Tucker Carlson Rages After Ben Smith Confronts Him Over Mass Shooters Using His Rhetoric: ‘This is Why You Are Considered a Propagandist’
Ben Smith concluded the pre-launch event for his new media company Semafor on Thursday with a highly contentious interview with top-rated Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
Smith, the former New York Times media reporter and Buzzfeed editor-in-chief, kicked off the conversation with Carlson by noting on his show he spends “a lot of time laughing at labels that are thrown at you: racist, white supremacist, host of the most racist show in the history of cable television.” Smith then asked Carlson if he believes “white people are superior to other races?”
Carlson laughed and responded, “no, of course not.”
Smith followed up by asking if Carlson thinks white people have “a claim on America that people of other races do not.”
“I’m a Christian and so I think God made everybody and therefore everybody is of equal value in his eyes,” Carlson replied. He went on to argue that there is a lot of “criticism you can level at me,” but claimed if you look at his history there are no instances of racial animus.
Carlson added, “100 percent of the people I am mad at are well-educated white liberals.”
As the conversation continued, Smith pressed Carlson on some of his recent controversies including espousing the so-called “Replacement Theory” that has fueled recent mass shootings like the one in Buffalo, New York.
“The language of replacement theory which you popularized. The language of replacement theory is specifically the language used by Neo-Nazis to recruit people to their cause. It has been obviously — I’m not suggesting some straight line between words and actions — but it is a phrase that has been used by mass shooters. I wonder if you don’t have any regret popularizing that?” Smith asked as Carlson spoke in the background.
We’re 8 minutes into @semaforben’s interview with Tucker Carlson and Carlson is steamrolling Ben.
It’s painful to watch. @semaforben is utterly unprepared. pic.twitter.com/Rdg8oU3s1f
— Nandini Jammi (@nandoodles) July 7, 2022
“This is why you are considered, correctly, a propagandist and not a journalist. Because I just explained in detail with total sincerity what I believe. You ignored it and invoked mass shooters. So that’s not what –” Carlson responded, attacking Smith.
“I’d like to ask you about it,” Smith interjected as the two spoke over each other.
“This is revealing how ridiculous you are and I think it is evident to any fair person watching,” raged Carlson as Smith moved on to ask Carlson about January 6th – which he thought they might be able to find “common ground on.”
The 20-minute interview covered a range of other topics including Carlson’s lack of presidential ambitions, how he writes his own scripts, and whether or not he has ever lied to his audience. The interview wrapped as Smith ran out of time and abruptly cut off Carlson, who laughed and said, “that was fun.”
Watch the full interview here (begins at 1:26).
