Whether he's claiming the Capitol rioters were framed or that immigrants make countries "dirtier," far-right Fox News host Tucker Carlson regularly promotes disinformation and nationalism to millions of viewers every night.
One consistent theme throughout his diatribes has been support for Russian President Vladimir Putin over Ukraine, the democratic nation that broke from the U.S.S.R. in 1991, which Putin invaded last week.
As far back as 2019, Carlson said that he was rooting for Russia. Ahead of the invasion, he only doubled down on this stance, lamenting that Americans are supposedly expected to hate Putin and saying Ukraine wasn't a legitimate country, but rather a "client state." His pro-Putin diatribes have been aired on Russian state television to boost support for the authoritarian leader's aggression.
So it came as a surprise on Monday night when Carlson took a notably different stance.
Watch below.
oh how the turns table https://t.co/JYhK1VRla8 pic.twitter.com/u20mibdJLK
— nikki mccann ramírez (@NikkiMcR) March 1, 2022
He told viewers:
"We're gonna begin by pointing out that Russia has obviously earned our contempt. Most Americans now despise Vladimir Putin. That's understandable, they're outraged. But moral outrage is not enough. Moral outrage is not foreign policy."
The remarks come less than a week after this lie-ridden diatribe:
"Why do I hate Putin so much? Has Putin ever called me a racist? Has he threatened to get me fired for disagreeing with him? Has he shipped every middle class job in my town to Russia? Did he manufacture a worldwide pandemic that wrecked my business and kept me indoors for two years? Is he teaching my children to embrace racial discrimination? Is he making fentanyl? Is he trying to snuff out Christianity? Does he eat dogs? These are fair questions, and the answer to all of them is no. Vladimir Putin didn't do any of that."
Social media users noticed Carlson's about-face, and were quick to call him out on it.
pic.twitter.com/AHFkJ8qqBz
— INTO ACTION (@intoactionus) March 1, 2022
Meanwhile, last week: pic.twitter.com/EeJOyPcLGD
— Atomic_Snarkasm (@AtomicSnarkasm) March 1, 2022
From “Why are we doing anything?” to “Why aren’t we doing more?” almost as fast as Putin resumes his invasion after a round of negotiations.
— MJM (@sfmjm) March 1, 2022
People who don’t stand for anything can easily turn on a dime. SMDH
— Catherine Perrin 🇺🇦 (@Wonder_Woman53) March 1, 2022
Oh @TuckerCarlson you forgot that you said “there is no reason to hate Putin”. What a coward you are.
— JP (@PumpkinGroup) March 1, 2022
homie wants to lecture us on foreign policy when he didn't know why the US supported Ukraine over Russia like 10 minutes ago lol
— NotABot (@Nature_Walkies) March 1, 2022
They also found his comments on "moral outrage" hypocritical.
Isn’t “moral outrage” the Republican party’s entire schtick‽‽ it’s literally their one trick pint. https://t.co/wGWh01AkcQ
— Ben (@legalshmendrik) March 1, 2022
Outrage is the only policy the GOP has anymore.
— Madison Church (@ColoNATIVE2nd) March 1, 2022
It remains to be seen how long Carlson's latest stance will last.