In 2009, Tucker Carlson reinvented himself as a conservative champion of facts over punditry while on stage at the Conservative Politcal Action Conference. But whether or not he has fulfilled that promise depends on who you ask, writes Playboy.
Over the past year, the Fox News host has said so many divisive and antagonistic things it has been difficult to keep track of them all, and he’s received backlash from the right as well as the left. Playboy sent contributing editor Eric Spitznagel to meet Carlson in Washington, D.C. They talked immigration, racism, fake news, his near death experience during a plane crash and more.
Carlson argued that immigrants taking jobs from native-born Americans isn’t a right-wing point, it’s instead the point of organized labor.
“The response, 99 percent of the time, is ‘The Statue of Liberty demands that we do this and you’re immoral and a racist if you don’t,’” he said, according to Playboy. “I’m sorry, I’m not talking about my soul and whether I’m a good person or not. I don’t think I’m an especially good person, but that’s not what this is about. Aren’t we supposed to be having a rational conversation about the best next move for the country?”
When Spitznagel asked Carlson if it bothered him that a neo-Nazi website, The Daily Stormer, calls Carlson “literally our greatest ally, he said, “I don’t want to get into it, because it sounds disingenuous, but I’m 49 years old and I don’t think I’ve ever met a white supremacist.”
He went on to say, “I don’t doubt they exist. But the idea that white nationalism is a mainstream position is just absurd. I’m sure there are people who will defend North Korea. I had one on my show. But let’s be real: Neither that nor white nationalism is a relevant position to the current debate. I don’t think I’m an extremist. I’m pretty moderate by temperament.”
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