This past week, I watched a video that not only made my jaw drop, but disgusted me beyond belief. I was forwarded a link to a video of Fox anchor, Tucker Carlson, interviewing a journalist for Teen Vogue, Lauren Duca. The next 10 minutes and 47 seconds shocked me.
In the interview, the two discuss a recent incident involving Ivanka Trump getting confronted on a plane. Carlson had invited Duca onto the show because of her tweet that seemed to be addressing the incident. Carlson said that Duca believed the confrontation was “justified” was he introduced her on the show. However, he surrounded that statement with a bit information that made it seem as though Duca’s thought was preposterous. He opens his interview by asking Duca where she believes it is appropriate to yell at a mother with children. He throws around a few examples, “her son’s bris,” being one of them. These examples were completely laughable, which Duca proceeded to do. At this point is has become clear that Carlson has not invited Duca onto his show to ask her real questions, but rather to mock her as a journalist.
He sits and listens to her response, but he faces suggests that he is confused, as if he doesn’t understand how she has come up with her response, or perhaps he doesn’t understand her answer. In my opinion, she answered his question quite clearly and eloquently, I might add, considering his original intention was to make fun of her valid opinions. And although her response aligned completely with what Carlson believed, he fought her on her tweet’s message. To this she responded that her tweet didn’t even mention the plane incident.
From this point on, Carlson tries to use Duca’s tweets and articles against her, but the woman was well prepared. At one point, Carlson responded to one of Duca’s answers with “What does that even mean?”
What kind of journalism is that? What kind of trained professional asks such a vague and juvenile question? I was completely appalled at the way he conducted the interview. Even when the two agreed on the issue at hand, Carlson brought up a quote from an article Duca wrote in Teen Vogue, "Donald Trump is Gaslighting America." Here, not only does he belittle her job as a journalist, but he mocks the publication she works for. In bringing up her article, his point was to make her opinions and beliefs seem incoherent and nonsensical. And once again he asks, “What does that even mean?”
After watching this interview several times it has become completely clear to me that Tucker Carlson was looking for someone to argue with. He has obviously gotten good at belittling others, and bullying them into conformity. However, throughout this interview Duca stuck to her guns in the most admirable fashion. She never dropped her guard and she didn’t let Carlson walk all over her. At the end of the interview she voiced empowering words about feminism. She understands how women, no matter how young, can enjoy fashion and pop culture, but also have an interest and opinion in politics.
I find this a highly truthful message that many don’t take seriously. It is so important that we take women in politics seriously. We cannot patronize or trivialize the opinions of young women who take an interest in worldly affairs. This will only fuel a culture of brushing off and ignoring women's political opinions. As a young woman hoping to go into the field of journalism with an interest in politics, I found this interview sexist, disgusting, and somewhat sad. But I do not give up hope. Lauren Duca has further ignited my will to prove others wrong. I fully believe the way she handled herself was respectable and commendable and I aspire to handle myself with the same strength she did.
