Tucker Carlson has awakened the sleeping giant that is the BTS Army.
The Fox News commentator on Tuesday made snide comments about President Joe Biden inviting the South Korean pop group to the White House, provoking the K-pop act's influential army of fans, who dished it right back to the right-wing pundit.
"Things have gotten very bad for Joe Biden, both public-facing and internally. What are they doing about it? Well, they broke glass in case of emergency and invited a Korean pop group to speak at the White House today," Carlson said on the cable network's opinion program "Tucker Carlson Tonight."
The "Butter" singers delivered remarks in the White House press briefing room on Tuesday before meeting with Biden to discuss Asian representation, inclusion and anti-Asian hate crimes. The visit capped the administration-backed Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month. But it appears Carlson missed that detail.
"Yeah, so we got a Korean pop group to discuss anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States. OK. Good job, guys," he said. "Yep, they hate the country and they're trying to degrade it. ... And it's working."
The band's meeting with the president was closed to the press, but Biden tweeted about it afterward, writing: "It was great to meet with you, @bts _bighit . Thanks for all you're doing to raise awareness around the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes and discrimination. I look forward to sharing more of our conversation soon." BTS thanked the BTS Army for making the meeting happen.
Carlson quickly got a lesson in the power of the passionate fan base, which flooded his Twitter feed with replies, crass memes and mentions, as die-hards are wont to do when a topic piques their interest.
"Not so dear Mr. Carlson, please don't think we are not able to hear your rage and disgust, when people try to bring a change for the better. And yes, BTS are doing that. With honesty, love, respect and compassion. All those things you have to look up in a dictionary," replied a fan in response to the video segment the host tweeted.
"So the most influential band in the world speaks about Asian hate, because their words actually make a difference and that's bad? but you work for Fox and support Trump, and are what, US saviour? You are WHAT IS WRONG in the US. Stop hating on BTS #BTSatTheWhiteHouse #BTSARMY," replied another fan.
"I may not like Biden that much either but I hope you were not sarcastic when you said 'good job guys' cos they [BTS] have been spreading equality since 2017. Whether WH is using them for clout, i dont care. as long as they can spread the message!" wrote a different fan.
Another Army member replied with a photo bearing this message: "To whom it may concern, We are currently on a BTS lockdown, and therefore will not be entertaining any distractions nor b— from you. Please contact us 72 hours after comeback for further concerns. Regards, ARMY."
"BTS Jungkook's new tattoo is much [more] interesting than your opinion Mr. Carlson," a different tweet said, and a reply to that said, "Well to be fair anything JK does is more interesting than that dude."
"Tucker I usually agree with you. However please look into BTS a bit more. They write their own songs on topics about getting through depression, not committing suicide, loving yourself and accepting others. Topics our youth need role models for. Rally around their positivity," wrote a Carlson and BTS fan.
"Bts has to deal w a lot of hate all over the world bc of their race. I think they know what they are talking about and they promote inclusivity," added another Twitter user.
———
