Tucker Carlson offered a head-spinning response Tuesday to critics of Donald Trump after he made controversial comments about COVID-19. (See the video below.)
Upon his return to the White House this week following his hospitalization for the coronavirus, the president told Americans not to fear it. He said they could “beat it” with the “best medical equipment, the best medicines” developed under his administration. “Don’t let it dominate,” he urged.
Many took the remarks as another example of the president downplaying the pandemic while disrespecting the millions affected by it. Not to mention that he seemed to conveniently forget the 210,000 killed by it on his bungled watch.
But the Fox News host accused the president’s “deranged” opponents of stoking “irrational fears” while Trump generated hope through “cheerful” optimism.
“Encouraging hope in your country is now ‘heartless,’” he said on Tucker Carlson Tonight. “Staying cheerful is an insult to the rest of us. Our leaders have an obligation to confirm our most irrational fears, that’s what compassion looks like. That’s what they’re telling us. It’s deranged. But it’s also recognizable. It reminds you of the many ghouls in Washington who forced our military to wage pointless wars around the Middle East, but when you point out how destructive all of that has been, they whip around and accuse you of insulting the memory of our soldiers, that is the thousands of unfortunate young Americans who have died in their pointless wars. How do you respond to an attack like that? It’s almost too irrational to rebut. That’s why they use it. And that’s why they’re using the same strategy here.”
Huh?
Carlson continued, visiting familiar Trump claims on the way: “They wreck our economy with lockdowns. They keep our children stunted and ignorant by shutting down their schools. They drive our entire country to the brink of madness with politically motivated hysteria, but if you dare to say a word about it, if you dare to complain in any way, you are the monster. In fact, you’re a killer.”
H/T Media Matters