Tucker Carlson on Monday heaped praise on Giorgia Meloni, the far-right politician who will likely become Italy’s next prime minister, citing her comments about the nuclear family as an example of what is lacking in the Republican Party’s recently unveiled congressional platform.
The Fox host complained that the GOP’s agenda, which House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy released on Friday, doesn’t sufficiently detail the supposed threat to families that those on the left represent.
While Meloni has spoken directly about the issue, Carlson said, “the difference is that in this country, it’s rarely acknowledged except on the fringes.”
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As for the GOP’s policy outline, titled “Commitment to America,” Carlson had a lukewarm reaction, describing it as “fine.”
“[There is] probably not much in it you disagree with. Have you heard of it? No! You probably haven’t. You probably haven’t read it. Nobody really cares. Why? Because there is nothing real in it,” he said. (On Friday, Fox News host Sean Hannity interviewed McCarthy and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich about the platform and called it “very comprehensive.”)
“There is not a single word in that document about the attacks on the American family that you see every day. That’s at the center of most people’s concerns. How are my kids? Will they have a life that resembles mine? That was called the American dream—does it still exist?... No.” Carlson continued. (Neither the preamble to nor the one-pager for the policy outline mention the word “family.”)
“People are upset about that. Why wouldn’t they be? But nobody says it. And that’s odd, because we know—and now it’s been proven—that when politicians are brave enough to tell the truth about what is actually happening, they tend to be rewarded for it.”
As head of the nationalist Brothers of Italy Party, Meloni led a right-wing coalition to a majority in Parliament, election results from Sunday show. Meloni, who is supported by Steve Bannon and who spoke at CPAC earlier this year, has pledged to defend “traditional” values.
“If you want to establish totalitarian control over a country, of course you have to destroy the family first,” Carlson said after playing a 2019 speech of Meloni’s. “Because nobody with deep family loyalty (the one thing every person should have)... will ever pledge absolute obedience to a politician. Why would you?”
