On Tuesday’s “Inside Politics” episode on CNN, John King suggested Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) may provide Fox News host Tucker Carlson with video footage from the January 6th Capitol riot to silence Carlson’s criticisms of him.
According to Breitbart, King explained that McCarthy is granting exclusive access to Carlson and Fox News to view security camera footage from the January 6th riots, primarily paid for by taxpayer dollars. This move comes despite Carlson being one of McCarthy’s most vocal critics, frequently accusing the Speaker of lacking an ideological core.
King speculated that McCarthy’s decision might be motivated by politics, given that he currently has a slim majority and can be recalled by members of his party at any moment.
Carlson is a popular figure among the MAGA base, and Trump supporters widely watch his show. In the past, Carlson has espoused conspiracy theories suggesting that the January 6th attack was orchestrated by the “deep state” or the FBI rather than by pro-Trump supporters, as is widely accepted.
King pointed out that in a previous episode of his show, Carlson had demanded the release of all the January 6th files and video, not just a selective release. Given this demand, King questioned why McCarthy would give exclusive access to Carlson and Fox News, claiming that news outlets could alter video footage to create a narrative or protect specific individuals.
Jeff Mason, a White House correspondent for Reuters, agreed with King’s speculation, suggesting that McCarthy may be trying to curry favor with Carlson in exchange for favorable coverage. King argued that if taxpayers paid for the footage, it should be made available to the public rather than being to a single news organization.
King’s comments suggest that there may be political motivations behind McCarthy’s decision to provide Carlson exclusive access to the January 6th security footage. This move could affect how the public understands the attack on the Capitol.
