On Wednesday's New Day show, CNN analyst John Avlon delivered a "Reality Check" to allegedly fact check Fox News host Tucker Carlson. But the segment actually spread misinformation by replaying Illinois Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth's false claims about President Donald Trump's speech at Mt. Rushmore.
At 8:30 a.m. Eastern, Avlon set up his attack on Carlson:
JOHN AVLON: You know what's unpatriotic? Calling your opponent unpatriotic. This week, the slur came for U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, who is often mentioned at the top tier of Biden's VP picks. But Fox News's Tucker Carlson might have picked on the wrong combat veteran.
This is a bit odd since last month, Avlon did a "Reality Check" touting "lifelong patriots" suggesting Trump was an autocratic "threat to the republic." Was that unpatriotic? Avlon disparaged the "ugly rush to demonize your political opponents," as he rushed to demonize Carlson.
After playing a clip of the Fox host from Monday's Tucker Carlson Tonight in which he called Senator Duckworth "deeply silly" and "unimpressive" over some of her recent comments, Avlon spent almost a minute touting her family's long history of military service and her own record of military and public service.
Avlon got to the subject of what Carlson was complaining about as the CNN analyst continued: "Now, here's what she said that really teed off Tucker." It was a clip of Senator Duckworth appearing on Sunday's State of the Union, with Dana Bash as fill-in host:
DANA BASH (hosting CNN's State of the Union): Should statues -- for example, of George Washington -- come down?
SENATOR TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D-IL), CLIP #1: Well, let me just say that we should start off by having a national dialogue on it.
As the camera zoomed in to a close up on Duckworth which was not in the original broadcast, as if to emphasize or endorse her claims, the Democratic Senator complained that President Trump had spent more time at Mt. Rushmore "honoring dead Confederates" than discussing the coronavirus pandemic:
DUCKWORTH CLIP #2: 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 they're putting on Americans' heads.
Avlon did not bother to fact-check the senator's claim as he then set up and played some of Carlson's response:
AVLON: To which Tucker replied --
CARLSON CLIP #1: -- what's long been considered out of bounds to question a person's patriotism --
CARLSON CLIP #2: -- the conclusion can't be avoided -- these people actually hate America. There's no longer a question about that.
In fact, Duckworth's assertion that President Trump had spoken about "dead Confederates" was completely false as the President only spoke about former Presidents and a number of other famous historical figures -- none of them Confederates at all.
A bit later, in a portion of the interview not shown by Avlon, Duckworth even went so far as to claim that Trump "spent all his time talking about dead traitors."
Carlson had quoted this false claim on his Tuesday show as he recalled that the Democratic Senator had turned down an invitation to discuss the issue of whether statues of George Washington should be taken down.
Avlon let Duckworth's misinformation stand as he suggested that it was Carlson and Fox News who could not be trusted to give facts to their viewers. After citing Duckworth complaining about Carlson calling her a "coward" for not appearing on his show, Avlon concluded:
But some folks fearmonger when they don't have facts on their side. And, speaking of facts, here's something to ponder if you're wondering just who you can trust in this hailstorm of hate. Fox News's own lawyer argued in federal court three weeks ago that Tucker Carlson's audience doesn't expect him to report the facts. And that's your "Reality Check."
This episode was sponsored by Finishing Touch beauty products and Liberty Mutual insurance. Their contact information is linked.
Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Wednesday, July 8, New Day on CNN:
ALISYN CAMEROTA: Fox TV's Tucker Carlson is attacking Senator Tammy Duckworth, who is an Iraq War vet and Purple Heart recipient. John Avlon has our "Reality Check."
JOHN AVLON: You know what's unpatriotic? Calling your opponent unpatriotic. This week, the slur came for U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, who is often mentioned at the top tier of Biden's VP picks. But Fox News's Tucker Carlson might have picked on the wrong combat veteran.
TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: You're not supposed to criticize Tammy Duckworth in any way because she once served in the military -- most people just ignore her. But when Duckworth does speak in public, you're reminded what a deeply silly and unimpressive person she is.
AVLON: Now, before we get into what so offended Carlson, here's a little bit more about the person he called "deeply silly" and "unimpressive."
(Avlon recalls her Senator Duckworth's family military history and her own history of earning a Purple Heart in the Iraq War)
(...)
AVLON: Now, here's what she said that really teed off Tucker.
DANA BASH (hosting CNN's State of the Union): Should statues -- for example, of George Washington -- come down?
SENATOR TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D-IL), CLIP #1: Well, let me just say that we should start off by having a national dialogue on it.
DUCKWORTH CLIP #2: 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 they're putting on Americans' heads.
AVLON: To which Tucker replied --
CARLSON CLIP #1: -- what's long been considered out of bounds to question a person's patriotism --
CARLSON CLIP #2: -- the conclusion can't be avoided -- these people actually hate America. There's no longer a question about that.
AVLON: In response, the Senator tweeted: "Does Tucker Carlson want to walk a mile in my legs and then tell me whether or not I love America?" This isn't just about whether Tucker Carlson or Donald Trump served or sacrificed for their country the way that Tammy Duckworth did. They didn't.
It's about the ugly rush to demonize your political opponents, which Carlson did again last night, desperately calling Senator Duckworth a "moron," a "coward," a "fraud" -- someone who was once injured while serving in the Illinois National Guard and, because irony is dead, a "callous hack."
He did all this allegedly to defend George Washington, whose statues Duckworth never said should be taken down -- and, for what it's worth, I don't think they should be. But he might want to refer back to Washington's warning that we "should guard against the impostors of pretended patriotism."
But some folks fearmonger when they don't have facts on their side. And, speaking of facts, here's something to ponder if you're wondering just who you can trust in this hailstorm of hate. Fox News's own lawyer argued in federal court three weeks ago that Tucker Carlson's audience doesn't expect him to report the facts. And that's your "Reality Check."
