On his X show this week, Tucker Carlson interviewed Larry Sinclair, a man who claims to have smoked crack and slept with Barack Obama in 1995. I found the entire thing tawdry and ugly —and not only because I think the guy is full of crap.
Some right-wing social media personalities find an aversion to information warfare a sign of weakness. There are plenty of solid reasons not to join a mob recklessly accusing a politician — or anyone, for that matter — of smoking crack and cheating on his wife that have absolutely nothing to do with politics or winning the approval of liberals. One is basic decency.
But, yes, the left did not show the same civility in the past. And it’s laughable for journalists to complain about Tucker’s interview. There’s little ethical difference between the coverage of the alleged sexual assault claims against Brett Kavanaugh and Carlson interviewing Sinclair — other than one of those two stories had serious political consequences and involved meritless accusations of odious criminal behavior.
And, hey, Tucker’s not coming to any conclusions about Sinclair’s allegations. He’s merely reporting on them. He’s just asking questions.
Yes, Sinclair has a long history of legal trouble. But that’s not the only gauge of credibility, nor is it necessarily dispositive. Unlike Sinclair, Christine Blasey Ford would not even offer a place or time for the alleged assault. Not one witness corroborated her story — not even her longtime close friend or any of her 70-something
