Democrat Goes on Fox News and Rips Tucker Carlson: “Why the Hell Does He Still Have a Job Here?”

Michael Blake also questioned the network’s echoing of Trump’s conspiracy theories.

Tucker Carlson has floated a strange theory that former President Barack Obama has declined to endorse Joe Biden because Michelle Obama is likely to enter the race. When asked about the prediction, which is almost certainly wrong, on Fox News Tuesday morning, Michael Blake, vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, refused to lend credence to the idea.

Instead, Blake used the appearance to swiftly condemn the fact that Carlson maintains employment at the network despite long being accused of racism, defending white supremacy, and promoting conspiracy theories. “Well, she’s not running, but the core question is: Why the hell does Tucker Carlson still have a job here in the first place?” Blake said. “The reality is that this is someone who says white supremacy is a hoax, and why does Fox allow him to still be here in the first place?”

Anchor Bill Hemmer attempted, unartfully, to steer the segment back into the former first lady. “Not going to happen,” Blake responded, again dismissing the speculation on Obama. “But I think the core question is, [Carlson] shouldn’t be on here at all.”

“I got it,” Hemmer responded. “We didn’t bring you on to talk about Tucker Carlson—I brought you on to talk about the Democratic field.”

But the tension didn’t end there. Later in the exchange, Blake called out Fox News’ primetime role in “ignoring the truth” and parroting President Donald Trump’s debunked conspiracy theories.

GREAT JOURNALISM, SLOW FUNDRAISING

Our team has been on fire lately—publishing sweeping, one-of-a-kind investigations, ambitious, groundbreaking projects, and even releasing “the holy shit documentary of the year.” And that’s on top of protecting free and fair elections and standing up to bullies and BS when others in the media don’t.

Yet, we just came up pretty short on our first big fundraising campaign since Mother Jones and the Center for Investigative Reporting joined forces.

So, two things:

1) If you value the journalism we do but haven’t pitched in over the last few months, please consider doing so now—we urgently need a lot of help to make up for lost ground.

2) If you’re not ready to donate but you’re interested enough in our work to be reading this, please consider signing up for our free Mother Jones Daily newsletter to get to know us and our reporting better. Maybe once you do, you’ll see it’s something worth supporting.

payment methods

GREAT JOURNALISM, SLOW FUNDRAISING

Our team has been on fire lately—publishing sweeping, one-of-a-kind investigations, ambitious, groundbreaking projects, and even releasing “the holy shit documentary of the year.” And that’s on top of protecting free and fair elections and standing up to bullies and BS when others in the media don’t.

Yet, we just came up pretty short on our first big fundraising campaign since Mother Jones and the Center for Investigative Reporting joined forces.

So, two things:

1) If you value the journalism we do but haven’t pitched in over the last few months, please consider doing so now—we urgently need a lot of help to make up for lost ground.

2) If you’re not ready to donate but you’re interested enough in our work to be reading this, please consider signing up for our free Mother Jones Daily newsletter to get to know us and our reporting better. Maybe once you do, you’ll see it’s something worth supporting.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate