Fox News host Tucker Carlson said Monday that Black Lives Matter (BLM) has established a new style of politics that is based not on votes nor legality — but on force.
“Black Lives Matter doesn’t make legal arguments. They are not trying to convince you of anything. Black Lives Matter believes in force. They flood the streets with angry, young people who break things and they hurt anyone who gets in the way. When they want something, they take it,” he said on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
Carlson decried what he sees as the lack of leadership in the U.S. since protests, riots, looting and a city occupation have continued to be the response to the death of George Floyd. (RELATED: Protesters And Black Lives Matter Suing Trump Over Eviction From Lafayette Park)
“Our leaders are happy to talk about everything but the collapse of the centuries old civilization tumbling down around them. They have no idea how how little credibility they have. They have no sense of how irrelevant they have become. If you can’t tell the truth when the truth actually matters, then nothing you say matters. Meanwhile, Black Lives Matter becomes more powerful and more popular with the public.”
Carlson said the group is gaining power and popularity because the group is winning and achieving “exactly what they want.”
He noted that BLM continues to demand that police forces be either abolished or defunded and that many American cities are obeying.
“That’s not bluffing, it’s not posturing, it’s not tweeting; that is real power,” Carlson said. “Make them mad and they will set your business on fire. Annoy them and they will occupy your downtown and declare a brand-new country,” adding that people will be afraid and will “not do anything about it.” (RELATED: Seattle Councilmember Says She Can’t Figure Out Why ‘Looting Bothers People’ When People Are ‘Dying Every Day)
A barricade is seen at an entrance to the so-called “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” on June 10, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. The zone includes the blocks surrounding the Seattle Police Departments East Precinct, which was the site of violent clashes with Black Lives Matter protesters, who have continued to demonstrate in the wake of George Floyds death. (Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images)
Carlson said the message BLM is promoting is that “force is more effective than voting. Elections change nothing. Rioting, by contrast, makes you rich and powerful.” He noted that people are rioting across America without fear of prosecution because charges are either being dropped or not laid.
“It works. Violence works. That’s the message … Until violence stops working, violence will continue.”
President Donald Trump has said he will oppose the defunding of police and that a vote for his presidency will mean more money for law enforcement.