Fox News host Tucker Carlson said Monday that Republicans are ducking their responsibility to counter “insane” arguments from Black Lives Matter to defund or abolish police forces across American.
Referring to the past weekend of inflammatory rhetoric from Black Lives Matter, including a threat from one demonstrator to torch the diamond district of New York City, Carlson noted on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” that “Black Lives Mattter means defund the police. Got that?”
He asked why more law and order politicians weren’t challenging that proposal. “Who’s running this country? Who’s in charge? Anyone?” (RELATED: Philly Restaurant Stops Offering Free Food To Police After Backlash — ‘We Believe Black Lives Matter’)
“Yet amazingly, some Republicans in Washington seem giddy as they watch the country go insane. ‘Democrats have gone too far this time,’ they will tell you. ‘We are guaranteed to win in November.’ You’ve probably gotten texts to that effect recently from friends. Sounds good. But they are wrong,” Carlson said.
The Daily Caller co-founder contended that those predictions “are totally and completely wrong on many levels,” and that it is irresponsible to duck the controversy and hope it goes away because “if you care about a country, you’ve got to try. You have an obligation to try your very best to protect and defend it no matter who is helped in November.”
Carlson defined that willingness to protect and defend a country as the very definition of patriotism. He dismissed the over-confidence of some Republicans as “a mindless analysis, a stupid calculation.” (RELATED: DC Mayor Won’t Answer Repeated Questions About Removing ‘Defund The Police’ Mural From City Street)
“Bad ideas are like cancer,” Carlson insisted, saying that ignoring or denying their existence only allows them to spread. “Most people as we noted currently oppose defunding the police,” he told viewers, referring to a poll released Monday that found only 16% of Americans supported the idea.
Demonstrators calling to defund the Minneapolis Police Department march on University Avenue on June 6, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
“That is where the polls stand right now. But will they feel that way in three months? How about in three weeks? In an environment like this, you don’t know. Things move fast.”
Republican Utah Sen. Mitt Romney marched in support of Black Lives Matter over the weekend — earning him President Donald Trump’s derision on Monday.
A roster of Hollywood and other celebrities have recently joined the movement and a former press secretary to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has also joined the chorus.
