Tucker Carlson went all in on downplaying January 6 Wednesday night, saying it wasn’t an insurrection and actually stating the rioters have “some evidence” to their claim the election was stolen.
Carlson joined Will Cain on Fox News Primetime Wednesday to talk about other cable networks continuing to talk about former President Donald Trump.
When Cain brought up January 6, he practically rolled his eyes at people who are describing the violent storming of the Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters as an insurrection.
The rioters stormed the Capitol after weeks of Trump stirring up false claims and conspiracies about the 2020 election. Some of the rioters were recorded chanting, “Hang Mike Pence!” Others were seen on video attacking police officers.
“No one has been charged with insurrection,” Cain told Carlson. “But it’s an attempt seemingly, then, to, I don’t know, rewrite history?”
“It was never an insurrection,” Carlson said. “It was a melee.”
He went on to say there is some merit to the false belief the rioters held that the election was stolen:
These are people who thought the election was stolen. They had some evidence to support that view. It was not a free and fair election. You don’t have to believe that the voting machines were rigged to look at 2020 and say, “That wasn’t fair.” I mean, you shut down
negative stories about one guy and highlight stories of the other?
He brought up mail-in voting and straight-up claimed “of course” there was massive fraud.
“Whether they swung the election you can argue, but these people had a reason to be frustrated. Democracy, which they really believed it, turned out to be kind of fake. So rather than answer their questions or reassure them that our system is real, we throw them in jail?”
“If people committed crimes, actual crimes, broke statutes, defaced the property, assaulted cops, whatever, of course, punish them. We should punish rioters,” Carlson continued. “But you should never punish someone for expressing his political views, period.”
This is not the first time Carlson has downplayed the rioting at the Capitol.
Trump and many pro-Trump Republicans have continued pushing the big lie about the 2020 election. Recently on Fox News Sunday, Steve Scalise repeatedly dodged when Chris Wallace asked him if he believes the election was stolen.
Last week Trump declared in a statement that if Republicans don’t take his false beliefs about the election more seriously, their voters might not turn out in 2022 or 2024.
You can watch above, via Fox News.