Fox News personality Tucker Carlson attempted to discredit new White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, claiming that she, the first Black woman and openly gay person to hold the position, only got the job because of her sexual orientation.
Carlson said that Jean-Pierre's appointment shows that the Biden administration found someone as “shallow, nasty and partisan” as out-going Press Secretary Jen Psaki, suggesting that the administration only assigns roles "exclusively in terms of groups" and not based on individual merit.
You can hear what Carlson said in the video below.
Carlson said:
“Karine Jean-Pierre is our first out LGBTQ+ White House press secretary and that’s all you need to know. It’s a good thing, shut up and celebrate."
"That's why she got the job."
"She’s in the right group and to the Biden administration, which thinks exclusively in terms of groups and never in terms of individuals because individuals are messy and inconvenient. The group is all that matters.”
“Show us your picture and we’ll tell you if you’re qualified for the job."
There is no doubt that Jean-Pierre is qualified for the role of Press Secretary.
She previously worked as the Chief of Staff for Vice President Kamala Harris during her presidential campaign and worked on former President Barack Obama's campaigns in 2008 and 2012, most recently handling press briefings when Psaki tested positive for COVID-19.
In a statement issued last week, Psaki said Jean-Pierre "is smart and she has a moral core that makes her not just a great colleague, but an amazing Mom and human."
Carlson's remarks exposed him to heavy criticism online and many accused him of racism and bigotry.
Carlson has been accused of using his program to stoke resentment against Black people and a recent New York Times series noted that he has "constructed what may be the most racist show in the history of cable news."
Critics of Carlson have pointed out that he has pushed numerous racist conspiracies on his program, including replacement theory, a conspiracy theory that states White European populations and their descendants are being demographically and culturally replaced with non-European peoples.
When Carlson hasn't been using his program to spout his own rhetoric, he invites others to do it for him, such as when he generated controversy last month for hosting University of Pennsylvania Law School professor Amy Wax, who claimed that Black people and “Third World” immigrants hold “resentment and shame and envy” against Westerners because of their "outsized achievements and contributions.”
