility for his words.https://twitter.com/acyn/status/1526354040044457985\u00a0\u2026— Barbara Malmet (@Barbara Malmet) 1652754125
On his White Power Hour, @TuckerCarlson, proclaims white supremacist terrorism is legitimate political discourse.— Paulette Feeney (@Paulette Feeney) 1652747963
Have to wonder exactly how many other mass shooters Tucker Carlson has emboldened. Scary shit.— Donhammed McBunker (@Donhammed McBunker) 1652751813
Two men. One ideology.\n\nOne man commits his hate crimes on @Twitch with an assault rifle.\n\nThe other commits his hate crimes on @FoxNews with a multi-year contract.\n\nWithout the suit, they would be difficult to tell apart. @TuckerCarlsonhttps://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1526352560080031744\u00a0\u2026— Brett Pransky (@Brett Pransky) 1652746922
Tucker Carlson is the real victim of the Buffalo mass shooting.https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1526354040044457985\u00a0\u2026— Devin Nunes' Alt-Mom (@Devin Nunes' Alt-Mom) 1652754102
White guy\u2019s manifesto- \u201cjust want to make sure everyone knows I\u2019m doing this because I\u2019m racist, literally killing black people because I\u2019m racist af\u201d\n\nTucker Toolbag - \u201ccalling him racist is the go-to democrat talking point\u201d— Jaime Primak (@Jaime Primak) 1652751734
As Tucker Carlson hides behind the First Amendment and assertions of mental illness to avoid taking any responsibility for spreading his sick racist fantasies about a plot to replace whites\u2014just days after another radicalized young man commits mass murder.https://twitter.com/acyn/status/1526354040044457985\u00a0\u2026— Steven Beschloss (@Steven Beschloss) 1652749909
Tucker is a real victim of the Buffalo shooting because people are telling him to stop promoting a racist conspiracy theory. \n\nHe won\u2019t stop but he\u2019s upset people are trying to make him feel bad.https://twitter.com/acyn/status/1526354040044457985\u00a0\u2026— Judd Legum (@Judd Legum) 1652748082
