Conservative pundit Tucker Carlson said watching nearly two dozen Democrats vie for the chance to challenge President Trump in the 2020 U.S. presidential election is like attending the “Victimhood Olympics.”
The eponymous host of Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” told viewers Wednesday evening that the crowded field of Democrats seems to agree on almost everything — except who has suffered the most while growing up in America.
Mr. Carlson said New Jersey Sen. Cory A. Booker, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Peter Buttigieg were clear examples of politicians who manufacture or exaggerate tales of hardship.
“Imagine being a Democratic presidential candidate right now,” he said. “It’s pretty hard to stand out in the field. There seem to be dozens of Democratic candidates, maybe thousands of them. It’s a huge group, but weirdly they don’t disagree on much. They’re not allowed to disagree. Like all fundamentalist religious sects, the Democrat Party does not tolerate dissent. Everyone believes the same things. The Amish have more intellectual diversity than the Democratic field.”
The host said the eventual Democratic Party victor would stand out from the pack “by winning gold in the Victimhood Olympics.”
“You’ve got to convince voters that you’ve suffered more than anyone else,” Mr. Carlson said. “That’s not always easy for some of the candidates. Cory Booker, for example, hasn’t suffered much at all. He grew up in an all-white neighborhood, the son of two IBM executives. He went to Stanford, and then Oxford, and then Yale Law school. And yet, with a straight face there’s Cory Booker telling you all about his triumph over racism. Uh-huh. … In 2019, whining is power.”
Mr. Carlson then noted the similar educational backgrounds and resumes of Ms. Gillibrand and Mr. Buttigieg to highlight his point.
The New York Democrat attended Dartmouth while Mr. Buttigieg went to Harvard and then Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.
“Our system has been extremely good to Pete Buttigieg. If he’s a victim, then nobody’s a victim. The term has no meaning,” Mr. Carlson said.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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