Fox News host Tucker Carlson warned that the nation is facing a “dangerous moment” because of Black Lives Matter.
Carlson said Black Lives Matter is now more popular than President Donald Trump and warned that it has no interest in engaging in politics or peaceful protest.
“Black Lives Matter believes in force,” he said, warning:
“They flood the streets with angry young people who break things, and they hurt anyone who gets in the way. When they want something, they take it. Make them mad, and they will set your business on fire. Annoy them, and they will occupy your downtown and declare a brand-new country. You’re not going to do anything about it. They know that for certain.”
Carlson then fashioned a conspiracy theory that recent Supreme Court decisions he didn’t like were made because conservative justices “are afraid to defy the mob.”
And he concluded that the lesson of the past weeks is that “force is more effective than voting, elections change nothing” and that “violence works.”
See his full monologue below:
“Black Lives Matter is getting exactly what they want, and that is the most basic sign of strength,” Carlson said at another point. “Strength is the most appealing quality to voters, and to people, and to animals.”
Carlson in recent weeks has repeatedly attacked the protests, Black Lives Matter and even “Sesame Street” over the mass movement for equality and basic civil rights.
Advertisers have fled his show, with liberal watchdog group Media Matters counting nine major advertisers pulling their spots from Carlson’s show over the last week.
Fox News told The New York Times last week that advertisers were moving their ads to other shows, not leaving the network entirely, and that the company hadn’t suffered financially from the defections.
The network has stuck with Carlson through other boycotts and advertising withdrawals, including in 2018 when he declared that immigrants made the country “poorer and dirtier.”
After calls to pull his show last year, Carlson declared he wasn’t going anywhere.
“Why? Because we work at Fox News, and they’ve got our back,” he said. “And we’re thankful for that.”
At least one advertiser has vowed to stick with Carlson: MyPillow told Newsweek that “all lives matter” and its spots will continue to air on the show.