United States Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst were lumped together with a small amount of their colleagues such as Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham and Mitt Romney in criticizing Tucker Carlson’s airing of Jan. 6 footage last week, according to various media outlets.
Both Grassley and Ernst were included in a list of eight Republican Senators who condemned the “push to rewrite history,” as reported by Slate citing a New York Times story. However, Sen. Ernst’s office denied she had been critical of Carlson.
Ernst instead spoke with an Axios reporter called Josh Kraushaar. She told him:
“[They] should be widely available to everyone and not just select people. And it should not be selectively edited. There’s a lot of different sides that will be presented and that’s OK. We need to have that discussion, but it needs to be an open, honest conversation. I can tell you from where I stood in the Senate chamber, it was a very uncomfortable feeling. And the people that were out in the halls, they were not friendly. Let’s put it like that. They were not being peaceful. I had two women staffers, early 20s, that were clinging onto me for dear life and crying. They were terrified by those people.”
Grassley was quoted by Rolling Stone as saying, “what happened that day shouldn’t have happened” in response to Tucker’s airing of the footage. But without knowing how the question was posed, that’s hardly a condemnation of Carlson.
GOP senators react to Fox’s Tucker Carlson whitewashing 1/6 and calling it “mostly peaceful.”
Thune (SD): “It was an attack on the Capitol.”
Cramer (ND): “Breaking through glass windows and doors … is a crime.”
Grassley (IA): “What happened that day shouldn’t have happened.” pic.twitter.com/FVxVDFneG8
— The Recount (@therecount) March 7, 2023
Ernst did stand behind McConnell when McConnell said it was a “mistake” for Fox News and Tucker to “depict” Jan. 6 the way they did. It doesn’t seem fair to attach her to McConnell’s comments imply for standing there when he made them.
The Iowa Standard contacted the offices of both Ernst and Grassley. We asked for statements regarding the following:
Any statement on Tucker Carlson’s decision to air the footage.
Any statement regarding Jan. 6 following the release of the footage.
Any statement on whether they believe Ashli Babbitt’s murder was justified.
Any statement on the continued detention of protestors from Jan. 6.
Ernst’s office obviously replied with her response to Axios, but hasn’t responded to the other things we asked about. Grassley’s office responded, asking what we were referring to as well. We shared with them the story from Slate, as well as informed them Carlson pointed to Grassley as one of his critics during last Wednesday’s episode.
Grassley’s office said the comment reported by the media that what happened that day shouldn’t have happened was a “general observation” about the Capitol breach.
“When asked about making the video footage public, he’s said he believes it’s a matter of public interest and should be made available in full. He never commented about Mr. Carlson’s coverage.”
J 6 happened because the people don’t trust the government’s claim that the election was accurate. I have seen nothing from either Grassley or Ernst to indicate that we the people deserve confidence that we have a lawfully elected president. I can also say that I contacted Grassley’s office when Obama was running for president and his eligibility was questioned. Grassley’s response was that Nancy Pelosi certified him (Obama). That’s a pretty sorry example of ensuring the Constitution really matters.