Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson is seeking to understand why Mexico is not seen as a greater threat to the U.S. than Russia.
During a conversation with Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) in Iowa, Carlson said, “I’m just interested because all measures are relative. Russia’s bad. Putin’s evil. Got it. But the total body count from Russia in the United States is right around zero. Like, I don’t know anyone who’s been killed by Russia.”
“I know people personally who have been killed by Mexico. The government of Mexico allows fentanyl to come over our border… The Mexican government is party to the murder of hundreds of thousands of Americans. Why is Mexico less of a threat than Russia?” he asked.
Scott responded, “Two things, I think we can walk and chew gum at the same time…”
“OK… No Americans killed by Russia, hundreds of thousands killed by Mexico, but Mexico’s our ally and Russia’s our enemy. How does that work?” Carlson asked.
Scott explained he would support a measure to target Mexican drug cartels to try to stop the flow of fentanyl.”
“I do agree with you that 70,000 Americans losing their lives on an annual basis is an existential threat to America that we can solve,” he added.
Watch the video below:
Tucker: "All measures are relative. Russia's bad. Putin's evil. Got it. I don't know anyone who's been killed by Russia. I know people personally who have been killed by Mexico. The government of Mexico allows fentanyl to come over our border. The Mexican government is party to… pic.twitter.com/ghPXwoamDi
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) July 14, 2023
Mexico certainly has its problems including corruption and alleged collusion with drug cartels. And its government seems more than willing to turn a blind eye to the production of fentanyl within its borders.
In March, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador insisted, “Here, we do not produce fentanyl, and we do not have consumption of fentanyl.”
“Why don’t they (the United States) take care of their problem of social decay?” he asked.
The Associated Press notes there is “enormous evidence to the contrary” of his claim.
As Scott noted, the U.S. should be able to handle more than one international issue at a time. It should be able to help Ukraine while securing its border and cracking down on drugs coming into its territory.
But there is simply a difference between a country with a corrupt government that at best declines to shut down the production of deadly drugs, and a nuclear-armed belligerent nation that invades countries in a bid to restore some kind of its former glory and threatens stability around the world, poisons dissidents abroad, and deploys a private military company in other countries to accomplish its goals with some level of deniability.
You can take issue with Mexico and its government. But that doesn’t mean we should just turn a blind eye to Russia’s abuses.