Carlson rips Trump, says he 'recklessly encouraged' Capitol rioters

Countless one-time allies have abandoned Donald Trump in the wake of a deadly domestic terrorist attack on the U.S. Capitol building that left several people dead on Wednesday.

Among the most notable defections was Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson.

Long known as one of Trump’s most ardent media sycophants, he changed his tune during a segment of his program on Thursday evening.

He began with a monologue placing the blame on Trump for inciting the violence that broke out after a rally in Washington, D.C. prior to the bloodshed on Capitol Hill.

After months of peddling unfounded and disproven lies to his supporters that nonexistent fraud cost him the election he lost by millions of votes to President-elect Joe Biden, Trump amped up his followers just before they stormed the U.S. Senate building.

“Now it is up to Congress to confront this egregious assault on our democracy,” he claimed. “And after this, we’re going to walk down and I’ll be there with you. We’re going to walk down. We’re going to walk down. Anyone you want, but I think right here, we’re going to walk down to the Capitol. And we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women and we’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them. Because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong.”

Trump went on to heap praises on his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, who also egged on the rioters to use physical violence against their perceived enemies in the legislative branch.

“Over the next 10 days, we get to see the machines that are crooked, the ballots that are fraudulent, and if we’re wrong, we will be made fools of -- but if we’re right, a lot of them will go to jail,” the disgraced former New York City mayor dishonestly told the gullible dupes gathered before him.

Giuliani went on to goad them even further, shouting: “Let’s have trial by combat!”

The violently charged rhetoric was apparently enough for Carlson to finally comprehend that the Trump administration’s continued endorsement of sedition is something an actual patriot should condemn.

He told his audience that Trump bore responsibility for his rhetoric, describing the riots as “a political protest that got out of hand after the president recklessly encouraged it.”

Carlson went on to assert that his take on the matter “is in fact what happened.”

Nevertheless, he dismissed traditional media outlets for their accurate representation of the attempted coup conducted on behalf of Trump.

“The Trump protests at the Capitol yesterday is already being used as a pretext for an unprecedented crackdown on civil liberties,” he said. “Just in the last several hours we have heard people in positions of power and authority demand that those who support Donald Trump should no longer be allowed to publish books or use the internet or fly on airplanes.”

Carlson claimed that reporters were wrong in their assessments, declaring: “They’re calling it domestic terrorism. CNN describes it as an insurrection.”

Although Trump did not apologize or even acknowledge his clear role in stoking the civil unrest, he released a canned statement on Thursday ostensibly distancing himself from the violent sedition committed by his supporters.

“We have just been through an intense election and emotions are high," he said. "But now tempers must be cooled and calm restored. A new administration will be inaugurated on Jan. 20. My focus now turns to ensuring a smooth orderly and seamless transition of power. This moment calls for healing and reconciliation."