The liberal media had been left reeling after a weekend of spreading misinformation and smears against a group of innocent Catholic high school students who were being harassed in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
At the start of the Monday’ edition of his show, on Fox News Channel, Tucker Carlson shamed those who jumped to the conclusions that fit into their narrative. Naming names, Carlson also called out those on the right who did the same thing.
“But did the video really describe what happened? That should have been the first question that journalists asked,” Carlson chided. “Checking facts and adding context is what journalists are paid to do. It’s in the first line of the job description. And yet, amazingly, almost no one in the American media did that.”
After explaining what the original video showed and playing soundbites of the racial slurs and other harassment directed at the student, Carlson blasted “our cultural leaders” as “bigots”. Carlson declared: “It's not surprising then that when a group of pro-life Catholic kids, who look like lacrosse players and live in Kentucky, are accused of wrongdoing the media don’t pause for a moment before casting judgment.”
Carlson then called out New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman and CNN commentator Ana Navarro for urging the school to expel the kids and lashing out at their parents, respectively. “Others call for violence against them,” he added. “CNN legal analyst Bakari Sellers suggested one of the boys should be, quote, ‘Punched in the face’. Former CNN contributor Reza Aslan agreed. Aslan asked on Twitter this: ‘Have you ever seen a more punchable face than this kid's?’”
Of course, Carlson included the deranged demands of former CNNer Kathy Griffin who wanted the names and personal information about the KIDS. The most disturbed tweet came from Hollywood film producer Jack Morrissey. “MAGA kids go screaming, hats first, into the woodchipper,” Carlson read. “And then he paired that with a graphic photo. Actor Patton Oswalt linked to personal information about one of the boys, in case anyone wanted to get started on that project.”
As for those on the right, Carlson first slammed failed Weekly Standard chief Bill Kristol:
Bill Kristol asked his Twitter followers to consider, quote, “the contrast between the calm dignity and quiet strength of Mr. Phillips and the behavior of MAGA brats who have absorbed the spirit of Trumpism.” And then, when the actual facts emerged, Kristol quietly deleted his tweet. He never apologized of course. He hasn't apologized for the Iraq war either. There’s no need, people keep giving him money.
Next up was National Review and managing editor Nicholas Frankovich, who penned a piece titled: “The Covington students might as well have spit on the cross”. Carlson spoke of how the Review pulled the article, apologized, and Frankovich admitted he had not seen all the videos before smearing the kids.
Carlson also read through a rant from Gizmodo editor Alex Cranz, who seemed to have had an old childhood wound reopened by one of the kids who “smirked”:
“From empty school through college I went to school with shelter upper-middle-class white boys who could devastate with a smirk. A facial gesture that weaponized their privilege. Infuriatingly you can't fight that f'ing smirk with a punch or words. We saw that as Trump smirked his way through the election and see it as that boy from Kentucky’s friends, family, and school protect him. I f-ing hate that smirk it says ‘I'm richer, I'm white and I'm a guy.’”
“These are high school kids from Kentucky. Do they really have more privilege an Alex Cranz from Gizmodo,” Carlson rhetorically asked. “Probably not. In fact, probably much less. They’re far less privileged, in fact, than virtually everyone who has called for them to be destroyed on the basis they have too much privilege.”
Last, but not least, was New York Times columnist Kara Swisher. “Swisher went to Princeton Day School and then Georgetown and then got a graduate degree at Columbia (…) Is she more privileged than the boys of Covington Catholic at Kentucky? Of course, she is. Maybe that's why she feels the need to call them Nazis which she did repeatedly,” Carlson concluded as he moving onto discussing the topic with guests.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
Fox News Channel’s Tucker Carlson Tonight
January 21, 2019
8:02:53 p.m. Eastern(..)
TUCKER CARLSON: But did the video really describe what happened? That should have been the first question that journalists asked. Checking facts and adding context is what journalists are paid to do. It’s in the first line of the job description. And yet, amazingly, almost noble in the American media did that. And that's a shame because there was a lot to check. The full video of what happened on Friday in Washington is well over an hour long. The four minutes that made Twitter don't tell the story but, instead, distort the story.
