In an on-air response to an article attacking him and the network, Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson flipped the tables on The New York Times Thursday night when he called out the liberal paper for “screwing up coronavirus stories from day one.” And he also rubbed their nose in their ridiculous China and virus articles dating back to January.
The segment was a response to a Times article titled, “Alarm, denial, blame, the pro-Trump media’s coronavirus distortion,” where the paper accused Carlson and Fox News of, among other things, protecting President Trump by unjustly blaming China for the global pandemic (click “expand”):
In the telling of The New York Times, coronavirus coverage on this show and elsewhere followed a certain pattern. The pattern they told us went this way: “Step one: Blame China.” According to The New York Times: "When the virus ravaged China, some pundits on the right warned that the country couldn’t be trusted to contain the outbreak or share accurate information about where it originated."
Can you believe they thought that way? Where they get that idea? Because it’s true. But The New York Times doesn’t admit that.
Then, step two, playing down the risks followed by step three, share survivor stories to show the virus wasn't so bad. And finally, step four, blame the left.
“Now, as you’re aware of from watching this program and from living in this country, whatever these people accuse you of doing is 100 percent of the time exactly what they're doing themselves. And that of course was the case here,” Carlson declared after giving the rundown of The Times article. He turned The Times’ four-step formula around and embarrassed them with their own headlines.
According to Carlson, the first step was to “blame racism.” “Here are two New York Times headlines from the early days of the outbreak, quote, ‘An outbreak of racist sentiment as coronavirus reaches Australia,’” he read. “In other words, people’s bad opinions are worse than a pandemic. Here’s another, ‘In Europe, fear spreads faster than the coronavirus itself.’”
Where The Times accused Fox News of playing down the seriousness of the virus, Carlson pointed out that that was something the Times had done in step two. “On January 29, the paper warns you to, ‘Beware of the pandemic panic.’ Calm down, ladies and gentlemen! A week later they asked, ‘Who says it's not safe to travel to China?’ Book a ticket to Wuhan, racist,” Carlson mocked.
For step three, Carlson pointed out how the paper had taken to politicizing the virus by insisting it should be called “Trumpvirus” and by arguing “the road to coronavirus hell was paved by evangelicals." “Yeah, that’s right. A pandemic that emerged from an atheist country is really the fault of Christians, says The New York Times. That tells you a lot about where they are,” he said.
The fourth and final step was to blame Fox News. He reminded folks that, “This show was telling you about the dangers of this disease way back in January, when The Times was still wondering if it was racist to even know it existed and encouraging you to travel to Wuhan on vacation.”
Carlson wrapped up the segment with the ridiculous interview New York Times writer Donald McNeil gave to MSNBC, where he peddled Chinese Communist Party propaganda about there being no new cases in China. McNeil also suggested the U.S. bring over Chinese health care workers to manage the crisis here.
“What a shill. Bring in Chinese doctors to run our hospital[s]. That’s his take. That’s not surprising though, apparently Chinese doctors already run The New York Times,” Carlson concluded.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
Fox News Channel’s Tucker Carlson Tonight
April 2, 2020
8:40:03 p.m. EasternTUCKER CARLSON: Well, The New York Times, in case you don't read it, it's still being published, still out of New York, ran a piece the other day with his headline, "Alarm, denial, blame, the pro-Trump media’s coronavirus distortion." They hit the same themes.
In the telling of The New York Times, coronavirus coverage on this show and elsewhere followed a certain pattern. The pattern they told us went this way: “Step one: Blame China.” According to The New York Times, quote, "When the virus ravaged China, some pundits on the right warned that the country couldn’t be trusted to contain the outbreak or share accurate information about where it originated."
[Laughter] Can you believe they thought that way? Where they get that idea? Because it’s true. But The New York Times doesn’t admit that.
Then, step two, playing down the risks followed by step three, share survivor stories to show the virus wasn't so bad. And finally, step four, blame the left. Now, as you’re aware of from watching this program and from living in this country, whatever these people accuse you of doing is 100 percent of the time exactly what they're doing themselves. And that of course was the case here.
As you know, the establishment press has been screwing up coronavirus stories from day one. So, there are four steps to understanding their coverage and here's what they are. The first step, as usual, blame racism. Here are two New York Times headlines from the early days of the outbreak, quote, "An outbreak of racist sentiment as coronavirus reaches Australia.” In other words, people’s bad opinions are worse than a pandemic. Here’s another, "In Europe, fear spreads faster than the coronavirus itself." Okay.
So, then as the virus kept spreading, there was step two, played on the risks, which The New York Times exiguously did. On January 29, the paper warns you to, quote, “beware of the pandemic panic.” Calm down, ladies and gentlemen! A week later they asked, “Who says it's not safe to travel to China?” Book a ticket to Wuhan, racist!
Somehow, telling the public that coronavirus was no big deal didn't, in the end, contain the virus, so the Times went to step three: politicize the crisis. Calling the coronavirus the “Chinese virus” or the “Wuhan virus” is bigotry the paper would tell you. But they had no problem, on February 26, publishing an op-ed saying, quote, "Let's call it Trumpvirus." And then last week, in a shameful moment that will live forever in infamy, the paper declared – and I’m quoting – "The road to coronavirus hell was paved by evangelicals."
Yeah, that’s right. A pandemic that emerged from an atheist country is really the fault of Christians, says The New York Times. That tells you a lot about where they are.
And now, this week the paper has settled on its favorite step. Step four, blame Fox News. Of course, cause there is a political strategy here. Last week they warned about, quote, "Fox's fake news contagion." Then there was yesterday's article. Talk about a lie. This show was telling you about the dangers of this disease way back in January, when the Times was still wondering if it was racist to even know it existed and encouraging you to travel to Wuhan on vacation.
Now, we’re highlighting the continued dishonesty and malevolence of China. Meanwhile, The New York Times and their star reporter, Donald McNeil is going over to MSNBC to deliver unpaid infomercials for the Chinese Communist Party. Watch this.
DONALD MCNEIL: In China, there are 40,000 doctors, nurses, and respiratory technicians went from all over from China to Wuhan, and help the Wuhan doctors fight the virus. There’s no more virus in Wuhan. Those doctors have all gone home. There've been victory parades for them, gratitude, flowers, and everything, they’re heroes. [Transition] They not only have the skills, a lot of them caught the virus and are now immune. So, they could do a lot of things that would be dangerous for somebody who hasn't got the virus to do. I don't see why we couldn't hire, for our pandemic, a lot of those doctors, nurses, respiratory technicians.
CARLSON: If your Donald McNeil's editor and you’re watching this, aren’t you calling his supervisor saying, “Bring McNeil in, he’s giving away the truth!” What a shill. Bring in Chinese doctors to run our hospital. That’s his take.
That’s not surprising though, apparently Chinese doctors already run The New York Times.
