Tucker: Media thinks Ukraine president is an 'agent of Putin'

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Tucker: Media thinks Ukraine president is an 'agent of Putin'

'Tucker Carlson Tonight' explains why the president is 'panicked' about Ukraine.

This is a rush transcript from "Tucker Carlson Tonight," January 28, 2022. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

JESSE WATTERS, FOX NEWS HOST: But everything is. "Who ties your ties? If it's you, great job." Well, I'm not Hannity, I can tie my own tie.

That's all for tonight, Tucker Carlson is up next. And remember, I'm Watters and this is my world.

TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: Good evening and welcome to TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT. Happy Friday.

If you've been following the news at all recently, you know, that Vladimir Putin is just seconds away for invading our ancient ally, our closest friend in the world stage, that would be the sovereign nation of Ukraine.

In response to this news, lovers of democracy everywhere are horrified. This is a slow-motion disaster. In effect, it's the first domino.

First the Russians come from Ukraine. Next, it's Bangor, Boise, Bakersfield. What Vladimir Putin plans next will make "Red Dawn" look like a documentary. So, of course defenders of democracy everywhere are horrified by this, and they're ready to fight.

Now NATO whose job it apparently is to contain Russia has not yet committed to defending Ukraine for some reason. But patriotic Americans are not waiting for NATO. That's not their way.

According to a piece in BuzzFeed, American citizens are joining the fight on their own. It's their Spanish Civil War. They're paying their way to Ukraine to defend the noble Ukrainian people against the dastardly Russian hordes on the frozen step.

But strangely, and this is weird, we have no confirmation tonight that David Frum, Max Boot, and Liz Cheney have left yet for Kyiv, and maybe they're still oiling their rifles and gathering their kit, or maybe they've decided to man the cable news barricades, just because they're technically behind the lines doesn't make their service less perilous or important, and someday, they're all going to get medals for the sacrifices they're now making in CNN studios in New York City, and we plan to cover that ceremony live.

But in the meantime, Joe Biden seems most worried of all, Joe Biden is so panicked about what is about to happen to Ukraine, he makes Bill Kristol seem understated and restrained and it is not really surprising because Joe Biden is the President of the United States. He has got access to all the latest Intel. It is delivered to him daily by the weapons of mass destruction division at C.I.A., those guys are on it.

This week, Biden got so concerned after reading what the C.I.A. delivered him. He's so worried about what's about to happen to Ukraine that Joe Biden called the President of Ukraine to warn him about his fate. And then someone in the Intel Community leaked the transcript of that call to CNN, not for the first time. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: We are breaking news for you in our world, a senior Ukrainian official tell CNN that today's phone call between President Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, quote, "Did not go well."

Our sources tell CNN the two disagreed about the immediacy of the threat of a Russian attack on Ukraine. The White House and Pentagon had been emphatic that they believe an attack could be imminent. We should note the White House just released its own readout of that call. And there was no mention of President Biden's warnings or the two Presidents disagreements?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Whoa, first, we should note that CNN is perfectly capable of taking spin filled propaganda calls from agents of the Ukrainian government, but you can't talk to Russia because that's treason.

But here's the headline, it looks like there is daylight between the world's two closest leaders, brothers really, and that suggests there might be a breach in the unbreakable bond forged over centuries between Ukraine and the United States.

Listen to this from CNN's Natasha Bertrand, she did this reporting quote, "Per a senior Ukrainian official, Biden told President Zelensky that a Russian invasion of Ukraine is now virtually certain and that Kyiv could be sacked. Prepare for impact. Biden reportedly said. President Zelensky disagreed, and as I reported, asked him to tone down the rhetoric."

What? Joe Biden is more worried about Russia than the President of Ukraine is? It looks that way because not long after that reporting, CNN's Natasha Bertrand deleted that tweet.

Oh, and then an hour later, CNN's Jim Sciutto contradicted CNN's own previous reporting and tweeted out this White House statement which at CNN qualifies as reporting statement from the White House. Here's what it said. "White House on Biden Zelensky call: Anonymous sources are leaking falsehoods. The only person who should be sacked is the anonymous source who is circulating an inaccurate portrayal of this conversation," end quote.

