This week, Fox News successfully argued in court that no “reasonable viewer” would take Tucker Carlson seriously. And on his Fox News show on Friday, Tucker spoke with a guest, Marc Siegel, who listed “vaccine on the horizon” as a reason for a falling coronavirus death rate in the United States.
To be clear: Since there is no vaccine yet, a vaccine could not currently be a factor in any numbers related to COVID-19.
Tucker’s chat with Seigel, which started the second segment of the show, after he spent the opening portion complaining about people being allowed to pay their bail so they don’t have to wait for trial in jail. And while the discussion was intended to illustrate that COVID-19 is no big deal, Carlson started by explaining how it actually is a very, very big deal.
“We shut down the country and spent a trillion dollars and made everyone wear masks and huddle at home. We didn’t allow people into hospitals or nursing homes to see their loved ones die, all because the coronavirus was so scary and so dangerous,” Tucker said. “And it is dangerous, and it can be scary — more than 200,000 people have died.”
But that isn’t enough death to justify taking many active measures against the pandemic ahead of a vaccine. And Marc Siegel agreed, declaring that “we’re looking at both sides of” 200,000 dead Americans.
“The media obsessing on the number 200,000, right,” Siegel said. “We’re looking at the death rate. We’re looking at the number 200,000. We take it very seriously. But we’re also looking at this good news about survival improving, increasing. Now, first on the 200,000.”
Siegel then went into standard conservative talking points about comorbidities and claiming that COVID-19 is only really a threat if you aren’t completely healthy and free of any other medical condition.
Then Siegel went into his list of reasons why he thinks the death rate from the virus has fallen. He does not mention masks and social distancing as a possible reason. The Mayo Clinic says those two things are crucial, and other studies agree.
“Why is the survival increasing so dramatically? It’s because of earlier diagnosis. It’s because of great medical care,” Siegel said, before he started listing things that actually have not helped at all yet because they don’t exist.
“New antibodies coming out that we’re going to be able to use. Vaccine on the horizon… The science has to triumph over the politics, Tucker.”
Tucker responded to that sentiment that science must take priority over politics by saying that lockdowns and mask requires are “one of the worst things our country has ever done, I would say.”
“The American population voted Trump into office in 2016 and this is our long-awaited punishment,” Carlson complained.
And then Siegel decided to close out the segment by saying you’re more likely to survive a COVID-19 infection than you are to survive an Ebola infection.
You can watch the relevant portion of Friday’s episode of “Tucker Carlson Tonight” in the video embedded in this article.
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