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Fox News personality Tucker Carlson sparked considerable controversy after he referred to the city of Baltimore, Maryland as "a little bit of Haiti in the Mid-Atlantic," his rant was accompanied by a chyron that denigrated the city as a "hellscape" a stone's throw from Washington, D.C.
While Carlson's critics have acknowledged issues within Baltimore–including a high crime rate that has often served as political fodder on conservative media networks–they have widely condemned his remarks, about a city with a majority Black population, as evidence of racial animus.
You can hear what Carlson said in the video below.
Tucker Carlson calls Baltimore "one of the worst places in the western hemisphere, it's a little bit of Haiti in the mid-Atlantic."pic.twitter.com/7rpJeLziC9— nikki mccann ram\u00edrez (@nikki mccann ram\u00edrez) 1643764271
Carlson said:
“Whatever you do, don’t go to Baltimore. Baltimore is a major American city. It’s only about 40 miles from where [White House Press Secretary) Jen Psaki lives."
“It’s one of the worst places in the Western Hemisphere, it’s a little bit of Haiti in the mid-Atlantic. Baltimore is exactly what happens when you apply Jen Psaki’s ideas to governing.”
Carlson's remarks bear similarities to comments made by former President Donald Trump, who in 2019 declared that Baltimore was a “rodent infested mess” where “no human being would want to live," decrying it as “worse than Honduras."
The former President also courted controversy when referred to Baltimore as the "worst" city in the United States, a designation he has typically reserved for other populated centers like New York, Portland, and Seattle. His comments were harshly rebuked by Baltimore residents, in particular then-Mayor Bernard C. "Jack" Young, who called them "completely unacceptable."
That anger was out in full force again as social media users came together to denounce Carlson's inflammatory coverage.
Said this on the first day of #BlackHistoryMonth...\n\nBaltimore is home to so much rich history and innovation. I am a proud Baltimorean. \n\nFor the record, Haiti is a beautiful country.https://twitter.com/NikkiMcR/status/1488681371434422276\u00a0\u2026— Senator Ben Cardin (@Senator Ben Cardin) 1643829156
Could you even imagine if Democrats or liberal commentators spoke with the same level of disdain towards white, rural areashttps://twitter.com/nikkimcr/status/1488681371434422276\u00a0\u2026— Brett Meiselas (@Brett Meiselas) 1643783720
.@FOXBaltimore and Baltimore-based @WeAreSinclair, which owns @FOXTV stations in 25 markets, need to repudiate this white-supremacy propagandist, who should've been fired long ago.https://twitter.com/NikkiMcR/status/1488681371434422276\u00a0\u2026— Ron Cassie (@Ron Cassie) 1643785309
But this guy gets to be a racist every night and has the highest rated show on cable news and isn\u2019t cancelledhttps://twitter.com/NikkiMcR/status/1488681371434422276\u00a0\u2026— \ud835\udc04\ud835\udc31\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc2f\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc2b \ud835\udc0f\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc29\ud835\udc1e (@\ud835\udc04\ud835\udc31\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc2f\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc2b \ud835\udc0f\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc29\ud835\udc1e) 1643796934
Right now Fox News is crying about cancel culture when it comes to Joe Rogan, cheering about Whoopi Goldberg's suspension and doing this.https://twitter.com/NikkiMcR/status/1488681371434422276\u00a0\u2026— Daryle Lamont Jenkins (@Daryle Lamont Jenkins) 1643804502
Next item: how horrible and offensive it is that some doctor somewhere said something disparaging about the unvaccinated. The whole show is like the world's worst soccer team: when not delivering fouls, it's faking injuries.https://twitter.com/NikkiMcR/status/1488681371434422276\u00a0\u2026— David Frum (@David Frum) 1643806206
I visited Baltimore last October and found a hellscape of Old Bay seasoning and generous portions of Italian food. \n\nOh, he\u2019s talking about black people living there. \n\nGot it.\n\nWay to start #Blackhistorymonth2022 Fox Entertainment. But who finds this entertaining?\n\nOhhhh\u2026..https://twitter.com/nikkimcr/status/1488681371434422276\u00a0\u2026— Grant Stern is boosted! (@Grant Stern is boosted!) 1643809759
Baltimore has a 62% black population so it is, according to Tucker, one of the worst and must be compared to Haiti. The racism is just all out in the open\u2026..https://twitter.com/nikkimcr/status/1488681371434422276\u00a0\u2026— Sunny Hostin (@Sunny Hostin) 1643815760
I see Tuckums is chasing his domestic anti-Blackness and racism with international anti-Blackness and racism these days. How quaint...https://twitter.com/NikkiMcR/status/1488681371434422276\u00a0\u2026— Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid \ud83d\ude37 (@Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid \ud83d\ude37) 1643827952
Carlson's comments also bring to mind a controversy that erupted when former President Trump was accused of making disparagingly racist remarks when he referred to Haiti as one of a number of "s**thole countries."
According to lawmakers who were present at a meeting with Trump at the White House, Trump asked why the United States is "having all these people from s**thole countries come here" before suggesting that the United States should instead bring more people from countries such as Norway before singling out Haiti.
“Why do we need more Haitians?” he asked at the time, adding that authorities should "Take them out."
Trump's comments alienated and infuriated Africans abroad. South Africa and Nigeria joined a chorus of nations–a list that included Botswana, Ghana, Haiti, Namibia, Senegal, and members of the African Union–in protesting his remarks.