The hashtag #CreepyTucker trended on Twitter Tuesday following Fox News personality Tucker Carlson’s latest attack on COVID-19 vaccines.
Carlson, on his widely watched show, once again sowed doubt about the shots and called former President Barack Obama “creepy” for releasing a video encouraging young people to get vaccinated.
In the short clip shared on TikTok, Obama noted that every American over the age of 16 is now eligible to get the jab — and urged them to.
“The vaccine is safe, it’s effective, it’s free,” said Obama. “It’s the only way we’re going to get back to all the things we love from safely spending time with grandparents to going to concerts and watching live sports.”
Watch Obama’s video here:
In response, Carlson railed against scientific studies and the advice of public health experts worldwide who’ve deemed the shots safe:
“Some creepy old guy telling your children, your little kids to take medicine whose effects we do not fully understand. It’s totally normal, yeah, that happens every day. Don’t ask questions, just do it.”
Obama is 59. Carlson is 51.
Watch Carlson’s comments here:
Elsewhere in the segment, Carlson peddled baseless theories about what could happen to people being “forced” to receive the shot:
“What next? And anything is the answer to that question. If the authorities are permitted to control a health care decision this intimate, if they can force you and your children to take a vaccine you don’t want and are afraid of, then what can’t they do? Nothing. They will have total power over your body and your mind forever. What’s the limit to their power? There isn’t one.”
Critics, spurred on by a tweet from progressive PAC MeidasTouch, which sarcastically asked people not to make the #CreepyTucker hashtag go viral, slammed Carlson.
In recent weeks, the Fox personality has also downplayed the deadly U.S. Capitol riot and pushed white supremacist talking points on his show: