Why Fox News and Tucker Carlson are in Way Over Their Heads

Today something happened that we don't often see.

While the morning was abuzz with Tucker Carlson and Fox News attempting to sanitize the January 6th Capitol breach, a significant event unfolded this afternoon.

Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Republican Party in the Senate, rebuked Fox News and Tucker Carlson in a rare move that I can't recall happening in the past 6+ years.

Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, McConnell criticized his party's favorite cable network for its airing of Capitol security footage from January 6th on Tucker Carlson's show Monday night. Carlson's claim that the violent attack on the Capitol was exaggerated was undermined by his use of selectively edited footage, which showed Trump supporters calmly walking through the Capitol.

Brian Krassenstein @krassenstein

BREAKING: Mitch McConnell just told the nation that Tucker Carlson and Fox News made a mistake in depicting the Capitol attack on January 6th in the way that they did: “It was a mistake, in my view, for Fox News to depict (January 6th) in a way that's completely at variance… https://t.co/W4ErflgBSx

“I want to associate myself entirely with the opinion of the chief of the Capitol Police about what happened on Jan. 6,” McConnell said Tuesday. “It was a mistake for Fox News to depict this in a way that’s completely at variance with what our chief law enforcement official here at the Capitol thinks,” McConnell continued.

McConnell wasn't the only Republican Senator to criticize Carlson's show last night. Several GOP senators vehemently criticized Carlson's attempt to sanitize the Jan. 6 riot. Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) dismissed Carlson's claims as "baseless," while Senator Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) unequivocally stated that the events "were far from a peaceful protest of some rowdy boy scouts." Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) went so far as to denounce the events of Jan. 6 as "an abomination."

Although it may appear insignificant that prominent Republicans are denouncing Fox News, it is, in fact, a severe indictment of the company, particularly in light of the Dominion lawsuit and the Trump Campaign's criticism for failing to conform to his rhetoric.

Regardless of what happens from here on out, there is little doubt that Fox News and Rupert Murdoch will be under significant pressure from multiple angles as America heads into the 2024 election cycle.