Tucker Carlson: Putin’s Favorite Mouthpiece

Just like most of you, I am sickened and saddened by Putin’s attack on Ukraine. There is literally nothing good a person can say about it. The videos of Russian troops running over cars with Ukrainian citizens inside, footage of missiles and bombs destroying buildings, hospitals and cities across the country are enough to make me lose my hope in humanity. As horrifying as all the coverage of the invasion is, I am encouraged by the resolve the Ukrainian people are showing in the face of this terror and carnage.

Except for a small handful of Republican politicians who are choosing to use these attacks as political fodder, as well as Chinese and North Korean leaders, the entire world has denounced Putin and his aggression. Most of Congress, NATO, the EU and the G7 have been united in their view that Putin is a war criminal for attacking a country without provocation. The Russian people are also showing their outrage about Putin’s invasion, taking to the streets to protest even though it will mean jail time, or worse. Even people who are not particularly Biden fans are standing united with our country in our opposition to this terrible attack.

With one exception: Tucker Carlson.

I have never understood the appeal of Carlson, as I find his nonstop outrage tiresome. He has repeatedly lied to the American people about all sorts of things, but I have pretty much ignored him and others like him whose only real purpose seems to be getting people riled up. But his insistence that we should support Putin and not care about the Ukraine situation is un-American and dangerous, as is the verbally abusing our country while engaged in a foreign conflict. Normalizing this behavior creates divides at a time when our country needs unification more than anything.

Consider the view of U.S. District Court Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil, when she found in 2020 that Carlson didn’t commit slander when he accused a former Playboy model, Karen McDougal, of extortion, after the National Enquirer bought her story of an affair with Trump then promptly shelved it on his behalf. Fox’s own lawyers successfully made the case that Carlson shouldn’t be taken seriously. She wrote, “Whether the Court frames Mr. Carlson’s statements as ‘exaggeration,’ or simply bloviating for his audience, the conclusion remains the same– the statements are not actionable.” She added, “Fox persuasively argues, that given Mr. Carlson’s reputation, any reasonable viewer arrives with an appropriate amount of skepticism about the statement he makes.”

Now, does Carlson have the right to say the things he says? Of course he does. I believe in freedom of speech, but I also know that all opinions are not based on facts, so a thinking person needs to evaluate what they are hearing and decide whether to listen or to dismiss. Siding with a murderous dictator who poisons his political opponents and attacks a country unprovoked does not deserve our support, regardless of how we might feel about NATO, the EU, or President Biden. Extolling the qualities of Putin as admirable is simply wrong and politically motivated. Let’s stand together in support of Ukraine, and democracies worldwide, as we pray and hope for a swift resolution to this conflict.