Jimmy Kimmel Mocks Tucker Carlson, Fox Over Capitol Footage

July 2024 · 3 minute read

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While hosting the 95th Academy Awards on Sunday, Jimmy Kimmel targeted Fox News and its anchor, Tucker Carlson, over their use of selectively edited footage of the US Capitol riot.

Kimmel took aim at Carlson and Fox News, without mentioning either by name, after "Everything Everywhere All at Once" won the Oscar for Best Film Editing.

"Anyone who has ever received a text message from their father knows how important editing is," Kimmel began.

"Editors do amazing things," he continued. "Edits can turn 44,000 hours of violent insurrection footage into a respectful sightseeing tour of the Capitol."

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—The Recount (@therecount) March 13, 2023

The joke appeared to be a reference to Carlson's claim in a Fox News broadcast last week that Capitol Police officers acted as chaperones for rioters on January 6, 2021.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy provided over 40,000 hours of unseen footage of the insurrection to Carlson and Fox News, who broadcast cherry-picked clips that appeared to downplay the violence of the day.

Fox News broadcast a clip of Jacob Chansley, known as the "QAnon Shaman," apparently being trailed by Capitol Police officers in the corridors of the Capitol building.

Carlson said the clip showed officers acting as a "tour guide" for Chansley, who is currently serving a 41-month prison sentence for his role in the Capitol riot.

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But Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger described the tour guide allegation as "outrageous and false," saying in a memo that police officers were outnumbered and were using de-escalation tactics to convince rioters to leave the building.

He described Fox News' broadcast as "filled with offensive and misleading conclusions" and accused the broadcaster of combing through thousands of hours of footage to select clips showing deceivingly calm moments from the insurrection.

Fox News and Carlson received bipartisan condemnation for their broadcast of previously unseen Capitol riot footage, with Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell describing it as "offensive and misleading."

The White House condemned the clips as a "false depiction of the unprecedented, violent attack on our Constitution and the rule of law."

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Carlson, in the broadcast, described the riot as "mostly peaceful chaos." It resulted in the deaths of five people, with dozens of Capitol Police officers being injured. Four police officers also died by suicide in the following months.

Fox News did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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