MEDIA/RACISM/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Numerous critics and media outlets rebuked the conservative Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson Wednesday [8-7-19] after he said white supremacy in America was ‘not a real problem’ on his talk show the night before. His remarks on ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’ came days after a mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart left 22 people dead and dozens injured. Investigators said the shooter was motivated by a hatred of Hispanics and pointed to a white supremacist manifesto worrying about ‘a Hispanic invasion.’ Mr. Carlson also likened white supremacy to ‘the Russia hoax,’ calling it a ‘conspiracy theory’ used by Democrats to divide the country. His comments drew a storm of criticism. Brian Stelter of CNN said the comments were ‘nonsensical.’ Margaret Sullivan, the Washington Post media columnist, flat-out called him ‘wrong.’ On social media, the hashtag #FireTuckerCarlson became a trending term. On Wednesday afternoon, even the Fox News anchor Shepard Smith said that ‘white nationalism is without question a very serious problem in America.’”
–Emily S. Rueb and Derrick Bryson Taylor, “Tucker Carlson of Fox Falsely Calls White Supremacy a ‘Hoax’,” The New York Times online, August 8, 2019