Tucker Carlson recently told students at his alma mater that he was banned from visiting the campus and delivering remarks.
Carlson alleged that after refusing to give him a direct answer about his prospective visit, St. George’s School informed him that “people could be killed” if he hosted a speaking event on campus.
“I found, honestly in my exchanges with the administration at St. George’s, a total resistance to having anybody who they don’t agree with even in the same world. Like I’m not on your campus right now because they — the campus that I went to, and donated to and sent my two children to — because they wouldn’t let me come,” Carlson claimed.
Breaking: Tucker Carlson is considered by faculty and administration “too dangerous” to speak at his high school alma mater, the St George’s School, despite a student invitation. He hosts a Zoom with students instead and explains what happened. Here’s the clip. pic.twitter.com/GvShGq9qGK
— The ReDeclaration of Independence (@ReDecNews) March 29, 2024
“And why wouldn’t they let me come? Well, of course, because they hate my politics. And my feeling was, well, you know, that’s wrong,” he continued. “First of all, I wanna be there. I want to meet the kids. I wanna see the kids. And I feel it would be good for everyone to have this happen. And I don’t want a mandatory chapel where everyone has to come and hear me. I don’t believe in that. I don’t wanna press my views on people who don’t want to hear them.”
“Let’s just have an event where everyone who wants to come can come. And people who don’t want to come don’t have to come. I don’t think you — again, I don’t think you should force your views on anyone. I don’t believe in that. I really don’t believe in that. They did it to me at St. George’s and I didn’t like it — and I said so at the time,” he said.
Carlson explained that he called the St. George Headmaster Michael C. Wirtz’s office and was not called back until one week later, when they still would not give Carlson a “straight answer” about whether he was allowed to visit the campus. He said the school’s indirectness was “political” and called their behavior “hilarious.”
“And ultimately, the headmaster, who — Mr. Wirtz, as he called himself to me — uh, says, ‘Well, we’re worried you would garnish national media attention,’” Carlson continued.
Carlson said he received another call from a board member from the school, during which he was told “the students don’t want you to come” and that they think he is “embarrassing.” The former Fox News host alleged that he received a third call soon after raising safety concerns about his potential appearance on campus. (RELATED: ‘It’s Mind-Boggling’: Mike Rowe Tells Tucker Americans ‘Starting To Get The Message’ On College Education)
“Then ultimately, two days ago, I get another call saying, ‘We have a new reason you can’t come, and the new reason is, it’s just not safe. And if you come on campus, people could be killed,’” Carlson alleged.
Carlson claimed that St. George’s School told him its security officials were not armed, which he said was “so nuts.” Carlson even offered to bring his own armed security, which he said the school turned down due to their anti-gun policy.
“I mean, like, stop lying to me. I just can’t deal with it. Why don’t you say, ‘We don’t like your politics. We think you’re scary. You can’t get anywhere near the campus that you went to and were married on and sent all your kids to.’ And I would be like, okay, that’s fine. But rather than just say it to me, we had to get into this whole passive aggressive lying cycle where no one can just be direct. And I just have total contempt for that,” Carlson said.
St. George’s School responded to Carlson with a memo obtained by the Daily Beast. The school acknowledged that students reached out to him and emphasized that he had spoken on-campus before.
NEW: St. George’s School’s leadership sent out a memo this evening outlining their safety concerns with Tucker coming to campus and alleging that he violated an agreement to not record the Zoom session he had with students. https://t.co/5BTPgFo4gg pic.twitter.com/KzJrSU612T
— Corbin Bolies (@CorbinBolies) March 29, 2024
“The students then shared the invitation with school leadership, leading to a discussion of potential ways forward … One important concern was security, as Mr. Carlson travels with armed guards, and Rhode Island state law prohibits civilians from carrying firearms on a school campus,” the memo read.
“[T]he school leadership decided that a virtual conversation between Mr. Carlson and interested students was the best way to honor the invitation and ensure campus safety. … [Carlson] agreed to the virtual event. Student attendance was strictly voluntary,” the memo continued.
The memo explained that “faculty and staff” attended the virtual event, but said it was “student-led.” The memo added that Carlson agreed not to record the students due to many being underage, but alleged his apparent recording of the event from his studio violated that agreement and school policy.
“We are disappointed that Mr. Carlson chose to record and share the Zoom discussion. The students deserved to know in advance if that was his plan. We also strongly disagree with his description of the discussions that led to the Zoom conversation as well as our openness to students hearing a wide range of views and perspectives.”