Not an actual denial, therefore, it's true. It's an amazing sequence really, if you think about it.

So Biden tells the Ukrainian President that his capital city is about to be sacked, like Rome in the Fifth Century. Blood and screams, fire, spears, and swords, sieges and trebuchets, a horrible scene.

And Ukrainian leader's response to this, calm down, dude, you're freaking me out. Toughen up. You sound like a terrified old woman.

Now the White House claims that conversation never happened, but clearly it did happen because at a press conference today, President Zelensky said virtually the same thing to the media.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We've talked to the President, we've talked about this. We think that there has to be -- there has to be a balanced approach.

I'm not saying that they -- he is influencing American media, the independent, but the media policy, there has to be verbal bans. If they want to know what the situation is that hey, they can come to Kyiv. Do we have tanks on the street? No.

The image that mass media creates is that we have troops on the roads, we have mobilization, people are leaving from places. That's not the case, we don't need this panic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: So David Frum and Joe Biden have gotten Americans so whipped into a frenzy over the future of Ukraine that they are flying to Ukraine to risk their lives in defense of that sacred nation's sovereignty, and there is the President of Ukraine, saying we're not that concerned.

So what can we infer from this? Well, it's simple. If you're not terrified about the prospect of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the question is, whose side are you on here? Whose side are you on? And we know the answer that question. You're on Vladimir Putin's side.

So it looks like the President of Ukraine himself has been compromised by Russian misinformation. The Ukrainian President is what we on cable news refer to as an agent of Putin and that means the Russians are so diabolically effective they've recruited the guy they're preparing the war against. How clever is that? It would take a Slavic mind to pull that off.

And by the way, yes, we are calling the President of Ukraine an agent of Putin, but we're not judging him. In fact, we can relate, we can empathize. Because as you know, if you watch the media, we are agents are Putin, too.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR FOX's chief propagandist, Tucker Carlson saying that the U.S. should be siding with Russia over Ukraine. What? You may say?

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Members of Congress are actually getting phone calls encouraging them to side with Russia, because they're watching right-wing media and people like Tucker Carlson.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: It is striking how neatly Kremlin propaganda seems to dovetail with Carlson's talking points.

DAVID JOLLY, MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR: When Tucker Carlson delivers this message, it is dangerous.

ARI MELBER, MSNBC HOST: Now, Tucker seems to have some sort of larger pattern here with tyrants who lean to the right.

NICOLLE WALLACE, MSNBC HOST: But why is he so committed? And why is FOX News on his behalf so committed to tearing down the American embrace and support and alignment with the world's democracies?

MAX BOOT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Tucker is literally shameless. If he had any capacity to feel any shame, he should be embarrassed by what he just said, because he is basically repeating rank Russian propaganda.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Mr. Max Boot, ladies and gentlemen, in his final domestic television appearance before he heads to Ukraine to defend that nation himself, its territorial integrity from the aggression of Vladimir Putin. Watch him while you can.

But let's be clear about what the terms are, in the United States, and this is not applied to Ukraine where they have probably more sane view of it, or maybe just more Russian influence view. But in the United States, if you raise any questions about the wisdom of siding in a war in Eastern Europe with one country over another, you are by definition, an agent of the single greatest threat to democracy on this globe, Mr. Vladimir Putin himself, your treasonous.

Congressman Tom Malinowski of New Jersey is claiming that viewers of this show, Russian robots, two men, reached out to his office and did something horrifying, something probably should be illegal. They said, maybe we shouldn't go to war over Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Can you just tell us about these phone calls that your office is getting?

REP. TOM MALINOWSKI (D-NJ): Yes, sure. It really started yesterday. I was in my district office in New Jersey and the phones were ringing and my district director came to me and said, I just spent an hour on the phone with like four people telling me that they'd watched Tucker Carlson last night, and why are we going to be going to war for Ukraine? Russia is making reasonable proposals for peace, and we should just do what Russia wants.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Yes. A lot of people have said Tom Malinowski, you know, is not the sharpest knife in the drawer, right? Even by the standards of New Jersey. However, he makes a really good point. There are people out there who look around and decide, maybe, I don't know, homelessness, close to a million people living on the street in the United States, a hundred thousand Americans dying of drug ODs, inflation, the fact our schools haven't taught anything in over two years, maybe these are more important concerns than the territorial integrity of a country we can't find on a map.

