Tucker Carlson on Thursday continued his outrage over President Joe Biden’s commitment to appoint a Black woman to the Supreme Court, this time questioning the qualifications of his nominee, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, and insulting her name.
“So is Kentanji Brown Jackson ― a name that even Joe Biden has trouble pronouncing ― one of the top legal minds in the entire country?” the Fox News host said, mispronouncing Ketanji.
“We certainly hope so. It’s Biden’s right. Appointing her is one of his gravest constitutional duties.”
“So it might be time for Joe Biden to let us know what Kentaji Brown Jackson’s LSAT score was,” he said, mispronouncing her name again. “Wonder how she did on the LSATs? Why won’t he tell us that? That would settle the question conclusively as to whether she is a once-in-a-generational legal talent, the next learned hand.”
As many legal experts pointed out, the LSAT, the law school admission test, has little to no relevance as a measure of proficiency in the legal field.
Carlson was furious about the president’s pledge to nominate a Black woman to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, a move that will bring much-needed diversity to the court. Biden said in January that his pick would be “of extraordinary qualifications, character and integrity,” and that the inclusion of a Black woman on the Supreme Court was “long overdue.”
But according to Carlson at the time, Biden was confirming that a justice would not be chosen “on the basis of legal acumen, intelligence, wise judgment or fealty to the Constitution of the United States” but on “sex and skin color.”
It’s classic playbook material for Carlson, who is notorious for his racist and misogynistic dog whistles, often targeting powerful women of color. When Vice President Kamala Harris was first selected to be Biden’s running mate, Carlson repeatedly mispronounced her name, too, growing visibly irate when corrected by a guest.
“I don’t remember Tucker wanting to know [Justice] Amy Coney Barrett’s test scores. Or anyone else’s. For some reason, he is questioning Brown Jackson’s intelligence. Or is he ‘just asking questions,’” former federal prosecutor Ron Filipkowski tweeted.
The “Opening Arguments” legal podcast noted the ridiculousness of Carlson’s metric to measure fitness for the Supreme Court.
Jackson, a Harvard graduate, is currently a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She previously served as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for eight years. She was also a former public defender and vice chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and she clerked for Breyer during the 1999-2000 Supreme Court term.
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