For the second day in a row, Fox News prime time star Tucker Carlson used his platform as host of the second most-watched show in cable TV news to expose viewers to repeated lies about the January 6, 2021 attack. Done for
Among other things, Carlson once again claimed that no guns or other weapons were found among the rioters who attempted to violently coerce Congress to overturn the 2020 election on behalf of Donald Trump. He also claimed that the Congressional investigation into the attacks “selectively” edited videos and lied about “protests” for “propaganda” purposes.
The comments come amid widespread, and surprisingly bipartisan, condemnation of Carlson. On Monday’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Carlson made multiple false claims related to the January 6 attacks, and also posted select edited footage Misrepresenting them as a peaceful protest. And of course, Carlson repeated the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump.
This resulted in widespread criticism from fellow Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Naturally, Carlson cracked down on those Republicans on Tuesday night’s episode — read more about that here — but he also jumped back at the Jan. 6 lie.
“We haven’t answered every question about what really happened on January 6. There are a lot of secrets from that day,” he said at one point on Tuesday, video of which you can watch at the top of the page (courtesy @acyn on Twitter).
“One thing we know for sure is that the story they told you about it is a story of ‘good versus evil,’ an ‘insurrection’ with no guns, that took place in the US Capitol They were lies, and they were lies that were told for a very specific purpose. Of course, people in power wanted more power, and they got it on the basis of lies.
Speaking of ‘of course’, of course the actual lie here came via Carlsen. Ignoring the fact that Donald Trump, as President on January 6, was by definition the most powerful person in the country, Carlson’s claim that no weapons were present is false.
Video Evidence, Court Documents and Eyewitnesses all prove that dozens of people who participated in the attack They were armed with guns, knives and other weapons. used inter alia for assaulting law enforcement officers at the scene,
Later in the episode, Carlson states, “In free countries, governments don’t lie about protests as an excuse to get more power for themselves. They don’t selectively edit videos for propaganda services, And then lie about them in mock hearings and trials. But that’s exactly what happened.”
These claims about the January 6th hearing are in fact false, but Carlson has consistently used selectively edited videos to further the actual lie about the assault – as shown above.
These comments have also come after the latest round Documents released from defamation suit filed by DominionAgainst Fox News, as it happens, all tell a very different story than the one Carlson now regularly presents to viewers.
Specifically, these documents show that on January 4, 2021, Carlson told someone in a text that he hated Donald Trump with an “obsession.” And other communication Prove that Carlson, as he told Fox News star Laura Ingraham, didn’t believe Trump’s claims that the election was stolen.