Tucker Carlson claimed President Joe Biden sought the release of Brittney Griner from Russian custody instead of Paul Whelan because Griner is a Black lesbian.
On Thursday, Biden secured the release of Griner, who was detained in February for possessing less than half a gram of hash oil. In return, the U.S. released arms dealer Viktor Bout, whom the U.S. convicted in 2011 of conspiring to kill Americans.
Conservatives have criticized the swap for being lopsided. Some of them have pointed to Griner’s past comments criticizing the United States. Whelan, meanwhile, is a former Marine who has been detained in Russia since 2018. He is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence for allegedly spying.
Carlson noted on his show Thursday night that NBC News originally reported that Russia gave Biden a choice of freeing either Griner or Whelan in exchange for Bout.
“The Kremlin gave the White House the choice of either Griner or Whelan – or none,” the initial reporting stated, citing a senior U.S. official.
Carlson observed the original report was changed to state that Russia gave Biden “the choice of either Griner or no one.”
The Fox News host insisted NBC’s initial reporting was correct and then baselessly claimed Biden declined to take Whelan because he’s a White man.
“Why’d they make that choice?” he asked. “Well, you should know that Whalen is a Trump voter and he made the mistake of saying so on social media. He’s paying the price for that now. Brittney Griner is not. She’s got very different politics.”
Carlson then cited comments Griner made critical of the country.
At no point did Carlson mention the fact that in April, Biden secured the release of Trevor Reed from Russian custody via another prisoner swap while Griner remained in custody. Like Whelan, Reed is a former Marine and a White man.
Moreover, Whelan and Reed were both arrested by Russian authorities during the Trump administration, which failed to secure either man’s release. This too, went unmentioned by Carlson.
Taking issue with Griner’s statements against the U.S. national anthem, the host said, “That’s the kind of position that gets you rewarded by Joe Biden. Hate America? Perfect!”
He then aired an anodyne comment from White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, whose remarks he warped into something they were not.
Jean-Pierre said:
It came to either bring Brittney home or no one. As the president said this morning, he will never stop working to secure Paul’s release and return home. And he will not give up.
On a personal note, Brittney Griner is more than an athlete, more than an olympian, she is an important role model and inspiration to millions of Americans, particularly the LGBTQI+ Americans and women of color. She should never have been detained by Russia.
Carlson claimed Jean-Pierre stated that being Black and a lesbian are “essential qualifications for a prisoner swap.”
“So there is Joe Biden’s press secretary telling you that Brittney Griner is important because she’s a lesbian woman of color,” Carlson said, before noting Jean-Pierre is also a lesbian and a woman of color.
“How perverse is that?” he went on. “Imagine a press secretary from the last administration, say, Sean Spicer, pausing in the middle of a briefing to tell you that, ‘On a personal note, it is thrilling when a straight White man gets out of prison.’ What would you think of that? You’d probably see that as an offense against the idea of the rule of law.”
Carlson again insisted it’s the Biden administration’s position that people of color and LGBTQ Americans should get “more rights” than others.
Watch above via Fox News.
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