Maybe our own territorial integrity is more important than Ukraine's, and the question Congressman Malinowski raises is why would they ever think that? Where would they get the idea that they're stupid parochial domestic concerns are more important than Ukraine's Eastern border? And the answer, of course, is Vladimir Putin.

They've obviously fallen for the Russian propaganda. That would be us, doing Vladimir Putin's bidding. Like the President of Ukraine, we are guilty.

Well, for some perspective tonight, clearly we've lost it, since we're working for Russia, we are joined tonight by Stu Scheller. He's a longtime Lieutenant Colonel in the Marine Corps, who famously left service for telling the truth very recently. We're happy to have him. Mr. Scheller, thank you for coming.

STU SCHELLER, FORMER U.S. MARINES: Thanks, Tucker. Thanks for having me.

CARLSON: So as someone who did multiple combat deployments in a number of different countries, you are sort of on the fighting end of Max Boot's plans. I wonder if it's surprising to you that almost nobody calling for involvement in this conflict has thought through the consequences of it?

SCHELLER: That's a good question, Tucker. I thought you hit the nail on the head when you said NATO hasn't even stood up the force yet. General Milley and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin didn't even address that when they talked about the 8,500 troops that they're mobilizing. They did say that they would be part of a NATO force that again hasn't been stood up.

So quite honestly, I'm confused, really what we're talking about at this point.

CARLSON: Right, so NATO, I mean, it's -- I have never figured out what NATO's job exactly is. But in rough terms, it's to keep Russia under control, I guess, and if this is an example of Russia out of control, you'd think they'd be the first to the fight. But they're not. So what does that mean exactly?

SCHELLER: Correct. NATO was stood up after World War II to prevent Russian aggression, but since 1990, when the Soviet Union fell, and in '91 when countries like Ukraine were created, we had an advance of NATO countries. So Poland, Romania, these countries on Ukraine's border are actual NATO members.

Ukraine is not a NATO member, they are a NATO partner and it is getting confusing because when you hear the general speak, they talk about NATO allies, but they don't differentiate between a member and a partner and Ukraine is not a NATO member.

Hence, NATO has not stood up the force yet. So right now America is getting spun up. And I quite honestly don't understand the logic or the end game, which is why I asked to come and talk to your audience.

CARLSON: Well, it's so interesting to hear from you specifically because you had to leave a job you loved after 17 years, I think, as a Marine Corps officer, because you asked the question, you know, is anybody learning anything from the disaster of our Afghanistan withdrawal, a country that you served in extensively?

And I'm wondering, shouldn't we pause, learn maybe some lessons from that sad chapter before we progress on to the next conflict?

SCHELLER: A hundred percent. The same people that advised the Afghanistan withdrawal are advising right now, and we absolutely need to take a hard look at what we're trying to accomplish. We need to signal very clearly what our intentions are.

The reason we went to Desert Shield and Desert Storm is because we didn't clearly signal to Saddam Hussein that had he invaded Kuwait that we would respond with military force, and the same thing is happening right now. We're mobilizing 8,500 troops without the NATO force even being stood up.

No one really clearly understands what we're trying to accomplish, and I think that if Russia was to invade because we can't even come to a clear understanding on what's happening because I don't think that generals have a clear plan or are advising correctly, we could end up in a much worse position than we are now.

CARLSON: It feels that -- well, you just made a reference to the troops being mobilized to Eastern Europe. I'd love to get clarity on what Eastern Europe means. But we have a clip of Joe Biden saying that just a short time ago, here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: Have you decided how soon you would be moving U.S. troops to Eastern Europe?

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'll be moving U.S. troops to Eastern Europe and the NATO countries in the near term.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Again, without getting into all the technical aspects of NATO and what it is authorized to do or not to, it seems like what's the point of NATO if we have to move American troops unilaterally to quote "Eastern Europe"?

SCHELLER: Correct. I've read the Russians national security strategy and the greatest threat facing Russia, according to them, from their perspective is NATO. Hence, whenever a border country tries to seek membership, they try to destabilize it.

