Tucker Carlson is on Russia’s side.
Eighty years ago, when a dictator rose to power in Europe and invaded his neighbors, he found an ally in the United States. The dictator was Adolf Hitler, and his ally was Charles Coughlin, a popular radio host. Coughlin belittled democracy, defended the Nazis, and opposed America’s entry into the war, arguing that the movement to enlist the United States was a conspiracy on behalf of a sinister minority: Jews.
Today, a new demagogue has taken up Coughlin’s mantle: Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
Carlson downplayed the putative moral differences between Russia, Ukraine, Canada, and the United States. He asked why Americans should side with Ukraine against Russia, since Ukraine was “not a democracy.” (Actually, on the Freedom House democracy scale, Ukraine gets a rating of 39 out of 100. Russia gets less than seven.) Carlson also ridiculed the notion that “dastardly old Vladimir Putin” is “much worse than Justin Trudeau,” the prime minister of Canada, who—according to Carlson’s absurd lie—has imposed “martial law” and reduced Canada to a “failed democrac[y].” Turning to his own country, Carlson denounced America’s current leaders, saying they “don’t care at all” about our country’s stated principles.
Western governments hope to deter Putin’s aggression by threatening him with economic and—if he invades NATO countries—military consequences. Carlson is doing the opposite: He’s trying to deter American economic or military intervention by warning Americans that Russia would punish them. Putin “will respond” if America gets in his way, said Gabbard, “and it’s likely he’ll retaliate using cyber-attacks on our financial systems, our communication systems, on our basic infrastructure.” As she outlined these perils, Carlson chimed in: “Exactly.”