Fox News host Tucker Carlson gave the network’s worn-out “War on Christmas” rhetoric a pandemic-era twist on Thursday, accusing public health experts of trying to cancel the holiday.
Infectious disease experts and politicians who listen to them have urged Americans to avoid travel, limit large gatherings and heed other safety precautions this holiday season as COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths soar to record-setting highs.
This, Carlson claims, is an effort to ruin Christmas.
“If death is inevitable … maybe we should pause before we destroyed the living in the name of trying to eliminate it,” he declared on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
“Politicians understand this threat. They figured out that Christmas is bigger than they are, and therefore it’s a threat to them. Better cancel it. In fact, they’re trying hard.”
He aired a clip of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, urging people to minimize travel and “indoor-type congregate settings.”
Carlson accused Fauci of using complicated language, telling his viewers, “What Fauci is saying here in English is that you need to avoid going to church. You need to avoid your own family.”
“Those are the congregate settings he just mentioned ― you need to spend Christmas alone. It’s important. All the experts agree with that.”
He then attacked an official from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for offering the same message.
The so-called War on Christmas is a narrative that Fox News, President Donald Trump and others on the right have long peddled. The network has claimed for years that the Christian holiday and its customs are somehow under siege.
Everyone deserves accurate information about COVID-19. Support journalism without a paywall — and keep it free for everyone — by becoming a HuffPost member today.
Calling all HuffPost superfans!
Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost’s next chapter
