With reports of sabotage on the Russian Nord Stream pipeline, Tucker Carlson could find only one likely culprit: The United States of America. His specious reasoning for his "argument" is based on the fact that it would hurt the Russian economy and that Joe Biden and the Democrats hate fossil fuels.

Source: The Independent

A Tucker Carlson segment focused on the purported “sabotage” of the Nord Stream gas pipelines connecting Russia and Europe, which the Fox News anchor appeared to blame on the US.

Speaking following reports of leaks in the Nord Stream pipeline on Tuesday, Mr Carlson suggested that the Biden administration was behind the “sabotage” and act of “environmental terrorism” and warned of a Russian counter-response.

“Blow up the Nord Stream pipelines? OK, we’ve entered a new phase, one in which the United States is directly at war with the largest nuclear power in the world,” said the Fox News anchor.

Carlson also countered that it could not have been Russia because -wait for it- Vladimir Putin might be evil, but he's not stupid.

“If you are Vladimir Putin you would have to be a suicidal moron to blow up your own energy pipeline—that’s one thing you would never do...Natural gas pipelines are the main source of your power and wealth. And most critically, your leverage over other countries.”

I'd argue that with the ill-conceived war on Ukraine that is exactly with Putin has turned out to be, a suicidal moron. The United States which has been painstaking about not getting its forces directly involved in Ukraine would suddenly do something the Russians would consider an act of war.

Aaron Blake at the Washington Post was skeptical, tearing down each piece of Carlson's supposed "evidence."

There are many reasons to be skeptical of the notion of the United States conducting sabotage. High on that list is that such an action would strain relations with European allies who would like to have access to that pipeline at some future date, even as they’re currently forgoing Russian energy in solidarity with Ukraine. (A U.S. official told The Post’s John Hudson that the idea of American involvement in the attack on the pipeline is “preposterous.”)

And Carlson's trademark rhetorical trick of putting words in Joe Biden's mouth that he did not say.

Perhaps the most prominent quote Carlson used was from President Biden in February: Biden had said that, if Russia invades Ukraine, “there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it.”

Carlson treated this as no less than a smoking gun. He cast Biden’s comments as the president’s saying “that he might take out these pipelines.” Despite often casting Biden as a doddering old fool, Carlson assured that, in this instance, the president must have chosen his words carefully: “He said there won’t be a Nord Stream 2. We’ll put an end to it. We will take it out. We will blow it up.”

You begin to see the rhetorical trick here. Biden did not say we would “blow it up,” unless you’re using that phrase metaphorically...but Carlson’s aim is clearly to make people think about it literally.

Well, yeah. It's what propagandists do. Even shit ones, like Tucker Carlson, know the basic tricks of the trade. It's telling that his next guest, Tulsi Gabbard, would not even join Carlson on his speculation. '“I don’t have the evidence of who was responsible for this,” Gabbard said before proceeding to speak more generally about the dangers of the situation.'

But the Russians loved it, of course. An American broadcaster accusing his own country of a terrorist act for nearly 12 straight minutes proved rich fodder for them, and every major KremlinTV show featured Tucker Carlson.