OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson has used the rhetoric of Democrats against them as he spoke about the Stephen Colbert staff invasion of the Capitol last week.
He began his show Monday with the same type of rhetoric used against the January 6 protesters against the Colbert staff who were arrested for being in the Capitol sans permission.
“Like most Americans, you’re probably still trying to digest what has happened over these past four days. Profound national trauma is like that. Once you face something unimaginably horrible, nothing is ever the same. Nothing will ever be the same. Like prison, it changes a man,” he said about the Capitol invasion to start his show.
“This is not an easy time for any of us. We get it. We’re literally – literally – still shaking as we think about how close this country came to losing our democracy last Thursday. Last Thursday was June 16th, a day forever branded in our memory, a day that has joined the pantheon of tragic turning points in human history. Where were you on 6/16? You’ll never forget and neither will we. At the time, we were preparing a show on Tony Fauci and his push for a new Corona shot for kids. It seemed important then. It seems so trivial now,” the host mocked.
“As we were speaking on the air at that very moment, a team of seven saboteurs had entered the Capitol grounds and then proceeded, as saboteurs do, to breach the Capitol itself. Inside those hallowed grounds, within the very womb of democracy, these wreckers began their hunt for sitting members of Congress. That happened, ladies and gentlemen, and if it sounds shocking to you, it gets more harrowing from there,” he said.
“This was not some spontaneous outbreak of insurrection. No, this was a meticulously planned coup from afar. The group in the Capitol was under the direct control of an extremist called Stephen Colbert, who as a White man, is, by definition a White extremist,” he said.
“This White extremist, Stephen Colbert, had a fifth column within the Capitol to help him pull off his diabolical plan. He had members of Congress in his employ. Members of Congress who, believe it or not, helped the insurrectionists enter the Capitol, just open the doors and let them walk in. Yes, that can happen and that fifth column included Adam Schiff of California, Stephanie Murphy of Florida, and a new member called Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts, besmirching his family name. Those three members of Congress allowed the wreckers inside the Longworth House Office Building,” he said, naming the Congressmembers who allegedly gave access to the building to the Stephen Colbert crew.
“While inside, the insurrectionists tried to gain access to a restricted area, but they were thwarted by brave law enforcement who arrived, risking their very lives to remove the insurrectionists from the premises. But it wasn’t enough because hours later, an aide to Congressman Auchincloss secretly permitted the insurrectionists to reenter the Capitol complex. And then around 8:30 p.m., they cause some kind of disturbance. The details are murky as of tonight, but according to one report, they were banging on windows inside the Capitol, trashing the place, and committing violence against our democracy. And for that, apparently, we are hearing tonight, they were put in jail, but within hours they were out again,” the host said.
Tucker Carlson: "It'll be a long time before we can revisit the Capitol Building, before we can forget where we were when democracy shook on its very foundations … before we can recapture the carefree innocence that Stephen Colbert stole from us." pic.twitter.com/xA4UmncBMh
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) June 21, 2022
“Now, the man who controlled this attempted a coup, Stephen Colbert, knew exactly what he was doing. He knew the stakes. He knew the crimes he was committing and we know that because just last year, this White extremist, Stephen Colbert, explained that grown men who unlawfully enter the Capitol to harass sitting members of Congress are not pranksters. They’re not protesters. They’re domestic terrorists,” he said before playing a clip of what Colbert said on January 7, 2020.”
“So, we’re going to have to mete out some pretty serious punishment. Stephen Colbert’s team of insurrectionists have been jailed for one night. That’s not a lot,” he said to end his segment. “These are our fellow Americans. We owe them a second chance. Thankfully, there’s recent precedent to help guide an appropriate punishment.”
