‘Unhinged From Reality’: Tucker Carlson Blasts Biden’s ATF Nominee As ‘Conspiracy Nut’

Tucker Carlson blasted President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the ATF on Thursday as “unhinged from reality” on the issue of gun control.

Carlson also labeled the nominee, David Chipman, “a conspiracy nut” over comments he made last year about the federal government’s siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, in 1993.

Biden on Thursday announced Chipman as his nominee. He also unveiled several executive orders aimed at curbing what he called an “epidemic” of gun violence.

“To enforce them, Joe Biden has nominated a man who is unhinged from reality: David Chipman,” Carlson said on his show on Thursday.

“Who is David Chipman?” Carlson asked. “Well, he is a conspiracy nut for one thing.”

The Daily Caller News Foundation reported on Wednesday that Chipman, who is a senior adviser to the gun control group founded by former Rep. Gabby Giffords, falsely claimed in a Reddit forum last year that members of the Branch Davidian sect shot down two helicopters during the Waco siege.

“At Waco, cult members used 2 .50 caliber Barretts to shoot down two Texas Air National Guard helicopters. Point, it is true we are fortunate they are not used in crime more often,” Chipman wrote in response to a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” event.

Chipman made the comment in a thread in which he called for a ban on the manufacture and sale of so-called assault rifles.

While the Branch Davidians did reportedly shoot at and damage a trio of helicopters that were flown over their compound, none were shot down, and no federal agents were injured.

Four ATF agents and 82 Branch Davidian members were killed in the 51-day standoff in Waco.

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Carlson took Chipman to task for making a false claim about the helicopters, and urged him to apologize for the Waco siege.

“In 1993, the ATF killed dozens of innocent children and at least one pregnant woman for no obvious reason. It’s one of the worst things that federal agents have ever done in this country,” the Fox News host said.

“If you’re taking over the ATF, maybe you could apologize for that. But no, David Chipman lied about it and then attacked the dead.”

Carlson also highlighted Chipman’s mockery of first-time gun owners who purchased firearms early in the coronavirus pandemic.

Chipman said in an interview on April 3, 2020, reported by the DCNF Thursday, that people who rushed out to purchase firearms were “putting themselves and their families in danger.”

He then compared them to preppers for a zombie apocalypse and to Joe Exotic, the Oklahoma zookeeper and gun enthusiast who was the subject of the series “Tiger King.”

“In their mind they might be competent, they might think they’re die-hard and ready to go, but unfortunately they’re more like Tiger King,” said of new gun owners.

Chipman suggested that gun purchasers should “secure that gun locked and unloaded and hide it behind the cans of tuna and beef jerky that you’ve stored in the cabinet, and only bring that out if the zombies start to appear.”

Carlson excoriated Chipman over the comment.

“It’s hard to imagine a flippant remark that’s more infuriating than that one,” he said.

Giffords, the gun control group where Chipman works, did not respond to a request for comment.