Facebook meeting... If it matters...

Carlson: Glenn Beck 'acted like he was auditioning to be Mark Zuckerberg's manservant' at Facebook meeting

By HADAS GOLD

Daily Caller editor-in-chief and Fox News contributor Tucker Carlson is not happy with how Glenn Beck acted at the Facebook meeting for conservatives this week.

In an interview, Carlson blasted the radio and television host, saying he was sucking up to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

"I went to that meeting expecting Beck to cry, rend his garments while quoting James Madison, but that's not at all what happened. He began the most extended assiduous suck-up I think I've ever seen a grown man commit. He acted like he was auditioning to be Mark Zuckerberg's manservant — it was awe-inspiring,' Carlson said. "I don't know what his agenda is; it's either he's looking to put his tanking Web properties up for sale or he just can't help himself. There's a billionaire there, so he sniffs the throne."

In April, Beck's company The Blaze laid off about 40 employees and announced that it was relocating its operations almost entirely to Texas, where it is headquartered. Matt Frucci, whose hiring to run The Blaze's television operation in New York was announced the same week of the layoffs, quietly departed the company about a week later. In an unsigned post, The Blaze announced a reorganization and said that the changes were made because the company had "grown into a company [Beck] no longer believed in" and urging people to "stay tuned" for the company's next chapter.

In a post after the meeting, Beck offered up high praise for Zuckerberg and his team, saying he "was convinced that Facebook is behaving appropriately and trying to do the right thing. They were humble, open, and listened intently to everyone in the room."

But Beck also hit on some of his fellow attendees for asking for what he called "affirmative action for conservatives."

"When did conservatives start demanding quotas AND diversity training AND less people from Ivy League Colleges. I sat there, looking around the room at 'our side' wondering, 'Who are we?' Who am I?'" Beck wrote. "What happened to us? When did we become them? When did we become the people who demand the Oscars add black actors based on race?"

Carlson said he was one person at the meeting who brought up increasing diversity at the company, and that Beck's description was a "total mischaracterization" of what he was trying to say.

"My point was a simple one, which is diversity is deeper than ethnicity," Carlson said. "You can look different but have the same values. That's not diversity; it's conformity. … You want people with different life experiences as a backstop against bad decision."

Carlson said he "despises" affirmative action but was "making a pretty conventional point."

"It's hardly a deep insight. [Beck] turns around and says 'You're acting like Jesse Jackson trying to shake down Facebook or demand quotas.' Which of course is the opposite of what I'm in favor of,' Carlson said.

A spokesperson for Beck's company The Blaze did not immediately respond to a request for comment.