And so the very thing that NATO is there to prevent is actually exacerbating the problem. We need to take a hard look at what NATO is supposed to do, and the other thing is the amount of money that the United States throws at NATO has actually crippled our European partners that should be leading this fight.

Our European partners that should be standing up the NATO forces, they are not. Currently, the United States is really the only one beating the drum to the point you've already made where the Ukrainian President is saying calm down, we seem to be stirring this up ourselves without really fully understanding the bigger picture.

CARLSON: Well, exactly. I mean, you know, it's been 80 years, so I think we can trust Western Europe with guns now and I'm just very sad that you left the Officer Corps because obviously this country needs you in a position of authority and I hope you find another. Stu Scheller, thank you.

So as we told you last night, obviously, it's immoral to criticize George Soros. He's just a billionaire who wants to change your country without your consent, and of course, he's not doing anything to change America.

Oh, but wait, he is spending over $100 million to affect the outcome of our midterm elections. We've got details on that, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON: George Soros is a self-described atheist who doesn't care for Israel and yet, yesterday we learned from the brain dead political hacks at the ADL, if you dare to criticize George Soros's political program in any way, you are an anti-Semite. You're like Hitler, you're evil. So shut up and let Soros completely reorganize your society without your consent. Left-wing billionaires have the right to do that.

Not that George Soros is doing that. No, not at all. And let us remind you that any suggestion to the contrary is criminal bigotry. So once again, be quiet. That's we learned yesterday.

And then hilariously, less than 24 hours after the ADL told us it was immoral to suggest George Soros has more political power than anyone else in this country, we saw this story.

According to no less than POLITICO, Soros is throwing $125 million into our midterm elections in an attempt to control the outcome. Are you doing that? No, he is.

That money will go to candidates who want to keep the borders open and nullify laws that prohibit violent crime.

Now, George Soros's son, Alex Soros explained that his father is spending this money because of what happened on January 6th. It turns out the working class Americans who showed up in Washington that day to demand representation, quote, "Reveal the magnitude of the threat to our democracy. Right. Because real democracy is when foreign born billionaires who hate your country get to make all the decisions for you. That's democracy. Keep that in mind.

So not every country is like ours. In Hungary, the government is a nationalist government, not hostile to other governments, but for its own people and that is massively offensive to George Soros.

Soros in response is using sympathetic international media outlets as a proxy to attack Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban, who by the way, often described as a radical is about as radical as say, a conservative Democrat might have been in 1992 -- not radical at all, neither is that country, it's hardly a right-wing country.

So the journalists who claim this cite Soros funded research that claims Orban is a threat to the free press, when in fact, the press corps in Hungary is far more balanced than it is here. There's massive opposition to the President and Prime Minister in Hungary. Unlike here, where there's almost unanimous support, except on this for our President.

So we went to Hungary to see what exactly this hellhole was like, and we shot a documentary, it's the season finale of our "Tucker Carlson Original" series. Orban addressed those accusations directly in interview.

Here's a look at "Hungary versus Soros: The Fight for Civilization" which you can watch free by going to tuckercarlson.com.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RODRIGO BALLESTER, FORMER E.U. OFFICIAL: There is an absolute lack of political diversity among the civil servants of the European Union.

CARLSON: Not surprisingly, the E.U. has waged war on Viktor Orban for his nationalist positions.

BALLESTER: Hungary is systematically portrayed as you know, the black sheep of the European Union. When I decided to move here, I think half of my colleagues looked at me as if I was moving, you know, to North Korea or a place like that.

CARLSON: Reporters Without Borders, a shill organization partly funded by George Soros provoked an E.U. attack on Orban by accusing him of silencing opposition media.

BALLESTER: Once in a party, I met a colleague of mine who told me openly that in Hungary, Orban was jailing journalists, something that never ever happened.

COOPER: ... attempts to curb the free media.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have gone to war with the media.

VIKTOR ORBAN, HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER: It's fake. It's a lie. I went to the place where the papers are distributed, and I asked the shopkeepers to give all the papers, which are criticizing me. It was like that, far more against us than for us.

