Fox News host Tucker Carlson aired the first of what is expected to be several segments showcasing security camera footage that he claims “demolishes” the idea that January 6th was an insurrection. CNN This Morning anchor Don Lemon believes the segment highlights the danger Americans face as the relationship between Fox News and the Republican Party grows.
Carlson was given more than 40,000 hours of Capitol security footage by Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), which Lemon has repeatedly taken issue with. He continued to voice that displeasure Tuesday.
“This is the danger…this relationship with Fox News and you look the situation they’re in with Dominion (Voting Systems),” Lemon said, referencing the defamation lawsuit brought against the network by the election machine company.
“This is the danger of unfairness. You should give it to every news organization — at the same time — so that they’re able to analyze it in real-time and not one — particularly, especially someone who is not considered to be a journalist — to be able to disseminate it and give his take on it.”
In the segment, Carlson posited that “In retrospect, it is clear the 2020 election was a grave betrayal of American democracy. Given the facts that have emerged since that election, no honest person can deny it.”
That statement comes after it was uncovered that Fox News officials — from hosts to Chairman Rupert Murdoch — privately shared that they did not believe any of the election claims from then-President Donald Trump’s legal team. However, publicly, the network continued to welcome Trump lawyers to the network to espouse the theories the hosts, producers, and executives had disavowed privately.
CNN media analyst Sara Fischer argued that if McCarthy truly believed the footage pushes back against the narrative around January 6th, it would have led to a Congressional investigation, not a favor for Carlson. She also added the “hand-picking” of media members to disseminate stories has become a trend, pointing to Elon Musk gifting the Twitter Files to Matt Taibi and others.