Nearly a year and a half after Fox Corp. chairman and Fox News co-founder Rupert Murdoch received his vaccine for COVID-19, Tucker Carlson is still using his Fox program to rail against vaccination -- this time. The latest example was following the COVID-19 diagnosis of Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris is reportedly asymptomatic.
Tucker Carlson uses Kamala Harris asymptomatic COVID to mock effectiveness of vaccines. In fact, vaccines are effective at preventing the worst COVID outcomes.
Studies show that vaccines reduce the worst outcomes of COVID-19
Written by John Whitehouse
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From the April 26, 2022, edition of Fox News' Tucker Carlson Tonight
TUCKER CARLSON (HOST): Kamala Harris doesn't have a lot of fixed beliefs. OK, none. Well, one, really. The one thing Kamala Harris believes is that the COVID vaccine works perfectly. And if you don't take it, you're a criminal.
(VIDEO BEGINS)
VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: Here's the thing. Getting vaccinated is the single best defense against COVID-19 and its variants. It's the single best defense.
...
HARRIS: I do believe that the act of getting vaccinated is the very essence – the very essence of what the Bible tells us when it says, love thy neighbor. Right?
(VIDEO ENDS)
CARLSON: It's like a religious observance, it's like a sacrament. It's like transubstantiation. And Kamala Harris, who's never actually had a job, knows a lot about medicine. So that's a setup to today's story, which you can already guess, which is Kamala Harris has – guess which disease? – oh, COVID. And you know what that means? It means the vaccines work perfectly because when you get the vaccine, you get COVID, because that's what they were intended to do. I'm quoting her, quote, I'm grateful to be both vaccinated and boosted, Harris wrote, because it's not any kind of ransom script. And the funny thing is, they all say it. Barack Obama got rona and he said the same thing. I'm grateful to be vaccinated and boosted. Hillary Clinton had the same thought. She was, quote, more grateful than ever for the protections that vaccines can provide now that she had COVID. And Elizabeth Warren too, quote, I am grateful for the protection that comes from being vaccinated and boosted. Cory Booker put his signature twist on it. He said he'd be doing much worse without the booster. Weird how they all sound exactly the same. They get the shot, then they get rona, then they celebrate getting the shot. What's going on here? Jimmy Failla hosts Fox Across America on Fox News Radio, also available on Spotify and iHeart, and we're happy to have him. Jimmy, how are you doing? What do you make of this?
JIMMY FAILLA (FOX NEWS RADIO HOST): Hey, man, let's get him. I want to defend Cory Booker really quick. It's not enough to say I'm not unvaccinated. You have to be anti-unvaccinated. Tucker, don't you know that?
CARLSON: Oh, yeah.
FAILLA: That's Cory Booker speak right there. I mean, Kamala Harris, man, on some level, you have to feel for her because she spent all that time kissing her husband with a mask on for no reason. Have you seen that insanity, Tucker Carlson? Come on, man. Although I like the fact that she encourages people to kiss with masks on, because at least we know there's one border she doesn't want people crossing. You know what I'm saying? But this is the thing, OK. Performative stupidity like this is why Kamala Harris is currently polling behind ISIS. Yeah.
CARLSON: Yeah.
FAILLA: OK. She's getting on TV and pushing the vaccine by telling everybody it didn't work. Tucker. This is like me saying, my wife and I are expecting a baby. Thank God we wore a condom or she'd be a lot more pregnant than she is right now. Come on, man. And they do this again and again, like, yo, if you want people to take the vaccine, don't tell them it doesn't always end good. Like there's a reason Carnival Cruise Lines don't show scenes from Titanic during the commercials. Come on, stupid.
CARLSON: You do kind of have to wonder. I mean, I guess they've already cashed out their Pfizer stock, so it doesn't matter to them anymore. But if you know what I mean, how dumb do they think people are? Do they think people believe it? Is this original expression of contempt for the population telling you something they know you don't believe, but forcing to pretend you do? Like, what is this?
FAILLA: Well, that's what I would attribute it to. I think at this point they've become so entrenched in the fact that this has always been their cause that we're now living, Tucker, in something I consider to be the death of shame. Like people will suffer any indignity if it means advancing their cause. So even if they have to get on Twitter and be like, I got it, I got COVID, but I'm vaccinated, like, again, you're telling us it didn't work. As far as all those tweets, I thought they were hilarious.
CARLSON: Oh, I love them.
FAILLA: Hillary Clinton glomming on to the narrative. You know, she's doing that because she wants to run again somewhere in the back of her mind. She'll never stop running. Tucker, someday at Trump rallies, they're going to be chanting, help her up. OK, she'll be running when she's 105. And as far as Elizabeth Warren, she's a dope. The only advice I would give there, Tucker, is you're a good guy. Never buy a used car off Elizabeth Warren. She sold my buddy a red Jeep Cherokee. We ran the Carfax, turned out to be a white Suburban. Tucker, come on.
CARLSON: Still, really quick, in 10 seconds. If you doing a national poll and people could vote anonymously and you asked who's a bigger threat to you and your family, COVID or Kamala Harris, what do you think the results would be?
FAILLA: COVID or Kamala? Well, honestly, I actually think it would be Kamala. This is the first time she'd be doing good in the polls. I say we run it. It'll boost morale in the wing. Come on, man.
CARLSON: That was not a setup. I – you didn't know that question in advance. Jimmy, great to see you. Thank you.
FAILLA: Appreciate you, buddy. Thanks, Tucker.
CARLSON: Thank you. More news after the break.
If you're reading this far, you probably know by now that the vaccines are safe and effective at reducing the worst outcomes of COVID-19. But it's worth looking at hard data from unbiased sources. Here are a few charts from a recent analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation showing that unvaccinated individuals have been much more likely to die from COVID-19.
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There is simply plenty of evidence from many sources that the vaccines prevent the worst outcomes from COVID-19. And while Fox and Carlson have been leading the charge against vaccinations, it's no wonder that pro-Trump counties have been ravaged by COVID-19 since the vaccines have been available.
But Rupert Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch, and other Fox execs are happy to let Tucker Carlson lie and mislead their audience about vaccines, even as the country's toll from the pandemic nears 1 million dead.
Of course, lying is a lot easier when even a close political observer like ABC News reporter Jon Karl has said in recent days that Fox's pandemic coverage has been “very responsible.”