So it's obvious on an everyday experience, the media is critical to the Hungarian government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: So we were in Hungary for 10 days or something. Those were our strong impressions, but don't just listen to us, Gladden Pappin is a Professor at the University of Dallas who has been living in Budapest, Hungary. He joins us tonight.

Professor, thank you so much for coming on. So, the description of Hungary in the United States from the people who control the conversation about foreign policy, most of whom are dumb, as you know, but is of this kind of totalitarian hellscape where there is no freedom whatsoever.

You've been living there, what are your impressions?

GLADDEN PAPPIN, VISITING FELLOW, MCC BUDAPEST: First of all, thanks so much for having me on. Yes, it's been a real eye opener living here. I've been living here since September, and the thing that is so obvious is that so many things that we used to be able to take for granted in the United States, the importance of family life, and the identity of men and women, the strong borders of a country, its confidence in its national identity -- all of those are still present here.

And looking back on America, you know, from Hungary, it's clear that, you know, it doesn't have to be that way. It is possible even in the modern world to have a society, which takes the important things seriously. It's not a mystery, it doesn't take, you know, hundreds of millions of dollars of spending on, you know, difficult policy research to come up with great ways to secure your border. It's just a decision.

There are all sorts of political division in this country. It's not, you know, authoritarian dictatorship, but it has certain fundamental commitments, I think that are shared across the society and those are no longer taken for granted in the West. And I think that's why so many Western societies and media outlets are in essence trying to hide the truth about it.

CARLSON: It's interesting. I mean, I'm in the media business, so that is the part that I focus on, the description of the media environment there, and as someone who is in the small opposition this country, I noticed that people who oppose Viktor Orban, and there are many of them in Budapest, are treated with far more respect, gentleness, they're treated far better than people who oppose the Biden administration in the United States, have you noticed this?

PAPPIN: Yes, that is definitely true. I mean, there's quite strong culture of political debate here. You know, issues are debated all across the press. You know, there's not that regime of strict censorship or the imposition of one idea. There's still an ability, you know, to debate different policy options across the spectrum, and that is one thing that the NGOs, you know, which you've been talking about have started to disrupt in our country.

I mean, in the United States, I think we have a long tradition of good civil society institutions that are trying to make a difference in society and, you know, advocate for particular policy agendas. But that whole nexus of organizations has now gotten, you know, so heavily funded, so easily able to project itself around the world that it is able to bring about, you know, policy changes that really no one wants.

So, you know, being here and seeing a society where those good things are still taken for granted really makes that clear.

CARLSON: Amen. It's not democracy when tax free organizations funded by billionaires control your society. Sorry.

Gladden Pappin, Professor, thank you. Good to see you.

PAPPIN: Exactly.

CARLSON: So Jim Acosta learned a new word this week. The word is democracy. Unfortunately, he did not learn the definition of the word. Sad, but hilarious. We got the highlights, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON: So Congress this fall allocated more than a trillion dollars for quote, "infrastructure." You thought they were going to fix physical things, but we learned yesterday from the Vice President's unemployed husband that actually infrastructure means equity.

So, what about the bridges? Well, a lot of them in this country are on the verge of collapse. And today, Joe Biden promised that as part of that infrastructure push, he's going to fix all the bridges or at least all the bridges in the City of Pittsburgh. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I didn't realize there are literally more bridges in Pittsburgh than any other city in the world. More than in Venice. I mean, I knew for a lot of -- I had no idea of that and we're going to -- we are going to fix them all. Not a joke.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Well, you didn't know that? I thought you the hard coal miner from Western Pennsylvania. But whatever.

Joe Biden learns something new every day, then he forgets it, he learns it again. This morning, he landed in Pittsburgh, and as he did, a bridge in the city collapsed and tragically injured 10 people. Rescue workers had to rappel nearly 150 feet to reach people instead of bus that had fallen down a ravine.

One resident pointed out that the timing of the collapse could not have been worse for Joe Biden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's overwhelming. I don't know what to think. We don't normally get this sort of excitement in this neighborhood. The infrastructure in Pittsburgh is known to be poor with bridges. It happens to be happening at the same time President Biden is arriving today to talk about infrastructure, which is an amazing coincidence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Pretty amazing. The infrastructure is falling apart, but the equity is doing great.

