Tucker Carlson
Tucker Carlson @EvanAKilgore/X

In a political landscape often defined by its sharp divisions, few figures possess the ability to unite critics from both ends of the spectrum as effectively as Tucker Carlson. However, his latest intervention has managed to spark a firestorm that goes beyond mere partisanship.

During a provocative interview on 26 December with The American Conservative, the 56-year-old commentator turned his analytical lens toward the current state of American society—only to dismiss a cornerstone of conservative security policy as a 'lie'.

The controversy began when Carlson was questioned about a recent Turning Point USA poll conducted at AmericaFest.

The data revealed a striking consensus among the thousands of conservative attendees: they ranked 'radical Islam' as the single greatest threat facing the United States today.

For Carlson, however, this statistic was not a reflection of reality, but rather a symptom of a misplaced national focus.

The Empirical Reality Of Misplaced National Focus

'I believe in measuring reality a little more empirically,' Carlson remarked during the Friday discussion, before making a claim that immediately drew a sharp rebuke from security experts and victims' advocates alike.

The podcaster stated that he does not know 'anyone in the United States in the last 24 years who's been killed by radical Islam.' By setting the timeline to the last 24 years, he appeared to exclude the catastrophic events of 11 September 2001, an omission that critics argue ignores the persistent reality of jihadist plots and lone-wolf attacks that have occurred on American soil since.

Instead of foreign ideologies, Carlson argued that the true domestic crisis is being fuelled by internal decay. 'I do know a lot of people who have killed themselves. I know people who've died of drug ODs, more than a few. I know people who can't get jobs,' he said.

He specifically highlighted a generational struggle, claiming that 'none of the boys in my daughter's class can get jobs; none of those white boys can get jobs. They're being destroyed by Adderall and video games and porn.'

OnlyFans Versus Global Jihadism

The crux of the outrage, however, centred on Carlson's direct comparison between a subscription-based adult content platform and the threat of global extremism. In a statement that has since been ruthlessly trolled across social media, he suggested that the cultural impact of OnlyFans is a far more pressing danger than any religious or political radicalisation.

'I see millions of Americans being destroyed, and none of it is at the hands of radical Islam,' Carlson asserted. 'Is radical Islam more dangerous than OnlyFans? It's not even close.'

He went on to label OnlyFans models as 'prostitutes,' adding that the site is 'turning some huge percentage of American women into prostitutes. That's not radical Islam doing that, actually.'

The backlash was swift. Tony Kinnett, a correspondent for The Daily Signal, was amongst the first to voice his disapproval on X.'Why would Tucker care about the common Americans killed by Islamic terror? It's so far from his cushy retreat in New England & his vacation home in Qatar. Coward,' he wrote.

Others pointed to the hundreds killed in the West by jihadist terror as proof that his empirical measurement was fundamentally flawed.

While some supporters argued that Carlson was simply trying to pivot the conversation toward domestic issues like sex trafficking and the 'billionaires' thirst for power,' the consensus remains that his dismissal of security threats was 'insane'.

For a man who claims to be a 'close observer' of reality for a living, this latest take has left many wondering if he is still watching the same world as everyone else.

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