Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Thursday shocked observers when he linked the push to get people vaccinated against the novel coronavirus to eugenics.
During a lengthy rant, Carlson said that allowing the government to push Americans to take the vaccine could lead to a mass eugenics program.
"Can HHS force you to take antibiotics for your TB?" he asked rhetorically. "How about Xanax for your anxiety... And while we're at it, why are we letting irresponsible, defective people reproduce? Vagrants, mental patients, even QAnon people, all are allowed to have children. Why don't we sterilize them? Sound crazy? It's happened before on a huge scale."
There are many problems with Carlson's claims.
First, the government is not physically forcing anyone to take the vaccine but is rather working to mount a door-to-door campaign in areas with low vaccination rates to convince Americans to get their shots if they haven't already.
Additionally, the entire point of getting people vaccinated is they can remain alive so they have the opportunity reproduce in the future -- in other words, the exact opposite of forced sterilization.
Carlson's rant set off a wave of condemnation -- check out some reactions below.