- Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, in a one-sentence tweet, criticized Fox News presenter Tucker Carlson on Monday night.
- Carlson made flippant comments about Duckworth’s military service and his “unimpressive” behavior.
- “@TuckerCarlson wants to walk a mile on my legs and then tell me if I love America or not?” the double-amputee Army National Guard veteran said on Twitter.
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Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, in a one-sentence tweet, criticized Fox News presenter Tucker Carlson on Monday night, hours after the television personality made frivolous comments about his military service and “little” behavior. Awesome”.
“@TuckerCarlson wants to walk a mile on my legs and then tell me if I love America or not?” the double-amputee Army National Guard veteran said on Twitter.
Duckworth was deployed to Iraq as a pilot in 2004, where he lost both legs after his helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. She won a seat in the House in 2012 and was elected to the US Senate in 2016.
During his segment, Carlson repeated his previous comments about the possibility of removing historical monuments across the country. On Sunday, CNN asked Duckworth what he thought about the removal of monuments dedicated to other notable American slave-owning leaders, including President George Washington. Duckworth responded by saying that the United States needed a “national dialogue” on the matter.
Fox News presenter Tucker Carlson.
Richard Drew, File via AP
“You are not supposed to criticize Tammy Duckworth in any way because she ever served in the military,” Carlson said on his show on Monday. “Most people just ignore her. But when Duckworth speaks in public, they remind you that he is a very dumb and unimpressive person.”
It was not apparent if Carlson was being sarcastic about military veterans who were outside the bounds of critical reception.
“Well, questioning a person’s patriotism has long been considered off-limits. It is a very heavy burden and we try not to do it,” Carlson added. “But given all this, the conclusion cannot be avoided: These people really hate the United States, there is no longer any doubt about it.”
Duckworth is rumored to be a top candidate to become former Vice President and Democratic nominee Joe Biden for the 2020 presidential election. He has previously criticized Republican lawmakers who have questioned the patriotism of his fellow Democrats.
After the US drone attack that killed Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani in January, Republican Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia claimed that Democrats were “in love with terrorists” after questioning President Donald Trump’s plans about what appeared to be be a growing conflict.
Duckworth replied at the time: “I left parts of my body in Iraq fighting terrorists. I don’t need to justify myself to anyone.”
