Tucker Carlson went to the land Down Under and got verbally entangled with local journalists, drawing rave reviews from conservatives in the United States.
The former top-rated Fox News host who later started his Tucker Carlson Network, a streaming platform, was in Canberra, Australia, on Tuesday to speak and ultimately spar with various media members on various topics, including the “great replacement theory,” Russian President Vladimir Putin and the efficacy of vaccines in a post-COVID world.
Carlson was there as part of the Australia Freedom Conference, described by local media as a multicity, sold-out live tour sponsored by local mining magnate and billionaire Clive Palmer, who has expressed right-wing talking points from the U.S.
In a roughly six-minute video, a female reporter from the Australian Associated Press asked Carlson about the great replacement theory and how he mentioned it on his former Fox News show some “4,000 times,” which Carlson refuted, asking for citations.
“I said native-born Americans are being replaced, including Blacks,” Carlson said. “African Americans have been in the United States in many cases for over 400 years, and their concerns are every bit as real and valid and alive to me as the concerns of white people whose families have been there 400 years.
“I’ve never said that whites are being replaced, not one time, and you can’t cite it. We just met, but when our relationship starts with a lie it makes it tough to be friends,” he said.
The great replacement theory is espoused by some extreme conservatives who express fears about nonwhites and immigrants gaining more clout and undermining or “replacing” whites in Western nations while assuming more political power and dominating culture, according to the National Immigration Forum.
Carlson went on to tell the reporter to take his response at “face value.” He brought up the U.S. birth rate to “tell the whole story,” saying the U.S. population is growing because of immigration and not more domestic births. “Happy people have children,” he added.
“You don’t just go for the quick sugar fix of importing new people. Like, that’s my position,” he said. “If you think that’s racist, that’s your problem.”
When the reporter said she wasn’t calling him “racist,” Carlson said her statements were indicative of a larger media environment consisting of “slurs” and implications that negate credibility.
She then brought up the theory again and its connection to a 2023 mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, that resulted in 10 deaths.
“Oh God! Come on!” Carlson said. “How do they get people this stupid in the media? I guess it doesn’t pay well. Look, I’m sorry, I’ve lived among people like you for too long. I don’t mean to call you stupid. Maybe you’re just pretending to be.”
He went on: “My views are not bigoted against any group. They’re honest, they’re factual, and that’s not hate, that’s reality…. How dare you try to tie me to some lunatic who murdered people? How dare you, actually.”
Carlson was then asked about supporting gun control. He responded that a sovereign person has a right to defend themselves and their families, adding that he is “opposed to harming anyone.”
The reporter then asked if he “harbors any responsibility” for hate crimes, to which he laughed while some in the crowd jeered.
“I’m sorry, I’m trying to be charitable,” Carlson said. “I was, like, maybe you’re just pretending to be dumb. Now, I don’t think it’s an act.
“I got here and the country is so unbelievably beautiful, and the people are so cheerful and funny and cool and smart. I’m, like, your media has got to be better than ours. It can’t just be a bunch of castrated robots reading questions from the boss, and then it turns out it’s exactly the same. Maybe even a tiny bit dumber.”
Carlson posted the exchange on his website, referring to the local media as an “adversarial press corps.”
Some conservatives on X (formerly Twitter) heralded Carlson’s statements.
“WATCH: Tucker NUKES Liberal ‘Reporter’ after asking her to give an example to back up her claim,” posted Benny Johnson.
“Tucker was great before this – but now he will for sure go down as one of the greatest of all time. Meet the GOAT,” wrote Lara Logan, a former 60 Minutes correspondent who has expressed conspiracy theories.
“Tucker Utterly Stumps Reporter By Simply Asking For A Citation,” wrote the conservative media outlet The Daily Caller.
“Tucker just annihilated one of the stupidest Reporters I’ve ever heard,” wrote Liz Churchill. “These Communist B****** are absolutely shameless. Lol.”
Before Carlson’s visit, the Australian Institute of International Affairs warned that his presence would mean more mimicking of Kremlin propaganda. Carlson met with Putin in February for a lengthy interview on the Russia-Ukraine war, NATO and other topics.
“With ticket prices as high as $275, attending Carlson’s events isn’t cheap,” a June 21 article on the institute’s website said. “But the real price Aussies will pay for his paranoid, divisive, and racist propaganda tour is the effect on Australian communities.
“Unfortunately, this is not satire; Carlson and his allies represent the greatest threat global fascism has posed since World War II,” the article went on. “Thankfully, in a society known for its culture of mateship, early indications show that Australians are rejecting these polarizing events, but how Australia responds to the ongoing threat remains crucial.”
In Australia, Carlson also had a back-and-forth with Sydney Morning Herald political correspondent Paul Sakkal about Putin. Sakkal dubbed him a “useful idiot” for the Russian leader.
The conversation quickly moved on to vaccines. Sakkal said they saved millions of lives during the pandemic, but Carlson didn’t buy it.
“Oh, yeah. Safe and effective,” Carlson said. “This is why everyone loves the media. It’s like a time capsule. It’s like you’re the last Japanese soldier on Okinawa thinking the war’s still going on. No, it didn’t save millions of lives.”
https://www.cf.org/news/tucker-carlson-scorches-stupid-australian-journalist-during-canberra-visit/?
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