John Oliver slams Tucker Carlson for defending Kenosha shooter and questions Trump's rhetoric

Stephen Proctor
Updated ·2 min read

On Last Week Tonight With John Oliver Sunday, Oliver ripped into Fox News host Tucker Carlson for his defense of Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old Illinois native who was arrested and charged with first-degree murder after allegedly killing two protesters in Kenosha, Wis., last Tuesday. Last week, Carlson took heat for appearing to defend, and even excuse the actions of Rittenhouse.

“So are we really surprised that looting and arson accelerated to murder?” Carlson asked. “How shocked are we that 17-year-olds with rifles decided they had to maintain order when no one else would?

“Well, you don’t seem to be shocked, and that alone should actually be pretty f***ing shocking,” Oliver responded. “Because let’s be clear, a 17-year-old vigilante with a rifle cannot maintain order because a 17-year-old with a rifle trying to maintain order is himself the definition of disorder. Except, of course, if you’re a regular viewer of Tucker Carlson, a show that exists to teach its viewers precisely three things: Property damage is violence, homicide is order, and pillows are for sale.”

Oliver also joined others, like Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi in questioning the role President Trump’s rhetoric, along with that of others, like Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who pointed guns a Black Lives Matter protesters and spoke last week at the Republican National Convention, may have played in Rittenhouse’s decision making.

“I don’t know if he saw the McCloskeys speak the night before he chose to drive to a city he didn’t live in to defend property he didn’t own,” Oliver said. “What I do know is he is an avid Trump supporter, even sitting front row at a rally back in January, and Trump and his media ecosystem have been delivering essentially the same message as the McCloskeys for years now.”

Last Week Tonight With John Oliver airs Sundays at 11 p.m. on HBO.

Check out why #FireTuckerCarlson was trending after the Fox News host defended the Kenosha shooting suspect:

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