Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) on Monday night hit back at Fox News host Tucker Carlson after he criticized her for supporting a “national dialogue” on removing memorials to George Washington.
“Does @TuckerCarlson want to walk a mile in my legs and then tell me whether or not I love America?” Duckworth tweeted after Carlson called her a “deeply silly and unimpressive person.”
Duckworth, a combat veteran, lost her legs in 2004 after insurgents shot down a Black Hawk helicopter she was co-piloting.
Carlson called out Duckworth Monday while giving a monologue on his Fox News show “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
He was hitting Duckworth for comments she made in an interview on CNN over the weekend in which she said the U.S. should have a “national dialogue” on removing monuments honoring Washington, who owned slaves. She has previously said she supports changing the names of military bases named after Confederate leaders.
“You’re not supposed to criticize Tammy Duckworth in any way because she once served in the military,” Carlson said. “Most people just ignore her. But when Duckworth does speak in public, you’re reminded what a deeply silly and unimpressive person she is.”
“It’s long been considered out of bounds to question a person’s patriotism. It’s a very strong charge, and we try not ever to make it. But in the face of all of this, the conclusion can’t be avoided. These people actually hate America. There’s no longer a question about that,” Carlson claimed.
Duckworth has been floated as one of the contenders to be presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s running mate, alongside Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), among others.
Duckworth in the weekend interview said President Trump’s speech during Independence Day celebrations at Mount Rushmore showed that his “priorities are all wrong,” accusing him of spending “more time worried about honoring dead Confederates” than discussing the Americans who have died during the coronavirus pandemic.
Her comments come as protests have ignited nationwide following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on Memorial Day.
The demonstrations have led to national conversations on widespread police reform, and some have targeted statues of Confederate leaders, explorer Christopher Columbus and known slave owners in the U.S.