Advertisers recoil as Tucker Carlson says immigrants make US ‘dirtier’

Following a run of programs that were offensive even by the standards of a Fox News host whose views are frequently praised by white nationalists, advertisers have begun disassociating themselves from Tucker Carlson this week.

A growing number of companies have said they will stop advertising on Tucker Carlson Tonight or are re-evaluating their ad buys after a segment last week in which he said immigrants make America “poorer and dirtier”, a point that he returned to on Monday.

Instead of scientists and other presumably more worthwhile human beings, we’re “getting waves of people with high school educations or less”, Carlson, who says he is a Christian, opined on his show.

“Nice people, no one doubts that, but as an economic matter this is insane. It’s indefensible, so no one even tries to defend it. Instead our leaders demand that you shut up and accept this. We have a moral obligation to admit the world’s poor, they tell us, even if it makes our country poorer and dirtier and more divided,” Carlson said.

Among the most recent advertiser departures was Nautilus Inc, the company behind Bowflex, who told the Hollywood Reporter it had “requested that Fox News remove our ads from airing in conjunction with Tucker Carlson Tonight in the future”.

“Aside from our decision to remove our ads from his show, we have no other association or affiliation with Mr Carlson,” they added.

Insurance company Pacific Life released a similar statement saying: “As a company we strongly disagree with Mr Carlson’s statements,” adding that their customer base and workforce “reflect the diversity of our great nation, something we take great pride in”.

Other companies who have announced they are removing ads thus far include SmileDirectClub, personal finance website NerdWallet, jobs site Indeed and design marketplace Minted. Mitsubishi and Farmers Insurance have not committed to doing so, saying that their ad buys are unrelated to politics.

Staunchly xenophobic and anti-immigrant sentiments are not new for Carlson, who has said previously: “Latin American countries are changing election outcomes here by forcing demographic change on this country at a rate that American voters consistently say they don’t want.”

In September Carlson railed against the idea of diversity, questioning how it could be seen as a positive.

“How precisely is diversity our strength?” he asked. “Since you’ve made this our new national motto, please be specific as you explain it. Can you think, for example, of other institutions such as, I don’t know, marriage or military units in which the less people have in common, the more cohesive they are? Do you get along better with your neighbors or your co-workers if you can’t understand each other or share no common values?”

That same month Media Matters prepared a highlight reel of Carlson’s comments on minorities and immigrants juxtaposing them against the rhetoric of some of the most virulently racist agitators on the white nationalist right such as Richard Spencer, David Duke and Christopher Cantwell.

While Carlson’s presentation as a prominent TV host may make him more palatable for his audience, it’s no surprise that Carlson has proven to be a regular favorite of the neo-Nazi website the Daily Stormer, who have featured his commentary on the site 265 times in the past two years.

“Tucker Carlson is basically “Daily Stormer: The Show” the site’s leader, Andrew Anglin, has said. “Other than the language used, he is covering all of our talking points.”

A statement released by Fox News dismissed the allegations.

“It is a shame that leftwing advocacy groups, under the guise of being supposed ‘media watchdogs’ weaponize social media against companies in an effort to stifle free speech,” the company said.

On Monday Carlson echoed that sentiment.

“You’ve seen it a million times, it happens all the time. The enforcers scream ‘racist’ on Twitter, until everybody gets intimidated,” he said in part.

“It’s a tactic, a well-worn one, nobody thinks it’s real, and it won’t work with this show, we are not intimidated. We plan to try to say what’s true until the last day.”