Appearing on Fox News Tuesday morning, Democratic National Committee vice chair Michael Blake called out the network directly for continuing to employ Tucker Carlson despite his history of comments that critics have called racist.
The moment came during Tuesday’s edition of “America’s Newsroom.” Anchor Bill Hemmer invited Blake, who is also a New York State assemblyman, to talk about a prediction Carlson made Monday night that Michelle Obama will end up being the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nominee.
“What do you think of the prediction on Michelle Obama, would you like to see that?” asked Hemmer.
“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 replied. “The reality is, this is someone who said white supremacy is a hoax, and why does Fox allow him to still be here in the first place?”
Blake was referring to comments Carlson made after the El Paso shooting, and a statement by Donald Trump condemning white supremacy. “It’s actually not a real problem in America. This is a hoax, just like the Russia hoax,” Carlson said at the time. “It’s a conspiracy theory used to divide the country and keep a hold on power.”
Hemmer tried to direct the conversation back to Michelle Obama and the question of whether or not she’ll end up as the Democratic nominee. “Not gonna happen,” Blake replied, “but I think the core question is, [Carlson] shouldn’t be on the air at all.”
Hemmer and Blake continued to talk for a few more minutes, with Hemmer defending the network. “We didn’t bring you on to talk about Tucker Carlson,” Hemmer said at one point. “I didn’t bring you on to bash our network, so with all due respect, why don’t we just keep it on topic?” he said a few minutes later.
However, the conversation remained civil and concluded amicably. Watch the whole thing in the clips below:
BLAKE: For Donald Trump, for Fox News —
HEMMER: Listen, I didn't bring you on to bash our network, so with all due respect, why don’t we just keep it on topic?
BLAKE: But it's relevant —
HEMMER: It is not relevant to the conversation we’re having. Save it for later. pic.twitter.com/HtvMetYCqo
— JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) November 26, 2019