Tucker Carlson to ACLU Spokesperson: ‘You Should Be Ashamed of Yourself’

There were fireworks on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Thursday evening over a new ad taken out by the American Civil Liberties Union, which is spending $1 million in an attempt to prevent the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

The ACLU’s campaign mostly targets, and speaks directly to, GOP Sens. Deb Fischer of Nebraska, Cory Gardner of Colorado, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — along with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).

“America is watching,” the ad’s voiceover says.

“And as we choose a lifetime seat on our highest court, integrity matters. And we cannot have any doubt.”

The ad, said Carlson on his program earlier this week, is “declaring Kavanaugh guilty without the need for a trial or in fact any evidence.”

At the start of the ad, viewers hear, “We’ve seen this before. Denials from powerful men.”

Then the ad shows, in quick succession, Bill Clinton, Bill Cosby — and Brett Kavanaugh.

On his program Thursday night, Tucker Carlson had pretty much had it and took the ACLU to task for the ad. He interviewed the ACLU’s national political director, Faiz Shakir — who kept insisting the new ad was appropriate because it targets people from both sides of the aisle.

“I don’t care about the Left and the Right,” Carlson retorted over the dodge. “I care about the principles that make the country worth living in, that you once defended and now you urinate on! Why not put him [Brett Kavanaugh] next to Charles Manson?”

After their continued and heated exchange, Carlson accused Shakir of trying to shout him down.

“If you are not defending people who are unpopular, who you disagree with, why do you still exist?” Carlson said.

He then called Shakir a “hack” who should be “ashamed,” as Mediaite and others reported.

“How about somebody who’s really unpopular?” Carlson continued.

“You made this country better [early on in its history]. Now you are making it worse because you abandoned your principles and you should be ashamed of yourself, and I mean that with total sincerity.”

His point was succinct and spot on.

Sometime after that segment, Carlson offered an apology at the end of his show for his bluntness.

“We did a segment tonight on the ACLU and spoke to their political director. I’m embarrassed to say I lost my temper in the middle of it. Why did I do that? Because I spent a year thinking about the ACLU and their role in defending free speech [for his new book, “Ship of Fools: How a Selfish Ruling Class Is Bringing America to the Brink of Revolution”],” he said, “a liberal organization that defended the least popular members of our society for almost 100 years. They no longer do. They’re part of the mob trying to take your free speech away.”

He added, “You’re now the most unpopular segment of our society and the ACLU thinks you should shut up. That’s a huge change, and it’s a metaphor for how the Left has changed and now represents the things they have hated.”

Watch this video for some of the fireworks on Thursday night: