Fox News personality Tucker Carlson complained about "race politics" on his program in the aftermath of a mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, even going so far as to downplay the existence of White nationalist talking points in the shooter's manifesto.
All the while, Carlson conveniently ignored conspiracies he has been responsible for spreading, refusing to take responsibility for the "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory he has often touted.
The shooter—who is reported to have written a 180-page manifesto released prior to the attack—subscribed to the theory, which suggests White European populations and their descendants are being demographically and culturally replaced with non-European peoples.
Despite this, Carlson still suggested "race politics" are responsible for political divisions across the nation.
You can hear what he said in the video below.
All race politics is bad, no matter what flavor it is. It's poison. It subsumes the individual into the group. It dehumanizes people. It elevates appearance over initiative and decency, and all the other God-given qualities that make people unique yet morally equal to each other.pic.twitter.com/go7TpLheQY— Tucker Carlson (@Tucker Carlson) 1652749890
Missing from Carlson's analysis is the fact that he has pushed numerous racist conspiracy theories on his program, including replacement theory. He has often railed against liberal immigration policies, providing an enormous platform for White nationalist rhetoric.
Carlson has been accused of using his program to stoke resentment against people of color and a recent New York Times series noted he has "constructed what may be the most racist show in the history of cable news."
His own explanations for why the shooting took place did not resonate with his critics.
Shameless.https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1526369786422247427\u00a0\u2026— Republicans against Trumpism (@Republicans against Trumpism) 1652808450
The #StochasticTerrorist is at it again, doubling down.\n\nHe needs to be removedhttps://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1526369786422247427\u00a0\u2026— mckeller11 (@mckeller11) 1652789108
Dehumanizing: \ncalling people illegal, using hunting terms like \u201ccatch & release\u201d, and showing outrage at migrants receiving baby formula\u2026\nTucker Carlson\u2019s dehumanization will continue.https://twitter.com/tuckercarlson/status/1526369786422247427\u00a0\u2026— Barbara McMullin (@Barbara McMullin) 1652791094
"Race politics is bad" says the man inciting a race war.....https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1526369786422247427\u00a0\u2026— ChaoticAaronStout (@ChaoticAaronStout) 1652757941
Talk about replacement, @FoxNews I think it's way, way past time for your vile golden boy to be replacedhttps://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1526369786422247427\u00a0\u2026— PATRICE O'ROURKE \u26e6\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@PATRICE O'ROURKE \u26e6\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1652758269
You\u2019re The Cause!https://twitter.com/tuckercarlson/status/1526369786422247427\u00a0\u2026— M-A.Stay\u2019Legit \u2122\ufe0f\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddea (@M-A.Stay\u2019Legit \u2122\ufe0f\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddea) 1652775276
This is @tuckercarlson, in a supreme act of cowardice, suddenly running away from the over 400 times he invoked race hate in his shows. He\u2019s a firm proponent of White Replacement Theory but now he\u2019s afraid America and his advertisers have had enough. Fuck Tuckerhttps://twitter.com/tuckercarlson/status/1526369786422247427\u00a0\u2026— Patriotic Moose & Lamb (v.2) (@Patriotic Moose & Lamb (v.2)) 1652786705
This statement is incompatible with your racist rants almost nightly.https://twitter.com/tuckercarlson/status/1526369786422247427\u00a0\u2026— Huck C\ud83e\udd81 (@Huck C\ud83e\udd81) 1652761416
What? He just did show defending his racism as free speech.#Gaslightinghttps://twitter.com/tuckercarlson/status/1526369786422247427\u00a0\u2026— Dr. Sabine Fanm, MD (@Dr. Sabine Fanm, MD) 1652773083
10 people were killed during the shooting and three others were injured. 11 of the victims were Black.
The shooter, who was arraigned in a Buffalo court and entered a not guilty plea to multiple charges of first-degree murder, identified as a White supremacist and voiced support for the "Great Replacement" theory in his manifesto, which dedicates significant time to criticizing mass immigration.
The shooter had a racist slur written on his weapon and shouted some during the shooting, according to survivors. The shooter, who livestreamed the attack on Twitch, is shown in a viral video clip apologizing to a White man in the supermarket before sparing his life and continuing to shoot others.
Fox News was also called out over the weekend after it wasted no time linking the shooting to "video games," reviving a conservative talking point that goes back to the 1990s and that has since been debunked by the American Psychological Association (APA), which notes there is "insufficient evidence" to suggest "a causal link between violent video games and violent behavior" exists.
