Tucker Carlson: As Americans 'You Have a Right to Decide Who ...

The former Fox News host also defended Russia and spewed anti-vax conspiracy theories at the right-wing Turning Point Action conference

Recently-fired former Fox News host and current Twitter talk show anchor Tucker Carlson shared what he believes it means to be an American: pure unadulterated hate.

“If you’re an American, you have a right to decide who you hate,” Carlson told the audience at the annual Turning Point Action conference on Saturday evening. “You have a fundamental right… If you’re an adult, you get to decide, and you get to decide on the basis of whatever you want.”

Carlson was practically giddy at the reception he received from the audience at the far-right conservative youth conference led by far-right figure Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA.

“I don’t think most unemployed people get a reception like that,” Carlson said from the podium, remarking on the enthusiastic applause he received.

Surveying the audience, Carlson observed, “Roger Stone, ladies and gentleman! All the cool people are here. It’s unbelievable!”

Carlson then launched into a lecture on how liberals on the left have set the terms of the national debate. And he’s not happy about it. “Almost everybody — not everybody — but almost everybody in elected office in the Republican Party has internalized the other side’s rules for debate,” Carlson said, adding, “There’s really no more self-defeating way to go into politics or life than to accept the terms that your enemies offer before the conversation’s even begun. Because there’s really no winning.”

He then began an anti-vax tirade worthy of RFK Jr., essentially calling the majority of Americans sheep who do whatever they’re told. “During Covid… we knew what the rules were, and every organization in American life… from the government to the media, to the church, were telling you the rules: If you are a good person, you will follow these rules. You’ll mask. You’ll separate. You’ll stay at home. You’ll take our shot. Even though we have no idea what’s in it. We don’t know its long term effects, but shut up. This is a moral test.” He went on to compare those who didn’t comply to “outlaws.”

The ingredients in the Covid vaccines, however, are easily found online. But that’s not as tantalizing as claiming some nefarious pharmaceutical manufacturer snuck a 5G receptor or something else in there.

“Nobody pushed back on the fundamental terms,” Carlson complained. “Wait a second. Is there evidence for this? Do you know this to be true? Don’t Americans have an inherent… right to decide what they put in their body? … And of course the media never presented that as an option.”

Evidence for the efficacy of vaccines in preventing hospitalization and death are also easily discoverable with a simple Google search.

Carlson, a regular Putin sycophant, naturally turned the conversation to Russia, saying it was OK to like Russia “because they haven’t killed any Americans.”

“Let’s just do the body count,” Carlson said. “What’s the total number of Americans murdered by Russia in the last three years. I’m thinking. I’m not that great at math. I think it’s somewhere around zero. I don’t know any!”

So far, six Americans have been killed fighting Russian forces in Ukraine. Russia also detained WNBA player Brittany Griner until December of last year, and two other Americans — Paul Whelan and Marc Fogel — are still wrongfully detained there.

“With the question of Russia,” Carlson continued, “If you begin the conversation with, ‘This is an evil country that has hurt America and we have to go to war with them,’ then there is kinda no debate about it, is there? No one would defend Nazi Germany. They killed tens of thousands of Americans… In the case of modern Russia, you’re not allowed to think that, and once you’re prevented from thinking something, you are completely controlled by the person who made you think that.”

Just the day before, Carlson defended Russia with a similar line during an interview with former vice president Mike Pence. He also called Ukraine the United States’ “client state” and accused Ukraine’s president of persecuting Christians.

“In my life, I try to stay unaffected by the propaganda. That’s the main goal in my life,” Carlson added.

“If you don’t think Russia should have invaded, I agree with that,” Carlson said. “But it almost doesn’t matter where you are on this question. If you can’t have an adult conversation about it, which begins with the very obvious question: Why should I be mad at Russia? Like why?”

Carlson then screamed, “SHUT UP!” before continuing. “If the answer is, ‘Shut up,’ or if the answer is to accuse you, an American citizen who loves this country… of disloyalty to your country by people who don’t care at all about the United States? It’s too much!”

The right-wing firebrand then discussed Jan. 6, describing the Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol as “a bunch of angry people who thought the election was stolen from them who appropriately went to confront the people who stole it.”

Carlson continued, comparing the Jan. 6 insurrectionists to the Black Lives Matters protesters in 2020. “So like, George Floyd gets killed and all of a sudden they raid Foot Locker. What did Foot Locker haver to do with it?” he said. “I will say, in Republican primary voters’ defense, they were mad at the Congress, they went to the Congress. They didn’t loot any liquor stores, they just went right to the source. That’s true. It wasn’t like, ‘Oh they stole the election from us, let’s loot Macy’s.’”

The racism, Russia propaganda, and purposeful lack of understanding from Carlson is not a surprise, especially considering the event where he was speaking. A who’s who of far-right conspiracy theorists preceded Carlson’s speech — including Kirk saying that Dr. Anthony Fauci should be put “in Gitmo;” Megyn Kelly spouting rampant transphobia and repeatedly misgendering Dylan Mulvaney; Matt Gaetz promising to bring prayer into schools; and Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy spewing QAnon ideas, Hunter Biden falsehoods, and the unproven Covid lab leak theory. Carlson’s speech came immediately before the keynote speech from none other than Donald Trump.