Ned Ryun is CEO of American Majority. We're happy to have him join us tonight.

Look, I don't in any way want to make light of or politicize the injuries to those 10 Americans and the collapse of this bridge. But I mean, this -- I mean, talk about a sign.

NED RYUN, FOUNDER AND CEO, AMERICAN MAJORITY: Yes, no, I mean, this is just a continuation though as we see the bridges collapse, our border is overrun that the American people have not exactly been a priority for our ruling class.

CARLSON: Right.

RYUN: You know, I was thinking about this today, Tucker, as I was watching this. As we think about the lie, I mean, this this thing infrastructure bill was a lie, an Orwellian lie. It was the gateway to the Green New Deal with a pittance thrown at real infrastructure, so as our leaders lie to us, juxtapose that against all the money -- the trillions that they stole from the American people to fund their foreign wars and the fool's errand of nation building, all to watch that multi trillion dollar investment collapse overnight.

But those wars and the nation building are far more of a priority for the ruling class than actually doing things for the betterment of everyday Americans, and I think some people are going well, maybe it's just because our leadership has been a little asleep at the wheel, they're going to wake up and realize our bridges are collapsing, our borders are overrun.

And I tell people having been in D.C. for over 20 years now, you don't understand. Most of the people in D.C. prioritizing the American people, they have no interest in that. They view the American people as an ATM to fund their priorities, whether it's equity or whatever, Green New Deal, grab bag wish list they want to fund, but the American people are an afterthought, and whatever crumbs might come to the dirty little peasants, they should be happy with that.

CARLSON: Well, these are people who are totally unfamiliar with and opposed to physical reality. I mean, they literally think you can change your sex by wishing it. So whether people live or die, or whether the bridges stand or fall down, it's like irrelevant in the face of these grand dreams of equity.

RYUN: You know, these are people that are detached from reality and this is a problem when you have a credentialed idiocracy that's actually been given power to run this country, which is, I think, a real shame of what has taken place. Now that they have power, we see them with really any inability to actually solve problem for the American people.

I think more of the American people are starting to wake up and realize, we didn't sign up for this, whether it's at the School Board level or at the Federal level, we're dealing with really a class of idiots and I hope that the American people in the midterms and moving on realize, we'd better make better choices on leadership or we're going to be stuck with more of this in which our country is crumbling as these people chase you know, unicorns and their pipe dreams.

CARLSON: Yes, or higher self-esteem for themselves. If gas costs seven bucks in California, I don't I don't care about equity. Lower the gas price.

RYUN: That's right.

CARLSON: Ned Ryun, thank you.

RYUN: Exactly. Thanks, Tucker.

CARLSON: So here's some good news. Jim Acosta learned a new word this week. That doesn't happen very often, but when it does happen, Acosta likes to show off his new vocabulary like a dog prancing around your living room with a mouthful of roadkill. He's thrilled.

Now, the word he's learned is called "democracy." Jim Acosta has no idea what that word means, but he does like the sound of it. It's got a weighty ring to it. So he showed off the new word on his new show on CNN, which pretty much no one else in America saw, but we did. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF DOMESTIC CORRESPONDENT: This is "Democracy in Peril," our special series to expose the ongoing threats to our democracy, post insurrection, as we head into yet another election season.

The stakes could not be higher.

Our democracy may be in peril, and they're putting this democracy on a collision course with God knows what. To sound the alarm that American democracy is still very much in danger.

When you talk to these Trump supporters, do they have any ideas for an alternative to democracy? I guess, it -- maybe it is dictatorship.

While our democracy is stuck in the winter of our discontent.

And to other troubling threats to our democracy --

All the while ignoring its impact on our democracy and descent into further chaos and perils.

As we've highlighted throughout the week, the need to save our democracy is dire and urgent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: So you really have got to watch that show with a pen and paper. Do you follow that? It is democracy's winter of discontent, ladies and gentlemen. Democracy is on a collision course with peril, which is both dire and urgent and highly threatening in a very troubling way.

