Fox News host calls Sen. Tammy Duckworth a 'moron' and claims she's using her military injuries to silence critics

• Fox News opinion host Tucker Carlson doubled down on his criticisms of Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth from the previous night, claiming she was a "moron" who was "hating America."
• Carlson described Duckworth as a "fraud" and claimed she was using to her military service background, "since she was once injured," to drown out his criticism.
• Duckworth previously deployed to Iraq with the Illinois Army National Guard and lost both her legs after her helicopter was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade.

Fox News opinion host Tucker Carlson doubled down on his criticisms of Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth from the previous night, claiming she "has no moral authority" and that she was "hating America."

During his program on Tuesday evening, Carlson highlighted a previous interview Duckworth had with CNN on Sunday, in which she described President Donald Trump's speech at Mount Rushmore on the Fourth of July as grossly inappropriate.

Asked for her thoughts on the possibility of removing historical statues of former President George Washington, Duckworth, an outspoken Trump critic, replied to CNN that the country needed to "start off by having a national dialogue on it at some point."

"But, right now, we're in the middle of a global pandemic," she said, adding that, "what really struck me about the speech that the president gave at Mount Rushmore was that he spent more time worried about honoring dead Confederates ... I mean, his priorities are all wrong here."

"He spent all his time talking about dead traitors," Duckworth said during the CNN interview.

Trump's Fourth of July remarks consisted of partisan overtones in that he criticized the "dangerous movement" of the progressive "cancel culture" — but he did not explicitly honor the Confederacy during his speech. Instead, he called out the"radicals would tear down the very heritage for which men gave their lives to win the Civil War," and defended the existence of the historical monuments.

Carlson on Tuesday described Duckworth's recollection of Trump's speech as "grotesque" and called her unpatriotic: "Only someone who hates the country would suggest ripping down monuments to its founder."

Read more: Trump goes on a Twitter tear defending the Confederate flag and racist sports team names

Carlson's latest remarks come one day after he questioned Duckworth's patriotism — despite his brief attempt to suggest otherwise.

"You're not supposed to criticize Tammy Duckworth in any way because she once served in the military," Carlson said on his Monday show. "Most people just ignore her. But when Duckworth does speak in public, you're reminded what a deeply silly and unimpressive person she is."

"It's long been considered out of bounds to question a person's patriotism," he added. "It's a very strong charge and we try not ever to make it. But in the face of all of this, the conclusion can't be avoided: These people actually hate America, there's no longer a question about that."

Duckworth, who deployed to Iraq with the Illinois Army National Guard and lost both her legs after her helicopter was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade, responded on Monday evening by tweeting: "Does @TuckerCarlson want to walk a mile in my legs and then tell me whether or not I love America?"

On Tuesday, Carlson described Duckworth as a "fraud" and claimed she was using her military background, "since she was once injured," to drown out his argument. Carlson, who claimed to have reached out to Duckworth's staff, also called her as a "coward" for refusing to accept his invitation to debate him on his show.

"But to morons like Tammy Duckworth, Washington is just some old white guy that needs to be erased," Carlson said, adding that, "there are many of us here who do like this country — we live here."

Duckworth is said to be a top contender to become former Vice President Joe Biden's running mate in the 2020 presidential election. She has previously been critical of Republican lawmakers who have questioned the patriotism of their Democratic colleagues.

Following the US drone strike that killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani in January, Republican Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia claimed Democrats were "in love with terrorists" after they questioned Trump's plans on what appeared to be an escalating conflict.

Duckworth responded at the time: "I left parts of my body in Iraq fighting terrorists. I don't need to justify myself to anyone."