If you’re looking for the Tucker Carlson segregation clip posted to Twitter, look no further. This article got you covered. Indeed, you will find the clip here. As a warning, it’s truly beyond satire.
Tucker Carlson segregation clip: what happened?
In the first 30 seconds of his June 1rst show, Tucker Carlson seemed to not be sure that segregation in the US was a completely terrible thing. The news host is no stranger to controversy. His show doesn’t go unnoticed, either: in May 2021, “Tucker Carlson Tonight” was the most-watched news show in the US. (Forbes) On June 1rst, 2021, during his opening monologue of his June 1rst show[1], he appears to have a “slip up”. In the first 5 seconds of the clip (included below), when talking about segregation, Tucker says that “everybody agreed that segregation was the b… worst thing this country ever did”. Indeed, “worst” seems to clearly not be the first word that Tucker had in mind.
Tucker Carlson Segregation Clip: thanks Twitter!
I have extracted just the first 5.4 seconds: pic.twitter.com/XfDK0vYIG9
— midnucas #FueraLUMA 🇵🇷 (@midnucas) June 2, 2021
Tucker seems to have been going for a “b” sound. Moreover, he holds the unspoken letter for a worryingly long amount of time. “Best”, not “worst”, appears to have been Tucker’s preferred word choice to talk about segregation in the US.
First, whether deliberate or not, it is undeniable that something like this is not going to fall on deaf ears. Tucker Carlson doesn’t just have a popular news show, he has the currently most popular news show (as of May 2021) (Forbes). Last year, it even became the highest-rated cable news show in history, with an average 4.33 million viewers (The Hill).
The Tucker Carlson Show is breaking records, and it’s not going anywhere. Furthermore, its impact should not be understated. If something is said or implied on the show, it will be heard by an audience receptive to Tucker’s rhetoric.
Could this not be an accidental slip up?
Second, there is a good case to make that this isn’t simply an accidental slip-up:Watchdog
- Tucker is reading a teleprompter. If he talks faster than the teleprompter scrolls its text, he has to anticipate what the next word is going to be;
- In order to prepare to make a “b” sound after “everybody agrees that segregation is the…”, he has to think about the word “best” as being appropriate for that sentence;
- Tucker is an experienced broadcaster. He started his career as a news broadcaster in 2000, co-hosting The Spin Room on CNN (Wikipedia). He was in the news industry even longer than that. Indeed, has over 20 years of TV experience, and he doesn’t misspeak often. Although his show is known for dog whistling to the right-wing (especially over immigration and white supremacy) [2], he knows what he “should” and “shouldn’t” say on a TV news show;
- He holds the “b” before saying “worst” for a long time;
- Although you can argue that this was an accident or “slip-up”, there are many aspects of the clip that seem to point to this being Tucker deliberating dog whistling to his audience. And regardless, this being accidental does not make it any less terrible.
Whether this “slip-up” was deliberate or not, its impact should not be understated. Tucker Carlson is watched by many in the US, who cling to his social and political commentary. This is not the first time this Fox News host has been accused of pushing far-right talking points, and unfortunately, he is far from being irrelevant. Although this clip could be mistaken for satire, it’s extremely real.
Sources and notes
[1] The clip was originally posted by Kat Abu of Media Matters. When I contacted her over Twitter, she confirmed that it was the opening monologue from Tucker’s June 1rst Show. I later found the link to watch the full episode without US cable here, on the Fox News website.
[2] As an example, see the time Tucker mirrored white supremacist talking points on TV (HuffPost Clip)(Full episode):
“We have every right to fight to preserve our nation, and our heritage and our culture” -Tucker Carlson
“We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children”- 14 words (Wikipedia)
Remember, this was also right after Tucker Carlson tonight became the most-watched news show in the history of the US (The Hill) . Additionally, his top writer resigned around the same time for racist comments he made (CNN).
