CNN’s chief media correspondent Brian Stelter said Friday on “Newsroom” that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) begging for forgiveness from Tucker Carlson is evidence the Fox News host is the new Donald Trump.
Stelter said, “Cruz folded like a paper airplane. I think what it shows is the Republican messaging about being tough on crime, which is something that’s gone back decades that Cruz was trying to lean into, has come up against this denial of the January 6 crime. So you have Tucker Carlson trying to take a position that what we saw with our own eyes didn’t really happen. Not that many police officers were injured, even though some of the officers that were attacked that day still can’t get back to work because the injuries were so severe. But Carlson’s in such profound denial about that, that he has to put on this performance and Cruz, absolutely begged for forgiveness.”
He continued, “About a year ago, media reporters like yours truly start started to say Tucker Carlson is the new Donald Trump. I’ve never seen a bit of proof better than this. This is the ultimate example of Tucker Carlson’s power. He essentially now runs the GOP media.”
Stelter added, “As we think about the midterms in 2024, there’s going to be a Tucker Carlson primary and you just saw what it’s going to be like. It’s going to be this kind of obsession with sticking to the party orthodoxy and denying the reality of the riot.”
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