Fox News host Tucker Carlson apologizes after Georgia news station debunks his claims of dead people voting
Tucker Carlson apologized on-air this Friday, November 13, night after a local Georgia news station called out the Fox News host for making false claims about dead voters in the state.
This comes after sitting President Donald Trump's campaign alleged that dead individuals illegally voted in the 2020 presidential elections. On November 11, the Trump campaign alleged that James Blalock, a World War II veteran in Covington, had died 14 years ago but illegally voted this year. This had prompted Carlson to highlight the incident on Fox News.
He had also run an opinion piece on the same, claiming, "No one quite embodies that story like James Blalock of Covington, Georgia. Mr Blalock was a mailman for 33 years until he passed away in 2006," on Thursday's Tucker Carlson Tonight. "Fourteen years later, according to state records he was still mailing things. James Blalock cast a ballot in last week's election."
Soon after the piece was aired, various local news outlets in Georgia found that two people cited by the Trump reelection campaign as dead illegal votes cast turned out to be living people mistaken for being dead. Newton County officials soon debunked Carlson's claims that Blalock's was an illegal vote, explaining that it was his widow, registered under Mrs James Blalock, who had voted in the 2020 elections.
Blalock has indeed been dead since 2006 and his widow used his name to cast her ballot. The news was debunked by Georgia news station 11Alive's Chief Investigator Brendan Keefe, who also called out Carlson for spreading misinformation under the name of voter fraud. "False," Keefe said of Carlson's claims, adding: "James Blalock did not vote in last week's election. Mrs James Blalock voted in last week's election," Keefe said on Friday.
Carlson took the same evening to apologize to his viewers and issue a correction. "We've got some good news tonight, and an apology," he said. "One of the people who voted in last week's election isn't dead. James Blalock is still dead, we told you about him, but it was his wife who voted. She voted as Mrs James Blalock. It's old-fashioned and we missed it."
The conservative host went on to assert his claims that "a whole bunch of dead people did vote" but "James Blalock was not among them. It was Mrs James Blalock. So apologies for that, and of course we're always going to correct when we're wrong. And we were," he concluded.
As of Saturday morning, November 14, President-elect Joe Biden has secured at least 290 Electoral College votes, long surpassing the 270 required to win the election. Trump, however, is yet to concede, repeatedly accusing Democrats of stealing the election since the race was won by Biden last Saturday.
The campaign claims voter fraud cost Trump the Georgia loss, even though the president's first public address following the election loss saw him also imply for the first time that he might have lost to Biden.
Speaking about the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine that was announced recently, Trump took the podium at the White House's Rose Garden. He also asserted as long as he's in power, there will be no lockdown as Friday recorded a gigantic spike in new cases across the nation. "Whatever happens in the future who knows… which administration will be...," he said, adding: "I guess time will tell but I can tell you this administration won't go into lockdown."
The president made these claims in the wake of more than 153,000 new coronavirus infections that were reported on November 13, states the Washington Post, marking the 17th time in nine days that cases reached new heights that were gravely concerning. The records also saw at least 66,000 Americans were hospitalized for the virus.