We've got to act now. Our democracy could die on the table, terrified and alone, only to be carted off to the city morgue and dumped in a pauper's grave, forgotten and unvisited like that homeless wino on your block, you vaguely remember from like, 15 years ago, for all the times you gave him change, but whose name you can't now recall.

Whatever happened to that guy? He's buried in the ground, apparently right next to democracy.

Honestly, you really should watch Jim Acosta's show. It's amazing.

Well, in Canada, truckers who have had it, who have watched the free country turn to an authoritarian country, speaking of the death of democracy, have formed a freedom convoy on the way to their capital city called Ottawa.

One trucker in that convoy joins us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON: Now if you watch CNN regularly, you know just how dangerous misinformation is. There are people out there for example, we call the misinformationists, who still believe the last election wasn't fair or worse than that, who doubt the effectiveness of vaccines just because they've had three shots and now have COVID. We'll deal with those people later.

But first we want to show you what disinformation isn't. Disinformation is not pregnant men. That's real because in the real world, men can very easily get pregnant if they don't take the proper precautions. Watch out, guys. It could happen to you.

Apple's new iPhone update includes a reminder, there is a warning, there is a pregnant man emoji. You're seeing it on your screen right now, so every time you look down you remember, whoa, I could get pregnant.

For the extra cautious, the official emoji committee has also released a pregnant person emoji since you can also get pregnant even if you don't have a gender. Now, how would did that happen exactly? Shut up. It just does happen. Apple says it does.

You can imagine how National Public Radio is taking this development. It's like Christmas in the newsroom. Of course, we will have an update on their reaction in the coming days.

So up in Canada, the convoy of truckers converging on Ottawa to keep that nation free is going larger by the day. They left from Vancouver on the western side of the country. On Sunday, they are protesting the Federal government's vaccine mandates for cross border truckers, among other things. That mandate took effect on January 15th. Preparatory to a worldwide Digital Travel Pass, passports for everybody linked to your health status, but not limited to your health status.

If you can't see the future in clear outline right now, you're not paying attention, but the truckers in Canada can. The Canadian Trucking Alliance estimates that roughly 16,000 truckers in Canada are not vaccinated. That convoy also includes truckers who are vaccinated, but who aren't going to stand for tyranny. Here's what the convoy looks like.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): This started with vaccine mandates, but for most here, it's about a lot more.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think this is more of a freedom movement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Well over a thousand people lining the Trans-Canada Highway outside of Winnipeg in -30 wind chills, protesting what they call government overreach.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Somebody has to stand up for Canada and the truckers are doing it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): It all started a couple days ago in Delta, BC. Truckers protesting vaccine mandates at the border. Now, as the convoy logs more kilometers, it is getting more support.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're just really tired of getting our freedoms trampled on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's worth sticking up for what you believe in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Arriving outside Winnipeg, hundreds of vehicles taking more than an hour to pass.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are from Calgary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you think of this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because I am taking our country back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): As it rumbled by, no one was hit. It was peaceful. Salvatore Vetro has followed since BC.

SALVATORE VETRO: It's a togetherness like I've never felt before.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): And it keeps growing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: And thank God it keeps growing. So what's the reaction been like from our media gatekeepers? Well, a cartoonist for "The Washington Post" accused the truck drivers of fascism. There's the cartoon on your screen.

So a paid vassal for the world's richest man, a man who supports censorship and crushing anyone who doesn't agree with him, who treats his own legions of workers like serfs, a guy who works for that man is telling you that people who peacefully assemble to express political opinions are what fascists. Really? Who is the fascist? Aw.

Sheldon Andreas is not a fascist. He's a pastor, he is also a trucker. He's a member of the Freedom Convoy and we are grateful to have him join us tonight from Ontario.

Mr. Andreas, thanks so much for coming on. A fascist, really? So tell us why you're doing this if you would?

SHELDON ANDREAS, MEMBER, FREEDOM CONVOY: Yes, well, probably mostly for the same reasons that a lot of these other guys are out here doing this. There's just been a stifling of freedom and a stifling of unity in Canada for two years.

A lot of a people are down, a lot of people are fired. Man, you can't even go into a grocery store without getting into an argument about a mask or whatnot. So, what really drove me to do this is the smiling faces that I've seen on the people that organized it.

