Tucker Carlson says hospitals ‘play the victim’ if they receive bomb threats over trans healthcare

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Fox News host Tucker Carlson has described healthcare officials providing gender-affirming care as “criminals” and hospitals receiving bomb threats as “playing the victim”. 

Carlson, who has a long history of making anti-LGBTQ+ comments, raged against hospitals in the US which provide gender-affirming healthcare to trans youth during a lengthy segment on his show, Tucker Carlson Tonight. 

He repeatedly compared gender-affirming healthcare – which has been described by researchers as ‘life-saving’ – as a “crime” and said he believes it “harms” children. Carlson also likened being transgender to a “fad”.

Carlson rallied against the Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) in Tennessee after right-wing pundit Matt Walsh posted a series of tweets accusing the hospital of opening its transgender healthcare clinic because it was profitable. 

As a result, VUMC received an influx of hate following the false reports about its trans healthcare programme. 

Carlson described staff at the hospital as “criminals” who shouldn’t be shocked that “they’re getting threatening phone calls”.

“Vanderbilt University Medical Center took its entire website offline and no doubt at some point they’ll be claiming it’s unsafe for them, that the people who are shocked by what they’re doing are actually the criminals here and that they’re getting threatening phone calls,” he ranted. 

“They’re going to call the DOJ and anyone who comments on it is going to get a visit from the FBI.”

var unruly = window.unruly || {}; unruly.native = unruly.native || {}; unruly.native.siteId = 1068722; ‘Naming them one by one’

The Fox News host accused the hospital of not protecting children because “it’s just too profitable to destroy the lives of kids”.

He then left images of VUMC’s board of directors on the screen and named them one by one as he wanted them to “do something to stop these crimes”. 

Boston Children’s Hospital was forced to lockdown after a bomb threat following a campaign of lies about its trans youth healthcare services programme. Carlson accused the hospital of “playing the victim” after receiving the horrific threat. 

Many people on social media were appalled by Tucker Carlson’s comments, especially as the rise in violent threats to hospitals providing gender-affirming care is all too real. 

Oh you know, only Tucker Carlson leaving the image of hospital executives at a hospital that provides gender affirming care to trans teens, a minute after saying that they are the criminals and deserve the bomb threats they receive, and naming them one by one… pic.twitter.com/Lfe8TPbLIO

— Erin Reed (@ErinInTheMorn) September 22, 2022

Tucker Carlson just named and showed pics of executives at a hospital that provides gender affirming care to trans teens, calling them criminals who deserve the bomb threats they receive. I won’t share the image, but I think we all know where this is headed…

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) September 22, 2022

Within the past few hours after Matt Walsh's attack on Vanderbilt and Tucker Carlson's coverage, users of 4chan and the Donald are calling for the outright murder of doctors. This is exactly what they want. pic.twitter.com/YNjI17EzbI

— Alejandra Caraballo (@Esqueer_) September 22, 2022

Tucker Carlson is trying to get children’s hospitals bombed.

Is the mainstream media waiting for it to happen before they care?

— Rex Chapman