If there’s one position you don’t want to find yourself in, it’s being the governor of New York in the midst of pandemic and the a sex scandal. If there’s a second worst position to be in, it’s being the brother of that governor and a television news personality tasked with reporting on people like him, which is exactly the situation that CNN’s Chris Cuomo finds himself in at the moment as the number of sexual harassment cases against his big bro, governor Andrew Cuomo, continue mounting. And just when Chris didn’t think things could get worse for him, the unimaginable happened: Tucker Carlson came to his defense! Sort of…
Tucker Carlson stands up for Chris Cuomo, saying it's "understandable" that he's helping his brother out during the scandal.
"It’s his brother. Your loyalty should be to your family above all else. Not joking at all. Maybe above your job." pic.twitter.com/Hw1YpfP5aK
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) August 10, 2021
On Monday night, the usually predictable Fox News host made an uncharacteristically unpredictable statement about Chris Cuomo, in which he sided with the CNN anchor for digging his heels in and sticking by his bro “in total sincerity” (Carlson’s words):
“One, you’re not responsible for the misbehavior of your relatives. Sorry, you didn’t choose them. In fact you’re not responsible for anyone else’s misbehavior. Only your own. That’s just true. It’s the basis of American justice and it’s the basic of human decency. Don’t blame people for things they didn’t do.”
Now, one would like to think that Carlson somehow grew a heart or conscience without anyone even noticing, but it’s hard not to detect some inauthenticity here. Yes, even with that “in total sincerity” remark, especially when you look at the graphics going on in the background while Carlson’s talking (see above). And while the silly graphic could be chalked up to a zero-dollar Photoshop budget, the second part of Carlson’s statement (and yet another illustration) calls that “total sincerity” even further into question:
“The other point to make is Chris Cuomo’s coming under a lot of fire for helping his brother in the middle of this crisis. Now, we can’t evaluate how true that is. But if it is true, let’s be real for a second: It’s understandable. It’s his brother. Your loyalty should be to your family above all else. Not joking at all. Maybe above your job. Maybe even above [CNN president] Jeff Zucker. If your brother calls and says, ‘I need help,’ if you don’t give him help — because you’re pretending to be a news anchor on some stupid cable channel nobody watches — you’re betraying your brother. And that’s a greater sin than any of the dumb politics they espouse on that channel. Totally true.”
You can watch the clip above and discern for yourself how much of Carlson’s “total sincerity” was total bullsh*t.
(Via The Wrap)