Unemployable Former Border Czar

🚨 EXCLUSIVE — Tucker Carlson won't say that Hitler murdered 6 million Jews. Based on my own long ago conversation with him, this isn't some weird fluke. Tucker simply doesn't believe the Nazis slaughtered six million Jews. So, is Tucker a Holocaust denier? Yesterday, Tucker said that "the Nazi government murdered... a whole bunch of Jews," but stressed that this was "in addition to a whole bunch of other people." He expressed outrage that Jewish victims of Hitler receive so much attention because they were "only... one specific ethnicity" murdered by the Nazis. Last month, Tucker told Clayton Morris, "Hitler killed a ton of people, including a ton of Jews." Despite extensive research, I could not find a single example of Tucker acknowledging the extraordinarily well-documented fact that six million Jews were exterminated in the Holocaust. Which brings me to a private conversation Tucker and I had maybe 15 years ago, one which I had written off at the time — but in hindsight, probably shouldn't have. (We've never been close, but would chat if we ran into each other.) For some reason, I think because I had just toured Yad Vashem, I mentioned to him how mind-boggling it is that the Nazis murdered six million Jews. Tucker shot me a strange look, almost incredulous. Sarcastically, I quipped, "You’re not one of those nutjobs who don't believe that six million Jews died, are you?" Instead of a jabbing back or acting indignant, Tucker responded, "I mean, whatever, Hitler killed a bunch of different people." It was awkward, enough so that I dropped it and quickly exited the conversation. I've thought about that a few times over the years, but couldn't bring myself to the idea that Tucker was any sort of a Holocaust denier. Now, though? The most charitable interpretation is that he's not bothered by people who downplay or minimize what the Nazis did specifically to the Jews. But by continually refusing to acknowledge that Hitler killed six million Jews, that at least borders on Holocaust denial. Even Megyn Kelly recognized that denying the full scope of what Hitler did to the Jews IS a form of Holocaust denial, at least before she became Tucker's self-appointed guardian. In her now-infamous show in front of a live audience last November, Megyn pressed him about why he "didn't raise" with Nick Fuentes his ongoing contention "that we’ve way overstated the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust." Tucker responded, "Buzz off!" The likelihood that Tucker, at least to some significant degree, is a Holocaust denier is reinforced by something else he said last month to Clayton Morris. He bizarrely claimed that Hitler hadn't "ever" called to "exterminate" the Jews, despite ample historical evidence that he (and Nazi leadership) had done exactly that. Even more shocking is that he said this as part of his argument that Hitler's rhetoric wasn't as extreme as — wait for it — Bibi Netanyahu's. Then, of course, there's the viral story that I broke last November regarding Tucker's warning that "calling people Nazis" could make people become like Dietrich Bonhoeffer — specifically that it was tragic that the Lutheran pastor had been involved in plotting to assassinate Hitler. During the middle of World War II and the Holocaust, to be clear. Like most people who have known Tucker — who is incredibly charming and often warm in person — it took me a very long time to realize that how dark some of his views truly are. But look again at just this partial track record: (1) refusing to state that Hitler murdered six million Jews, (2) denying that Hitler had ever called to exterminate the Jews, (3) insisting that Bibi's rhetoric is worse than Hitler’s, and (4) that attempting to assassinate Hitler during WWII was un-Christian and just wrong. Maybe any one of those could be explained away. But all of them together? Because, make no mistake, Tucker knows exactly what he's doing. That is probably what's scariest of all.