Fox News scrambles after guest unexpectedly calls out racist host

Fox News was confronted on Tuesday by a guest who questioned why racist prime-time host Tucker Carlson was still allowed to host on the network.

Michael Blake, a New York City councilman and a vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee, appeared with daytime news host Bill Hemmer on “America’s Newsroom” to discuss the 2020 election.

To set up the segment, Hemmer played a clip from Carlson’s show in which he predicted that former first lady Michelle Obama would eventually be the Democratic nominee. Asked to react to the clip, Blake pointed out the problem with citing Carlson’s views.

“The core question is why the hell does Tucker Carlson still have a job here in the first place?” he asked.

He continued, “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?”

Hemmer tried to steer the conversation away from his fellow Fox News employee and brought up the premise of a Michelle Obama candidacy again.

“It’s not going to happen, but I think the core question is he shouldn’t be on here at all,” Blake responded.

“We didn’t bring you on to talk about Tucker Carlson, we brought you on to talk about the Democratic field,” Hemmer replied.

Blake eventually spoke more at length about why he was confident about Democratic chances in the coming election year before returning to the network’s problems.

“Regardless of the number of candidates in the field, we’re talking about jobs while Trump is ignoring the truth. We’re talking about health care while he’s ignoring the truth. The question must be: For Donald Trump, for Fox News, for other entities, I wouldn’t keep ignoring that […],” Blake said.

“Listen, I didn’t bring you on to bash our network, so with all due respect why don’t we just keep it all on topic,” Hemmer replied.

“But it’s relevant,” said Blake.

“Not it’s not,” said the host. “It’s not relevant to the conversation we’re having, save it for later.”

Fox News has been uniquely intertwined with the Republican Party since it launched in 1996 and that bond has never been closer under Trump, who takes direction for key policies and rhetoric from the network’s many hosts.

Among those hosts with a direct pipeline to Trump is Carlson, who has made his show into a clearinghouse for white supremacist ideas.

In August, Carlson claimed that white supremacy “is actually not a real problem in America,” describing it as a “hoax” and a “conspiracy theory used to divide the country.”

It is the kind of rhetoric that has led Carlson, whose show is aired nightly to millions of viewers, to be praised by neo-Nazis.

Fox News made a bid to host Democrats for debates during the 2020 primaries, but that offer was rejected by the party, citing “the inappropriate relationship between President Trump, his administration and Fox News.”

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.