Like a good friend of mine helped to put this together and it's just been wonderful to see all the smiling faces that have come together.

It doesn't matter -- Christians, non-Christians, all sorts, the natives are out banging their drums, just a wonderful sensation to see unity, you know, once again in Canada.

CARLSON: Well, it's beautiful to watch from below your border. I have to say you're being snarled at, but you're smiling back. The government seems to be doing all it can to prevent you from peacefully protesting. It's speaking of fascist policies. But you're doing it anyway. Are you worried about the repercussions?

ANDREAS: Oh, not at all. Not at all. I mean, some of my friends have been arrested for pastoring their churches. We are fully prepared to smile and push through for the greater good, Tucker. We want to see Christ glorified in the church and out of the church, so we're pushing forward, come what may.

CARLSON: So why -- I shouldn't impose this to you, let me just say you seem much more like a Civil Rights hero than a fascist to me. Are any media in Canada supporting you or at least arguing that you should have a right to express your views?

ANDREAS: Yes, not that I know of, Tucker. I think maybe "Rebel News" is putting out some positive stuff about the movement, but the main line media is much the same in the U.S. saying these guys are not our friends. They're coming after us, they're slandering really good people and some of the stuff they're saying about really good people dragging their names through the mud, it is shameful.

So no fascists here. Moms and dads and kids standing around a bonfire beside you or the convoy came through here about, I don't know, half an hour ago, standing here with their kids enjoying a fire with people they haven't, you know, got to hang out with for a very long time.

CARLSON: I've got to say, it's just so thrilling to see this, having watched Canada. It is such a beautiful country, a wonderful country descend into this darkness, and to see someone like you standing up cheerfully is really affirming.

So thank you, Sheldon Andreas. Good luck.

ANDREAS: Yes, you're welcome, Tucker. Thank you.

CARLSON: Thank you.

Well, a funeral was held today in New York for the murdered New York City Police Officer, Jason Rivera. We will take a moment to remember him after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON: Well, we told you a lot recently about George Soros and his attempt to affect the way we live in this country. Want to see an example? If you want to know what it looks like when Soros pays to destroy our justice system, take a look at the service for the murdered New York City Police Officer Jason Rivera. It was held today at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan.

Rivera was only 22 when he was murdered. Thousands of fellow officers observed a moment of silence as his casket was carried inside. Here's his wife, Dominique Rivera.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOMINIQUE RIVERA, WIDOW OF OFFICER JASON RIVERA: Seeing you in that hospital bed wrapped up in sheets, not hearing you when I was talking to you broke me. I asked, "Why?"

I said to you, "Wake up, baby. I'm here."

The little bit of hope I had that you will come back to life just to say goodbye or say I love you one more time had left. I was lost. I'm still lost.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: So Officer Rivera's widow knows why her husband was killed, a very specific reason. New York's Soros' tied DA, Alvin Bragg has refused to enforce the law and crime has skyrocketed including murders, including of police officers and her husband died as a result. Listen to her explain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RIVERA: I know you won't be here anymore. I want you to live through me.

The system continues to fail us. We are not safe anymore, not even the members of the service.

I know you were tired of these laws, especially the ones from the new DA. I hope he is watching you speak through right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Dominique Rivera is her name. She'd been married for four months. And today, she spoke for many. She spoke for the families of those murdered on the streets of our cities, so that the decadent billionaire class could feel virtuous and good about themselves.

Do you ever notice how when certain ideas are implemented, violence follows? Violence on our streets, a skyrocketing murder rate, violence in other countries for aims people don't even understand or care about i.e. in Ukraine, or Syria, or Libya, or Iraq, or Afghanistan.

Violence of the BLM protests and the Antifa protests, dozens killed in this country. All of that comes from the policies of the same people. Those ideas spawn violence. If there is one thing we are against, no matter who commits it, it is violence. Period.

Well that's it for us tonight. Don't forget about the season finale of "Tucker Carlson Originals" our right now. It is called "Soros versus Hungary: The Fight for Civilization." You can watch it free at tuckercarlson.com.

We hope you'll come back every night, the show that is the sworn enemy of lying, pomposity, smugness, and groupthink.

Sean Hannity.

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