Tucker Carlson pushes bizarre, racist theory about Britney Griner’s release from a Russian prison

09 December 2022

Fox News' Tucker Carlson is spinning a new conspiracy theory about WNBA star Britney Griner being released from a Russian prison. According to Carlson, Griner was released instead of Paul Whelan simply because she is a Black lesbian.

On Thursday, December 8, Carlson laid out his argument during a segment of "Tucker Carlson Tonight" hours after it was reported that President Joe Biden secured Griner's release. As part of the agreement about her release, Mediaite notes that the U.S. "released arms dealer Viktor Bout, whom the U.S. convicted in 2011 of conspiring to kill Americans."

According to conservatives, the swap has been described as "lopsided," the news outlet reports.

Carlson began with a recap of the original report which suggested that Russia had given the president a choice between Griner and Whelan. “The Kremlin gave the White House the choice of either Griner or Whelan – or none,” the initial report noted.

Per the news outlet, Carlson insisted that "NBC’s initial reporting was correct and then baselessly claimed Biden declined to take Whelan because he’s a white man."

The host then took aim at White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre who said, "It came to either bring Brittney home or no one. As the president said this morning, he will never stop working to secure Paul’s release and return home. And he will not give up."

She added, "On a personal note, Brittney Griner is more than an athlete, more than an Olympian, she is an important role model and inspiration to millions of Americans, particularly the LGBTQI+ Americans and women of color. She should never have been detained by Russia."

Carlson attempted to misinterpret Jean-Pierre's remarks insisting she stated that being Black and a lesbian are “essential qualifications for a prisoner swap.”

“So there is Joe Biden’s press secretary telling you that Brittney Griner is important because she’s a lesbian woman of color,” Carlson said.

“How perverse is that?” he went on. “Imagine a press secretary from the last administration, say, Sean Spicer, pausing in the middle of a briefing to tell you that, ‘On a personal note, it is thrilling when a straight white man gets out of prison.’ What would you think of that? You’d probably see that as an offense against the idea of the rule of law.”

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