Tucker slams Arkansas governor over 'castration' veto: He did 'exactly' what Walmart scion 'wanted him to do'
Tucker follows up on interview with Arkansas governor: He didn't tell the truth
'Tucker Carlson Tonight' explores possibility Gov. Asa Hutchinson was influenced by corporations when vetoing transgender bill
On Wednesday's "Tucker Carlson Tonight," host Tucker Carlson reacted to his fiery Wednesday interview with Arkansas Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson, after the governor vetoed a bill that would've made the Natural State the first to ban gender-confirming hormone treatment and surgery.
Carlson said Hutchinson, who is term-limited, profusely claimed he did not confer with any of Arkansas' mega-corporations or elite, such as the Walton family -- the founders of WalMart, Tyson Foods or Dillard's.
"Tucker, I answered that question, and I said, no I have not," Hutchinson said Tuesday.
Carlson however, pointed to a statement released by Thomas Walton, a son of WalMart founder Sam Walton, brother of recent former WalMart chairman S. Robson Walton, and a committee chair on the Walton Family Foundation:
We are alarmed by the string of policy targeting LGBTQ people in Arkansas. This trend is harmful and sends the wrong message to those willing to invest in or visit our state. We support Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s recent veto of discriminatory policy and implore government, business and community leaders to consider the impact of existing and future policy that limits basic freedoms and does not promote inclusiveness in our communities and economy.
— Tom Walton
Our nation was built on inalienable rights and strengthened by individual differences. Arkansas has been called the land of opportunity because it is a place where anyone can think big and achieve the extraordinary. Any policy that limits individual opportunity also limits our state’s potential."
Carlson, who characterized the surgery the bill would've prohibited as "chemical castration" said Hutchinson was "quite definitive" in his statement.
"We had to take his word for it. He was very emphatic. It looks like, how do we put this, lying," Carlson continued.
"The day we spoke to him, in fact, the Walton family endorsed his decision to veto the bill that had passed the legislature -- Not just any family, the richest family in the world and of course, the most powerful family in the state of Arkansas. They wanted Asa Hutchinson to know that he had done exactly what they wanted him to do."
"If Walmart is going to sell a lifetime supply of drugs to trans-youth, it would be nice if you could veto legislation and any bills like it," the host commented.
Carlson added that he spoke with a source who claimed that when the governor leaves office, "he would very much like a board seat" at the Bentonville, Ark., corporation.
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"Just a few days ago, he appeared on this network to admit that before making any decisions on transgender issues, he first considers what major global corporations think," he continued before playing a clip of a March interview Hutchinson gave:
"We're the home of some major global corporations here in Arkansas, they're certainly worried about the image of our state, but we are trying to send the signal that you can protect conscience, you can protect the girls in sports without being discriminatory," said the governor.
The host said those comments could be translated to mean that corporations in the state "worry less about the children" therein, and that he hopes these actions will not lead to them "continuing to be chemically castrated by quack doctors."
Fox News' Yael Halon contributed to this report.
