Tucker Carlson warns that Black Lives Matter is 'more popular than the president'

Tucker Carlson continued his attack on the Black Lives Matter movement on Monday’s Tucker Carlson Tonight, this time lamenting the group’s recent surge in popularity. A new poll by Rasmussen, which Carlson pointed out is a right-leaning pollster, showed 62 percent of likely voters have a favorable opinion of BLM, while at the same time they found that President Trump’s approval rating is only 43 percent.

“Here’s some breaking news we never expected to report: Black Lives Matter is now more popular than the president of the United States,” Carlson announced, “and not slightly more popular than the president, much more popular.”

But Carlson was also quick to point out that Trump is not alone.

“Black Lives Matter is far more popular than Joe Biden is, too,” Carlson said. “It’s more popular than America’s religious institutions, all of them. It’s more popular than the media, the Congress and big business. Black [Lives] Matter is more popular by double digits than both the Democratic and Republican Party. It’s almost as popular as the U.S. military. It’s much more popular than the pope.”

At one point, Carlson seemed to allude to the fact that advertisers quickly abandoned his show last week after he claimed that Black Lives Matter and the protests following the killing of George Floyd were “definitely not about black lives,” and he railed against a Sesame Street special meant to educate children about racism.

“Imagine a world where you are punished for questioning the behavior of the president or for insulting your local mayor. You probably can’t imagine that, it’s too bizarre. It’s un-American,” Carlson said. “But that’s where we are right now. Black Lives Matter has changed the rules, and here’s their first new rule: No criticizing Black Lives Matter.”

Carlson also conflated the largely peaceful Black Lives Matter protests, which have been going on for weeks, with the riots and looting that took place soon after Floyd’s death. Carlson chastised local governments and police departments for how they’re dealing with protesters. He even tried to convince his audience that Black Lives Matter is more powerful than the Department of Justice.

“Is there a reason the DOJ hasn’t filed federal conspiracy charges against the people who organized and led these riots?” Carlson asked. “It’s not as if we don’t know who they are, their crimes are on YouTube. You know the reason: Black Lives Matter was involved.”

And Carlson made it clear what he thinks of supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement: They’re animals.

“Black Lives Matter becomes more powerful and popular with the public. Why is that happening exactly?” Carlson asked. “Here’s why: Because Black Lives Matter is getting exactly what they want, and that is the most basic sign of strength. Strength is the most appealing quality to voters, and to people, and to animals.”

Tucker Carlson Tonight airs weeknights at 8 p.m. on Fox News Channel.

Watch John Oliver rip the misuse of facial-recognition technology by law enforcement:

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:

• Rita Moreno has ‘dreadful feeling’ about Biden’s potential presidency

• Trump defends ‘looting/shooting’ tweet by citing man who told people to ‘vote white’

• Joe Biden’s ‘single greatest concern’ is that Trump ‘is going to try to steal this election’

Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, or leave your comments below. And check out our host, Kylie Mar, on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.