‘Clap Like Seals’: Tucker Carlson Compares Clips Of Dictators Receiving Applause To Congress Clapping For Zelenskyy

Fox News host Tucker Carlson compared congressional members clapping for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to video clips of dictators receiving applause Thursday.

“They clap like seals. But here’s the interesting thing, almost every person in the room clapped like a seal. So no matter what that man said, ‘send me more money, I command you, send me more money, we’re taking care of it in the most responsible way,’ they applaud, all of them, almost like they have to,” Carlson said. (RELATED: ‘Photo Op’: Josh Hawley Mocks Zelenskyy’s Speech Before Congress As A PR Stunt)

“Now, there are 435 members of the House of Representatives, and they’re Republicans and Democrats and famously they don’t get along. They don’t agree on anything. They can’t even pass a budget because they disagree on everything. Very bitterly,” Carlson continued. “And yet when a foreign leader shows up in cargo pants to tell them lies and give them orders, they all applaud. That’s pretty weird behavior in a democracy, if you think about it. The fractious debate we hear so much about doesn’t exist.”

WATCH:

Carlson played video clips of what appeared to be dictators receiving applause during party meetings. The Fox host then turned his attention to Michael Beschloss, a presidential historian from NBC, who demanded that those who didn’t applaud Zelenskyy explain themselves.

Republican Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Lauren Boebert of Colorado refused to stand for applause during Zelenskyy’s speech.

“You thought you were a free person, able to make decisions for yourself. You could love or hate whoever you wanted in a free country, but, no, Michael Beschloss has a right to know why you feel the way you do,” Carlson said. “’Do you love Putin? Why wouldn’t you clap for a man who banned a Christian denomination, a man who arrested priests, raided monasteries, seized churches, outlawed opposition media outlets, outlawed political parties that opposed him, threw his primary political opponent in jail. Why wouldn’t you applaud for a man like that? Do you love Putin? Are you opposed to democracy? Explain yourself.’ That’s what he’s saying, that’s what they’re all saying. It’s absurd. What they’re describing is the opposite of democracy.”

Russia invaded Ukraine Feb. 24, launching massive missile barrages across the latter country and driving at Kyiv. Congress added $45 billion in aid to Ukraine as part of a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill passed by the United States Senate Thursday.

The United States sent at least $52 billion in aid prior to the omnibus legislation, while the Biden administration announced a new package of military aid that included a battery of MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missiles Wednesday, according to The Washington Post. 

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