Tucker Carlson Compares Black MSNBC Contributor to Former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke: ‘Only the Colors Have Changed’
Tucker Carlson went after Vanderbilt University professor Michael Eric Dyson on Thursday over his fiery appearance on MSNBC the day before in which he railed against critics of critical race theory.
The Fox News host first discussed “drapetomania,” a hypothesized mental illness which 19th century Southern quack Samuel Cartwright posited as a reason for why slaves tried to escape to freedom. Cartwright’s theory was an instance of what Carlson noted is “scientific racism,” which is the belief that evidence exists that justifies racism and discrimination. He then compared Cartwright’s ideas to theories on race that are being discussed today, and brought up Dyson’s name.
“His name is Eric Michael Dyson,” said Carlson, incorrectly stating the professor’s name before playing a clip from his MSNBC appearance. “He’s a tenured professor at some stupid college or other. He lives in a rich, almost exclusively White neighborhood. He goes on television a lot. Watch him as he talks about race and ask yourself – honestly – if he sounds any different at all from Bull Connor or say, David Duke. He doesn’t. Only the colors have changed.”
Bull Connor was the notorious police commissioner in Birmingham, Alabama who became the public face of racism during the 1960s, known for his penchant for sending his police dogs to attack civil rights protesters and blasting them with firehoses. David Duke was a Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan whose 1991 campaign for governor against the scandal-plagued former Gov. Edwin Edwards (D-LA), disgusted Louisianans (including many Republicans) so much, the memorable slogan, “Vote for the Crook. It’s important,” was used to successfully propel Edwards to victory.
In the clip, Dyson took aim at White critics of critical race theory, saying that people of color “have stood by to see mediocre, mealy-mouthed snowflake White men who are incapable of taking critique, who are willing to dole out infamous repudiations of the humanity of the other. And yet they call us snowflakes, and they are the biggest flakes of snow to hit the Earth.”
Carlon flubbing Dyson’s name could be an honest mistake, but he does have a history of misnaming certain targets of his criticism.
Earlier this week, Carlson criticized CNN’s Don Lemon, who is Black, for having a house in a mostly White town on Long Island. During the segment Carlson repeatedly mispronounced Lemon’s name, calling him Don “LAH-mon.” That segment earned a terse rebuke from Lemon.
Carlson also frequently refers to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) as “Sandy Cortez.” Last year, he repeatedly mispronounced the first name of then-Sen. Kamala Harris, even after being corrected.
Watch above via Fox News.
Correction: This post has been updated to note that Bull Connor was the police commissioner in Birmingham, not Montgomery.
