The Hill reports:
Fox News host Tucker Carlson swatted away suggested ties to white supremacist ideology when pressed about the rhetoric on his nightly show during a tense interview at an event on Thursday.
“I’ve never had a white supremacist work for me. I don’t think I’ve ever talked to a white supremacist,” Carlson said during event hosted by Semafor, a new media company founded by journalist Ben Smith and media executive Justin Smith. “I’m not sure what that means. I know it’s a slur and the worst thing that a person can be. I don’t really understand the terms.”
Smith pressed Carlson specifically about a number of staffers that formerly worked on his show, who were found to have posted on white supremacist message boards, something Carlson argued at the time he did not know about.
Read the full article. The interview is getting lots of criticism but the host did get in that Carlson has approvingly cited the so-called Great Replacement Theory over 400 times in the last few years.
Tucker Carlson defends his commentary on race in fiery interview https://t.co/XIEOrYIKRf pic.twitter.com/9aP0VKX8DF
— The Hill (@thehill) July 7, 2022
If you want to take a master class in how NOT to interview Tucker Carlson, I’d suggest checking out Ben Smith’s Semafor chat with him today.https://t.co/GAY4GZLKCZ
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) July 7, 2022
.@semafor just crashed and burned and @Gallup and @knightfdn should run away from the stinking, radioactive wreckage ASAP.
Tossing softballs to Tucker Carlson is the diametrical opposite of news.
— Dan Froomkin/PressWatchers.org ☮️ (@froomkin) July 7, 2022
Says it all… pic.twitter.com/rY9Vn9HjDt
— ?BlondeinBrooklyn? (@hahnalytics) July 7, 2022
A great way to build buzz for your media start-up is to hold an event where you performatively interview a leading hate figure for a live audience and get the Knight Foundation to sponsor it. https://t.co/lo5wrkPh8z
— Nick Pinto (@macfathom) July 2, 2022