Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect that the HHS has announced that they will no longer pay for pipes as part of the Harm Reduction Grant’s smoking kits.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson mocked a reported HHS grant program of $30 million that includes items like crack pipes, suggesting that President Biden’s son Hunter never needed such handouts because he smoked “in style.”
The Washington Free Beacon first reported on the “Harm Reduction Program Grant” Monday, with a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) telling the news outlet that “smoking kits” for crack and meth will be provided as a means to advance “racial equity.”
Furthermore, the Free Beacon writes, participants will be prioritized by underserved communities which include African Americans and “LGBTQ+ persons.”
The communities are laid out in more detail in the President’s “Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity,” signed on Biden’s first day in office.
Fox News reports that an HHS spokesperson dismissed the Free Beacon report as misinformation “but did not explicitly deny the report.”
Readers can view the grant for themselves, which includes a list of items for purchase for “harm reduction” purposes, like smoking kits, syringes, HIV testing kits, and more.
Holy s#%t. @TuckerCarlson just started by saying, “When Hunter Biden smokes crack, he does it in style…it’s new crack pipes for everyone!” ???
— @Matthew”WHO DEY” Betley ??? (@MatthewBetley) February 9, 2022
RELATED: Hunter Biden Says He Smoked Parmesan Cheese That He Thought Was Crack Cocaine
Tucker Blasts Grant
Tucker Carlson absolutely railed against the grant program, cracking jokes about President Biden’s son, Hunter.
“You may recall that on his first day in office more than a year ago, the new president explained that equity will require determination and creativity,” Carlson began the segment.
?HHS confirms that the Biden Administration is funding crack pipe distribution.
They call it “harm reduction.”
The rest of us call it insanity. https://t.co/UjRfyN6Eo3
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) February 8, 2022
“With this new program, Joe Biden will finally close the crack gap,” the Fox host continued. “For too long in America, quality crack pipes have been the domain of rich white men like so much else.”
He then shared an image of Hunter Biden “smoking crack in bed at the Four Seasons.”
He mocked Hunter’s “beautifully designed custom crack pipe” and the “high-thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets.”
“When Hunter Biden smokes crack, he does it in style,” Carlson deadpanned. “But not everyone in this country is so fortunate.”
Tucker Carlson says Democrats don’t care about the opioid crisis because it kills off demographics that don’t vote for them. pic.twitter.com/iqnsoRLAqg
— nikki mccann ramírez (@NikkiMcR) February 9, 2022
RELATED: Hunter Biden Has ‘No Recollection’ Of Meeting The Stripper Who Gave Birth To His Child
Marsha Blackburn Demands Answers
Hunter Biden’s crack addiction had devolved to such a point that he admitted in his book to smoking just about anything, including “parmesan cheese.”
In an interview with CBS Sunday Morning ahead of the release of his memoir, the younger Biden quipped, “I probably smoked more parmesan cheese than anyone you know.”
“I spent more times on my hands and knees picking through rugs smoking anything that even remotely resembled crack cocaine,” he said.
Hunter Biden smoked more parmesan cheese than anyone you know pic.twitter.com/0T4J2S8647
— PG Howie (@pghowie3) April 5, 2021
Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is demanding answers on the reports that HHS is planning to use taxpayer funds to distribute crack pipes.
In a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, Blackburn expressed her “grave concerns.”
“Government-funded drug paraphernalia is a slap in the face to the communities and first responders fighting against drugs flowing into our country from a wide-open southern border,” she wrote.
If @HHSGov is concerned that funding crack pipes for addicts will paint HHS in a bad light, they should cancel their plan to fund crack pipes for addicts. pic.twitter.com/dnziwHQkhs
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) February 8, 2022
“If this is the president’s plan to address drug abuse, our nation is in serious trouble,” Blackburn added.
She gave HHS until March 1st to clarify if they are indeed authorizing the distribution of drug paraphernalia using taxpayer money.
***UPDATE — HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra released an announcement clarifying that they would no longer use federal funds for pipes, stating in part:
“HHS and ONDCP are focused on using our resources smartly to reduce harm and save lives. Accordingly, no federal funding will be used directly or through subsequent reimbursement of grantees to put pipes in safe smoking kits. The goal of harm reduction is to save lives.”