Fox News host Tucker Carlson responded to criticism from Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) over releasing footage of the Capitol protests from Jan. 6, 2021.

While speaking on the Senate floor, Schumer accused Carlson of "lying" and "manipulating" his audience by releasing the footage.  

"To say January 6 was not violent is a lie, a lie pure and simple.  I don't think I've ever seen a prime-time cable news anchor manipulate his viewers the way Mr. Carlson did last night.  I don't think I've ever seen an anchor treat the American people and American democracy with such disdain."

Schumer pleaded for Fox News to prohibit Carlson from running a "second segment of lies."

McConnell also denounced the release of the footage, calling it a "mistake."  He cited a statement from U.S. Capitol Police chief Tom Manger, who called it "offensive and misleading."

"Clearly the chief of the Capitol Police, in my view, correctly described what most of us witnessed firsthand on January 6," McConnell told reporters.

"It was a mistake, in my view, for Fox News to depict this in a way that's completely at variance with what our chief law enforcement official here at the Capitol thinks," he continued.

In response, Carlson called the criticisms "hysteria," saying the footage is a "threat" to the lies Schumer has told about Jan. 6.

"What you're seeing is hysteria," Carlson said.  "Those videos touch a nerve because they're a threat to the lies that Chuck Schumer has been telling for the last 26 months." 

Tucker Carlson Responds To Senator Chuck Schumer Calling For Fox News To Censor His Show

"Those videos touch a nerve because they're a threat to the lies that Chuck Schumer has been telling for the last 26 months, and not just Chuck Schumer." pic.twitter.com/ME9NZY1v8H

— The Columbia Bugle рџ‡єрџ‡ё (@ColumbiaBugle) March 8, 2023

He also put Republicans on notice who joined in on the criticism.

"They're on the same side," he argued.  "The Senate majority leader joins the Senate minority leader.  [Sens.] Thom Tillis, Mitt Romney, they're all on the same side, so it's actually not about left and right; it's not about Republican and Democrat."

"Here you have people with shared interests, the open borders people, the people like Mitch McConnell who are living in splendor on Chinese money, the people who underneath it all have everything in common are all aligned against everyone else," he added.

In February 2023, House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) granted Carlson access to Capitol security footage from Jan. 6.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.