The NRA hosted professional sexist Tucker Carlson as the featured speaker at its Women’s Leadership Forum Luncheon

Special Programs Guns & Public Safety

Written by Grace Bennett

Published

Sarah Wasko / Media Matters

The National Rifle Association’s annual meeting began on May 3 in Dallas, TX, and will continue until May 6. According to the NRA’s website, the event “features 15 acres of the most spectacular displays of firearms, shooting and hunting accessories in the world.” On May 4, convention guests could choose to attend the Women’s Leadership Forum Luncheon with featured speaker Tucker Carlson, a Fox News host and a professional and virulent sexist.

The NRA’s decision to host Carlson as a featured speaker is impressively tone-deaf given his long record of belittling women, dismissing sexual harassment, and ridiculing women’s issues, but is perhaps unsurprising given the NRA’s own history of sexism. Carlson often spends his show bemoaning the plight of men (often white men), while dismissing the very real issues faced by women every day. He recently spent Women’s History Month parroting YouTube's most extreme misogynists, arguing that the wage gap doesn't exist, and lamenting society’s treatment of men. Here are a few more examples of Carlson’s boundless sexism:

  • He claimed that Democrats “made up the concept of sexual harassment.”

  • He suggested that Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) had met with President Donald Trump because “she’s the prettiest member of Congress,” asking, “What are her qualifications?”

  • He told a Teen Vogue writer she should “stick to the thigh-high boots” and stay away from political writing.

  • He cautioned against having too many female reporters covering female candidates.

  • He suggested that a female president would be “more emotional.”

  • He whined that sexual assault is the only crime “where you would print the name of the accused but not of the accuser.”

Not only is Carlson a dedicated misogynist, but he is also a favorite of white nationalists and frequently espouses racist and xenophobic rhetoric. During his nightly Fox News show, Carlson spends significant time fearmongering about immigration, whining about apparent bias against white people, and defending bigots. He also frequently hosts racists who use his show to espouse their bigotry. Here are several examples of Carlson’s racist rhetoric:

  • He compared affirmative action to Jim Crow policies.

  • He claimed that the lesson of 9/11 is that “not all cultures are equal."

  • He has often defended public figures who’ve made obviously racist remarks.

  • He whined about people pointing out the KKK’s support for Trump, calling them “truly divisive.”

  • He argued that Trump cannot possibly be racist against Puerto Ricans because “Puerto Rico is 75 percent white.”

  • He attempted to paint Mexico and its “offspring of conquistadors” as “far more racist” than the U.S.

  • He claimed, “The American Nazi Party and the KKK don't really exist in a meaningful [way]."