Tucker Carlson insults New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern as ‘the lady with the big teeth’ while gleefully reporting her resignation
New Zealand #NewZealand
Fox News host Tucker Carlson gleefully announced the resignation of New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who became a target of hatred for the US far right over her policies to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
On his show Wednesday, Carlson aimed a personal insult at Ardern’s teeth, and accused her of being a “totalitarian” who was beholden to China.
The claims are familiar tropes for far-right figures such as Carlson, who accuse those who support lockdowns and other measures to contain the virus of crushing civil rights, and insinuate that they are beholden to China’s authoritarian government.
Carlson on his show has pushed conspiracy theories about the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, and has opposed vaccine mandates of the type imposed by Ardern while in power.
On Wednesday Carlson labelled her an “appalling abuser” of human rights and described her as “the lady with the big teeth who tormented her citizens.”
“What are the chances she was a puppet of the Chinese government?” he asked. “We don’t have enough evidence to prove that, but we would rate that as about 100% likely.”
New Zealand has closer ties with China than most Western nations, and has been warned by its allies of rising Chinese influence. But Ardern and her ministers have taken repeated public stances against China while in power.
Ardern in a shock announcement Wednesday said she would be resigning ahead of the New Zealand general election in October, saying she did not have enough “fuel in the tank” to carry on.
During her six years as prime minister she became a global icon for liberals, and was one of the youngest women serving as a head of government.
She was initially praised for her “zero COVID” strategy, that saw the virus kept out of New Zealand until 2021, and clashed with President Donald Trump on the issue. However she also faced increasing domestic unpopularity over the tough measures.