Senator Has Quick Response After Patriotism Is Questioned

Tammy Duckworth's profile is on the rise as one of Joe Biden's potential running mates, and the Illinois senator took some strong criticism from Tucker Carlson during his Fox show Monday night. “You’re not supposed to criticize Tammy Duckworth in any way because she once served in the military," Carlson began, per the Daily Beast. That is understating things: Duckworth lost both legs in Iraq when the helicopter she was co-piloting got shot down. After his caveat, Carlson went on to call her a "deeply silly and unimpressive person" and to suggest that she and other top Democrats "hate America." To which Duckworth replied on Twitter: "Does @TuckerCarlson want to walk a mile in my legs and then tell me whether or not I love America?"

As Business Insider reports, Carlson took issue with an interview Duckworth gave to CNN in which she called for a "national dialogue" on whether monuments to George Washington and other slave-owning Americans should come down. Carlson said most people "ignore" her, but "when Duckworth does speak in public, you’re reminded what a deeply silly and unimpressive person she is.” He added, “These people actually hate America. No longer a question about that.” The Washington Post notes that Duckworth had a similar rejoinder to GOP Rep. Doug Collins earlier this year when he accused Democrats of being "in love with terrorists." She replied: "I left parts of my body in Iraq fighting terrorists. I don't need to justify myself to anyone." (Carlson is getting some electoral buzz himself.)