Fox News will likely face more pressure to fire Tucker Carlson as Media Matters released new audio on Monday in which the cable news host can be heard spewing more racist slurs.
In some of the remarks, Carlson lobbed racist attacks at the Obamas and called the people of Iraq “semi-literate primitive monkeys.” He added that he has “zero sympathy” for Iraqis because they “don’t use toilet paper or forks.”
The Fox News host also said “white men” should be credited for “creating civilization.”
To add fuel to this burning dumpster fire of bigotry, Carlson said, “If you are really heavily into Islam, I don’t care for you that much.”
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Media Matters summarized the new batch of audio:
Carlson credited “white men” for “creating civilization” and made numerous racist remarks about the Obamas, including agreeing that Michelle Obama would “be a problem” because she “turns into a sister†and asking of Barack Obama, “How is he Black, for one thing? He has one white parent, one Black parent.†Carlson called Iraqis “semiliterate primitive monkeys†and said Afghanistan is “never going to be a civilized country because the people aren’t civilized.†He also said he had “zero sympathy†for Iraqis because they “don’t use toilet paper or forks†and that the war could turn around “if, somehow, the Iraqis decided to behave like human beings.”
Tucker Carlson has no business being on television
None of the remarks unearthed by Media Matters should be all that surprising to those who have had the misfortune of watching Carlson’s show over the years.
Everything the Fox News host is heard spewing in the new audio footage is basically a more explicit variation of what he says on a nightly basis on his primetime show.
But just because the new audio isn’t surprising doesn’t mean it’s acceptable. This type of rhetoric is unacceptable and anyone that spews it – and, worse, doesn’t apologize or see anything wrong with it – has no business being on television.
The bar for Fox News is pretty low, but even they should be able to recognize that Tucker Carlson’s time is up.
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Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
