Democratic senator Sen. Tammy Duckworth (Ill.) fired back at Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Monday after the right-wing pundit questioned her patriotism and criticized her for supporting a “national dialogue” on changing the names of military bases named after Confederate leaders.
“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.”
“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.
Here’s Duckworth’s response:
Does @TuckerCarlson want to walk a mile in my legs and then tell me whether or not I love America?
— Tammy Duckworth (@SenDuckworth) July 7, 2020
The Illinois Democrat 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.
In the weekend interview, Duckworth 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 remarks come as protests have ignited nationwide following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on Memorial Day.
