On his top-rated Fox News show Tuesday night, conservative pundit Tucker Carlson opined on demographic change and immigration in America, saying that though “most immigrants are nice ... this is more change than human beings are designed to digest,” and asking viewers, “How would you feel if that happened in your neighborhood?”
#ICYMI Check out the segment from tonight about the changing demographics in America pic.twitter.com/eM1VJkN8OG
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) March 20, 2018
The segment was focused on a National Geographic article featured in the magazine’s April issue. Though the article, centered on the Pennsylvania town of Hazleton, was titled “As America Changes, Some Anxious Whites Feel Left Behind,” Carlson focused his remarks on the growth of Hazleton’s Hispanic population, which has increased exponentially since 2000 — a change that Carlson said “makes societies volatile.”
But he saved his strongest words for “our leaders ... who caused all this,” who, in his words, live in neighborhoods that “are basically unchanged — they look like it’s 1960. No demographic change in their zip code.” He concludes, “Our leaders are for diversity, just not where they live.”
Carlson has faced accusations of catering to white nationalism on his show before, particularly on the issue of immigration — and white nationalists like Richard Spencer are among his biggest fans.
It’s worth noting that Carlson lives in the Kent neighborhood of Washington, DC, a neighborhood with house prices averaging $1.7 million. He told the American Conservative in February, “We have wonderful neighbors, and we love it. And what’s not to love? Our neighborhood looks exactly like it did in 1955.”
