During a recent monologue on his show, Tucker Carlson took on Rep. Ilhan Omar and offered a harsh, but entirely fair criticism of her. He must have struck a nerve, because progressives in media are fuming.
It all goes back to what was recently written about her in the Washington Post, specifically this passage:
In Omar’s version, America wasn’t the bighearted country that saved her from a brutal war and a bleak refugee camp. It wasn’t a meritocracy that helped her attend college or vaulted her into Congress. Instead, it was the country that had failed to live up to its founding ideals, a place that had disappointed her and so many immigrants, refugees and minorities like her.
In the following video, Carlson points out that Omar’s story is an American success story, while noting her tendency to criticize America at every turn with accusations of racism and injustice.
Watch the whole thing. I defy anyone to disprove any of the points Carlson makes. Also, pay attention to the positive things he says about Omar. He calls her a powerful young woman and says Americans were proud to see a former refugee become a member of Congress.
All the left heard was the part where he suggests that if Omar’s story doesn’t inspire a love of America, then maybe there’s something wrong with our immigration system. It’s a fair point.
Here’s how the left reacted.
Conor Friedersdorf writes at The Atlantic:
Tucker Carlson Has Failed to AssimilateWhile I favor granting citizenship automatically to children born in the United States, I was reminded of birthright citizenship’s biggest downside Tuesday while listening to Tucker Carlson on his Fox News show.Unlike immigrants, natural-born citizens such as Carlson are neither screened nor forced to pass a citizenship test nor made to swear an oath. And when they stray from the American way, no one thinks to tell them that they’re failing to assimilate.But isn’t “failure to assimilate” an accurate way to characterize Carlson’s angry identitarianism? Carlson, who broadcasts to millions of viewers on national television, keeps fueling xenophobia and needless social strife by singling out people who weren’t born in America for special ire, then attributing negative qualities to whole groups. He just can’t get with the program of the American experiment.
Ryan Bort wrote at Rolling Stone:
Tucker Carlson Thinks a Muslim Woman in Congress Is a ‘Fire Alarm’ Warning About ImmigrationOn Tuesday night, Carlson took aim at Omar, an immigrant from Somalia who last November became (along with Tlaib) the first Muslim woman elected to Congress. Like her colleagues who voted against the bill, Omar has been a vocal critic of the conditions of federal facilities housing migrants at the border…Feigning confusion, Carlson then wondered if maybe America should be asking more of its immigrants, or if the nation should stop “importing” people nations whose “values are antithetical” to those of the United States. “No country can import large numbers of people who hate it and expect to survive,” he said, going on to call Omar a “fire alarm” signaling what could happen if America doesn’t change its immigration system — presumably to keep out anyone who won’t swear a blood oath to defend the Trump administration’s treatment of migrants at the border.
Jenna Amatulli of the HuffPost highlighted Omar’s adverse reaction:
Ilhan Omar Calls Tucker Carlson ‘Racist Fool’ After He Claimed She Hated AmericaRep. Ilhan Omar pushed back on comments made by Fox News host Tucker Carlson calling the freshman congresswoman “living proof that the way we practice immigration has become dangerous to this country.”On Tuesday night, Omar tweeted that “it’s kinda fun watching a racist fool like this weeping about my presence in Congress” after Carlson’s segment on Omar ran on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
Here’s Omar’s tweet:
Omar then went after Tucker Carlson’s advertisers. Where have we seen that before?
Where are all the brave people in the media who continuously accuse Trump of threatening their profession?
If the left wants to defend Omar, AOC and the rest of their clique, they are going to have to come to terms with a harsh truth. To most people, they seem genuinely hostile to the country they were elected to represent.
Every time they are in the news, it is because they are offering a vision of America that is negative at best, and downright hateful at worst.
Tucker Carlson was not wrong to point this out. He was merely saying what millions of Americans already believe to be true.
Tucker responded to Omar’s criticism last night. Check it out:
Tucker also posted this tweet after his show last night:
He’s not wrong.
Featured image via YouTube.
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