On Thursday night, President Joe Biden delivered an address to the nation, consoling it in the face of the pandemic that's killed over 500 thousand Americans and laying out the steps for how to defeat the virus that's upended daily life in the United States for more than a year.
The President announced that, if the United States keeps up with its current pace of vaccinations and continues to observe public safety guidelines, Americans could see a return to some sort of normal by Independence Day.
The speech was widely praised for its leadership and its rebuke of racist hatred, but not everyone was applauding.
Throughout the speech, the conservative Fox News network featured a live reaction from far-right host Tucker Carlson, who most recently generated backlash for calling pregnant service members a "mockery."
The chyron promised that Carlson's reaction would be broadcast immediately after the speech.
At one point, the chyron read:
"BIDEN SHOULD BE FINISHED; TUCKER IS ON ANY MINUTE"
Millions of conservative viewers tune in nightly for Carlson's broadcast, despite the fact that his show has employed white supremacists and regularly amplifies their talking points.
Sure enough, Carlson immediately skewered the speech, slamming the President for pointing out that Americans may not be able to safely gather in large groups on the Fourth of July:
"Who are you talking to? This is a free people. This is a free country. How dare you tell us who we can spend the Fourth of July with?"
Fox News doesn't have much credibility among Biden's supporters, but what llittle the network did have was sullied by its breathless coverage of Carlson's reaction.
People actually couldn't believe it was real.
Biden's speech came just hours after he signed the American Rescue Plan into law.
