As we reported earlier, Tucker Carlson is the interviewer at the Family Leadership Summit forum in Iowa, which is showcasing some of the 2024 Republican candidates. Carlson just took Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson apart over his answers on the transitioning of children. Glenn Beck compared Hutchinson to the Hindenburg in how much he “burst into flames and died that fast.”
Now, to be fair, Hutchinson is far back of the pack and doesn’t have a great chance. But if he doesn’t understand the basic issue before us all at this moment and the position that many on the right have, then he’s going to have a problem.
But he wasn’t the only person to crash and burn at the event.
Carlson may have ended Mike Pence’s run as well, with Pence stepping in it big time on the question of putting America first over Ukraine.
TUCKER: "You are distressed that the Ukrainians don't have enough American tanks. Every city in the United States has become much worse in the last three years…! And yet your concern is that the Ukrainians…don't have enough tanks?"
PENCE: "I've heard that routine from you… pic.twitter.com/LHjNOCDJ31
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 14, 2023
Tucker observed:
You are distressed that the Ukrainians don’t have enough American tanks. Every city in the United States has become much worse in the last three years….And yet your concern is that the Ukrainians…don’t have enough tanks? I think it’s a fair question to ask, like, where’s the concern for the United States in that?
“That’s not my concern. I’ve heard that routine from you before, but that’s not my concern,” Pence unbelievably responded. “I’m running for president of the United States because I think this country is in a lot of trouble. I think that Joe Biden has weakened America at home and abroad.”
Now, I’m not sure whether he heard what Tucker was asking him or not since he followed up by saying he thinks this country is in a lot of trouble. He seemed concentrated on giving the talking point. But when you say it’s “not my concern” to the question of where’s the concern for the United States in his take on Ukraine, that’s an incredibly bad answer, and it’s all over the internet at this point. As I reported back in June, he already dug a big hole for himself when he said that Joe Biden had been “slow in providing military resources to Ukraine.”
Tucker went further, asking him doesn’t it concern him that there are reports that our stores of material are low because of everything we’ve given to Ukraine. His answer again is bad.
TUCKER: "The Pentagon says that…we're very low in our stockpiles. Is that a concern to you?"
PENCE: "The answer is not to shrink from America's role as leader of the free world. The answer is to invest in our national defense!" pic.twitter.com/c6UIuT7ecV
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 14, 2023
He says that the answer is to invest in “our national defense.” But the defense of Ukraine isn’t “our” national defense and again, that’s part of the bigger question and problem that the base has with Pence on this issue.
Tucker also put Pence, a fervent Christian, on the spot about alleged religious discrimination in Ukraine by the Zelensky government. Mike Pence got visibly upset with Carlson over the issue.
TUCKER: "I'm confused…The Zelensky government has arrested priests…I sincerely wonder how a Christian leader could support the arrest of Christians…"
PENCE: "I asked the Christian leader in Kiev if that was in fact happening, and he assured me it was not." pic.twitter.com/NV5BFzQ7GJ
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 14, 2023
Mike Pence is getting visibly frustrated with Tucker… pic.twitter.com/28cNF9HdAe
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 14, 2023
Then there was this Pence response on the issue of the shooting of Ashli Babbitt by a Capitol Police officer during the Jan. 6 riot. This is another answer where many in the base, on social media, are not happy with the response. He mentions the “tragic loss of life” but then says police showed “restraint.”
PENCE: "As [January 6th] wore on…obviously the tragic loss of life ransacking the capitol that occurred…"
TUCKER: "When you say the tragic loss of life, who are you referring to?"
PENCE: "Ashli Babbitt would come to mind immediately!"
TUCKER: "What do you think of the fact… pic.twitter.com/xMh4Qe6LI4
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 14, 2023
The muted clap response to Pence saying he did his duty on Jan. 6 said a lot, and this is in Iowa too, where you might think folks would be more favorable to Pence.
Pence also didn’t do well with this reaction on electronic voting machines either.
JUST IN: Tucker Carlson laughs in Mike Pence's face for being reluctant to agree that the U.S. should get rid of electronic voting machines.
Pence: "We do everything in our power to restore public confidence in the one person one vote principle."
Tucker: "Why not just get rid… pic.twitter.com/LbpvRNTfYM
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 14, 2023
So far, Tucker is asking the candidates some tough questions and exposing some big issues. We’ll have to see how the others do, but Mike Pence may have just taken himself out of the running.
