Far-right Fox News host and most prominent racist to lose Dancing with the Stars, Tucker Carlson, took a break from encouraging vaccine hesitancy and promoting racist conspiracy theories to target a member of his own party, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
In a five minute segment on his nightly entertainment broadcast, Carlson railed against McCarthy for renting a room from Republican pollster Frank Luntz,
Watch below.
Carlson said the arrangement was unbelievable and gave Luntz an oversized influence on American politics:
"Honestly, we did not believe it. Even by the sleazy and corrupt standards of Washington that did not seem possible. In fact, it sounded like a joke."
Lamenting Luntz's ties with corporations like Google, Carlson said in the segment:
"So actually the top Republican in the House does live with somebody who lobbies for Google. Not only are they friends, they're roommates. So now you know why they listen to Frank Luntz, but they don't listen to you."
In a segment on Fox and Friends the following day, McCarthy dismissed Carlson's claims saying:
"Frank's not a lobbyist, Frank's a friend I knew for 15 years before he ever got in and I just rented a room for a few months there so I don't see that there's any problem along that line."
People were confused by the segment.
Fox News lawyers once argued in a case against Carlson that his show wasn't intended to be taken seriously by viewers, especially given his nightly rundown of conspiracy theories and right-wing outrage.
So people were surprised to see he actually reported something and even confirmed the arrangement with McCarthy's team.
It's not uncommon for lawmakers to have roommates in Washington, D.C., since their time is divided between their districts and the nation's capital. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY), along with Congressman George Miller (D-CA), shared an apartment in D.C. for years, as one famous example.
It's unclear if Luntz's and McCarthy's arrangement will continue in light of Carlson's reporting.
Judd Legum (@juddlegum.bsky.social)
@SenTinaSmith/X; @elonmusk/X
@smith.senate.gov/BlueSky
@elonmusk/X
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