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Tucker Carlson compares Trump to sexual assault victim, Internet balks at idea: ‘Product of his own ignorance’

Carlson who seemed to be highly against the statements made by CNN said having a stance that the president should have been cautious or taken precautions against the virus is the same as blaming a sexual assault victim for 'dressing provocatively'

Tucker Carlson, a host for Fox News, decided to compare POTUS to that of a sexual assault victim, leaving many in shock as Twitter erupted with users calling the host out for 'victim-blaming' and his 'ridiculous' comparison. According to reports, Carlson said that the criticizing of POTUS's behavior on his recent diagnosis of contracting the novel coronavirus by "the left" is equivalent or the same as blaming the victim that has endured sexual assault. 

After it was revealed that Trump had contracted the virus, many critics of the president have brought to light the fact that the president could have taken better care of himself had he followed the cautionary actions set in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Besides avoiding mass gatherings and ensuring social distancing, the CDC also strongly recommended the use of face masks when in public. Ironically enough, recently Trump criticized his presidential rival, Joe Biden, during the first presidential debate for wearing a mask and has earlier attended campaign rallies that were crowded where many, including the president, didn't wear a mask. 

As for Carlson, he, according to HuffingtonPost, insisted that CNN said that the president “deserved the sickness that he got" as he played back a clip of CNN’s John Harwood, saying that the recent behavior of POTUS in regards to the importance of maintaining health guidelines when it came to the virus put a "lot of people jeopardy" including the “president himself.” He played many other clips as well. Carlson who seemed to be highly against the statements made by CNN said that having the stance that the president should have been cautious or taken precautions against the virus is the same as blaming a sexual assault victim for "dressing provocatively." Repeating what he believed the "the left" had said, Carlson said, "Imagine, Trump 'just announced he was infected ... he deserved it', they didn’t wait long.” He said "He asked for it. He was dressed provocatively" in a sarcastic manner.

You can watch the clip below. 

One can imagine that the response to Carlson's lack of sensitivity, here are some of the reactions that Twitter users had to the host's crass comparison. 

"Tucker Carlson compares people pointing out Trump's flouting of COVID safety guidelines to victim-blaming assault survivors for what they were wearing," wrote one user. Another added, "Ridiculous and offensive comparison by Tucker Carlson. If you’re badly injured in an auto accident and you weren’t wearing a seatbelt, I *will* blame you for not taking a basic safety precaution." Many on the social media channel called Tucker out for his blatant lack of sensitivity and the fact that he made zero sense. They also asked FOX network to take him off, with one user tweeting, "@FoxNews remove @TuckerCarlson and his racism from your network. Last night him disparaging sexual assault victims by comparing Trump coronavirus diagnosis is somehow even below your standards @FCC please take action if Fox does not."

Another added, "@TuckerCarlson WTF is wrong with you? Sexual assault is not a choice, has nothing to do with what a person is wearing. Not wearing a mask is a choice trump made. No one ripped the mask off of his face. He is not a victim, he is a product of his own ignorance." There were many reactions to the lack of consideration that was presented by Carlson, regardless of where he stands politically. Almost all reactions pointed out to the fact that Trump isn't a victim, and that sexual assault is not a joke nor should comparisons to it be thrown around so haphazardly. "⁦@TuckerCarlson⁩ What a irresponsible statement! All ⁦@realDonaldTrump⁩ had to do was wear a mask. Comparing that to a sexual assault victim is an insult to assault victims everywhere. #foxfirecarlson," wrote another user.