'Is Tucker Carlson losing his mind?' Politico is just asking questions!

Tucker Carlson laughs
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/The Daily Show)

"Is Tucker Carlson losing his mind?" Politico's Playbook team asked Tuesday morning. "As careful students of his evening show, we've noticed that Carlson has gradually become more unhinged in recent weeks," devoting "enormous attention" to Jan. 6 insurrection truthers, laughing maniacally after Derek Chauvin's guilty verdict, "and under the banner of just asking questions! he has given quarter to anti-vaxxers and COVID-19 conspiracists."

Then, on Monday night, "Carlson made a comment that was beyond the pale even for him, and especially strange for a self-styled anti-nanny state libertarian," Politico notes. It's hard to know if his rant about people who wear masks outdoors — and urging viewers to call the cops on parents whose kids are wearing masks outside — "was serious or not." Obviously, siccing child protective services on parents who are merely following CDC guidelines is a bad idea, Politico says. "And we're pretty sure Carlson knows that, even if some of his viewers might not, which makes his appeal to snitch on mask wearers even worse."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.