Podcast host Megyn Kelly eviscerated the media during her Sirius XM show Monday for blaming Fox News host and Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson for the Buffalo shooting.
The media and social media users have attempted to blame Carlson and other conservatives for the alleged teenage shooter, Payton Gendron, opening fire in a Buffalo, New York, supermarket Saturday. Gendron, a self-described “white supremacist,” “anti-Semite” and “former communist,” writing in an over 100-page manifesto that he shot up the grocery store because “it has the highest black population percentage.”
Kelly criticized the media for quickly “pointing fingers” for Gendron’s actions, particularly Carlson.
“Some in the media have been quick to point fingers and even place blame on our friend and very popular Fox News host Tucker Carlson. It’s outrageous, it’s wrong both factually and morally,” Kelly said. “Why do we have to go to that place immediately on these stories? Why can’t we spend two fucking minutes mourning the people who are dead and trying to understand that we have insane people in this country?”
“We have lunatics! It’s a huge country. We’re not going to be able to get rid of them all. It infuriates me. People have to inject their politics in everything and this guy had a racist manifesto, there’s no question. That doesn’t make it Tucker Carlson’s fault! Just stop it! Just stop it!”
The New York Times claimed in a Sunday piece that Carlson “promoted” the so-called “Great Replacement Theory,” an alleged Ethno-nationalist political theory warning white people that they are being replaced by non-white immigrants. (RELATED: After They Called For His Firing, Tucker Discovers The ADL Is Guilty Of Making The Same ‘Replacement’ Argument)
“No public figure has promoted replacement theory more loudly or relentlessly than the Fox host Tucker Carlson, who has made elite-led demographic change a central theme of his show since joining Fox’s prime-time lineup in 2016,” the New York Times said.
Carlson mentioned the theory while criticizing remarks then-Vice President Joe Biden made during a 2015 White House conference on global extremism. Biden seemed to imply that “a source of [America’s] strength” would be that people of “white European stock” would make up less than 50% of the population by 2017, the Washington Post reported.
A Rolling Stone article published Sunday by Talia Lavin claimed Gendron was a “mainstream Republican,” despite him identifying as a “left-wing authoritarian.” Gendron’s manifesto also attacked Fox News.
NBC’s Ben Collins, who covers disinformation, extremism and the internet, claimed Carlson was “trying to preach” to extremists like Gendron who spur racist attacks through the use of violence during a Monday appearance on “Morning Joe.”
“There are people — and I don’t think we should be dancing around his name — there are people like Tucker Carlson who are directly trying to preach to these people,” Collins said. “There are people on 4chan who call him ‘our guy,’ the only guy in mainstream media who speaks up for them. That man is actively trying to appeal to these people. It’s extremely dangerous. He is the highest-rated show on cable news.”
CNN political commentator S.E. Cupp said Carlson has pushed “racism” and “conspiracy theories” that have allegedly dispersed a rising level of hate throughout the country. (RELATED: Tucker Carlson Says Elon Musk Taking Over Twitter Would Be A ‘Direct Challenge’ To Liberal Elites)
“When is it going to be enough? We’ve had an insurrection, we have a rise in hate crimes, we have these horrific shootings where people are telling you exactly why they’re doing it, because of stuff you’re saying,” Cupp said. “When is it going to be enough? When will you have reached your disgusting, gross goal? And when will you stop feeling completely disconnected from all of this?”
“The View” co-host Ana Navarro blamed Carlson on Monday’s show for previously mentioning the replacement theory, saying he and Republicans need to be “called out” for these incidents.
“It’s time to name names and point fingers,” Navarro said. “Tucker Carlson mentioned the Great Replacement Theory, or some version of that, more than 400 times on his show since 2016, according to the New York Times. … It’s not just them. It’s other hosts of Fox News, it’s other Republican leaders and they need to be called out.”
In September, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) called on Fox News to fire Carlson for referring to Biden’s comments as “the Great Replacement.” While appearing on Kelly’s show, Carlson simply began by saying, “fuck them,” then added Democrats consistently push the theory.