Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), now a CNN contributor, said Tuesday on “The Lead” that Fox News host Tucker Carlson programmed his “tribal” viewers to “suspend disbelief.”
Anchor Jake Tapper asked, “Congressman, I want to break down statistics. There are 999 people facing federal or local charges, 326 are charged with assault or resisting or impeding officers, and 140 officers were assaulted at the Capitol that day. Five hundred eighteen people have been charged and pleaded guilty. How can Fox really try to paint this as largely peaceful, filled with sightseers?”
Kinzinger said, “Yeah, here is how Fox does it. Because, and particularly Tucker, because they realize, no matter what they say, their audience is invested in that tribal narrative. That audience is invested in the fact because they’ve been programmed by Tucker Carlson for many years. They’ve been invested in the fact that you have to pick your side and stick with it, no matter what the cost is. Suspend your belief, suspend your disbelief, just trust us. We’re going to tell you, we’re going to give you the talking points and the arguments.”
He added, “Fox knows that’s not true. Tucker knows it’s not true. And you can see it all throughout the Dominion lawsuit. But has Fox News talked about the Dominion lawsuit? I’m going to guess probably not. Has Fox News told their own audience that they were lying to them? Probably not. They just keep them hooked, give them a bigger dopamine rush, give them more of that hit, and that’s how it goes.”
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