President Biden was attacked by Tucker Carlson for bringing K-Pop group BTS to the White House on Tuesday, accusing him of exploiting the well publicized picture op as a political tactic to curry favor with younger Americans.
Carlson, 53, informed viewers of his eponymous show Tuesday night that ‘things have become extremely terrible for Joe Biden, both publicly and internally,’ before airing a footage of the Korean supergroup’s visit to the White House earlier that day.
‘How are they dealing with it?’ Carlson enquired of the audience before expressing his thoughts on the appearance, which officials said was part of a program to combat anti-Asian prejudice.
‘Well, they broke glass in case of emergency and invited a Korean pop group to speak at the White House.’
The longtime Fox personality proceeded to air a clip of the seven-man boy group – whose fanbase is largely mired in the Gen Z demographic – speaking at the White House press podium.
The bizarre image of the suited, young men speaking about the country’s issues, on its biggest stage, seemed to set Carlson off, with the commentator going on to mock the maneuver.
‘Yeah, so we got a Korean pop group to discuss anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States. Okay. Good job, guys,’ he sniped.
The group’s White House appearance similarly set off Arizona congressman Andy Biggs, who Tweeted Tuesday: ‘Wonder if they have any ideas on how to secure our border, lower inflation, lower gas prices, and get baby formula back on our shelves.’
The visit saw Biden – who has seen his popularity plummet in recent months amid unprecedented inflation and the baby formula shortage seen during his administration – flash the band’s signature ‘finger hearts’ pose inside the Oval Office, and saw BTS’ members address press with White House secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
The meeting also saw the Commander in Chief tell the hitmakers – whom are all aged 29 and below – ‘People care a lot about what you say, and what you are doing is good for all people.’
The K-Pop band, dressed in matching black suits posed with the president for several photos, in a meeting White House officials asserted covered topics such as diversity, Asian inclusion and other issues amid a recent surge in anti-Asian hate crimes.
Commending the group for speaking out against such issues, Biden said: ‘It’s not just your good talent. It’s the message you are communicating. It matters.’