A longer look shows that the boys from Covington Catholic in Kentucky were not a roving mob looking for a fight. They were, in fact, and it shows it on the tape standing in place waiting to be picked up by a bus. As they waited there. Members of a group called the black Hebrew Israelites, that a black supremacist organization, began taunting them with racial epitaphs. And then Nathan Phillips, the now famous Indian activist approached them pounding on his drum.
Now the footage seems to suggest the boys were unsure of whether Phillips was hostile or taking their side against the Black Hebrew Israelites. But, in any case, there is no evidence at all that anybody said build a wall. Here's a selection of what didn't make social media.
(…)
CARLSON: So what really happened on Friday? Well, you can watch for yourself and decide. There is plenty of video out there of it. And some of it is fascinating and revealing.
What we know for certain at this point is that our cultural leaders are in effect bigots. And they understand the reality on the basis of stereotypes. When the facts don't conform to what they think they know, they ignore the facts. They see this country not a group of people or of citizens but as a collection of groups and some of those groups they're convinced are morally interior to other groups. They know that's true they say it out loud. And that belief shapes almost all of their perceptions of the world.
It's not surprising then that when a group of pro-life Catholic kids, who look like lacrosse players and live in Kentucky, are accused of wrongdoing the media don’t pause for a moment before casting judgment.
Maggie Haberman of The New York Times suggested the boys need to be expelled from school. Ana Navarro of CNN called the boys racist and ass wipes and then went after their teachers and their parents. Others call for violence against them. CNN legal analyst Bakari Sellers suggested one of the boys should be, quote, “Punched in the face”. Former CNN contributor Reza Aslan agreed. Aslan asked on Twitter this: “Have you ever seen a more punchable face than this kid's?”
Longtime CNN contributor Kathy Griffin seemed to encourage a mob to rise up and hurt these boys. Quote: “Name these kids. I want names. Shame them. If you think these f-ers wouldn't dox you in a heartbeat, think again.” Then she repeated her demand again later. Quote: “Names please. And stories from people who can identify them and vouch for their identity. Thank you.”
Hollywood film producer Jack Morrissey tweeted that he wanted the boys killed. Quote: “MAGA kids go screaming, hats first, into the woodchipper.” And then he paired that with a graphic photo. Actor Patton Oswalt linked to personal information about one of the boys, in case anyone wanted to get started on that project.
Meanwhile, Twitter, which claims to have a policy against violence, stood by silently as this all happened.
But in case you think the response was entirely from the left, you should know that the abuse was bipartisan. It wasn't just left vs. Right. It was the people in power attacking those below them. As a group. Plenty of Republicans in Washington were happy to savage the Covington kids probably to inoculate themselves from charges of improper thought.
Bill Kristol asked his Twitter followers to consider, quote, “the contrast between the calm dignity and quiet strength of Mr. Phillips and the behavior of MAGA brats who have absorbed the spirit of Trumpism.” And then, when the actual facts emerged, Kristol quietly deleted his tweet. He never apologized of course. He hasn't apologized for the Iraq war either. There’s no need, people keep giving him money.
(…)
What's so interesting about the coverage of Friday's videos was how much of it mentioned something called “privilege”. Alex Cranz who’s an editor at Gizmodo, for example, wrote this: “From empty school through college I went to school with shelter upper-middle-class white boys who could devastate with a smirk. A facial gesture that weaponized their privilege. Infuriatingly you can't fight that f'ing smirk with a punch or words. We saw that as Trump smirked his way through the election and see it as that boy from Kentucky’s friends, family, and school protect him. I f-ing hate that smirk it says ‘I'm richer, I'm white and I'm a guy.’”
What’s so fascinating about all of these attacks is how inverted they are. These are high school kids from Kentucky. Do they really have more privilege an Alex Cranz from Gizmodo? Probably not. In fact, probably much less. They’re far less privileged, in fact, than virtually everyone who has called for them to be destroyed on the basis they have too much privilege.
Consider Kara Swisher, for example, she’s an opinion columnist at The New York Times. Swisher went to Princeton Day School and then Georgetown and then got a graduate degree at Columbia. She has become rich and famous in the meantime by toadying for billionaire tech CEOs, she’s their handmaiden. Nobody considers her very talented and she is somewhat highly influential in our society. Is she more privileged than the boys of Covington Catholic at Kentucky? Of course, she is. Maybe that's why she feels the need to call them Nazis which she did repeatedly.
(…)
