Boston Celtics player and
former Turkish citizen,
Enes Kanter loves America.
He loves it so much that he changed
his last name to freedom.
But apparently, he doesn't like
freedom enough to allow you
to voice your opinions and
that's according to Enes.
Here he is talking to [LAUGH]
Tucker Carlson about how much he
loves America and
how everyone who doesn't
love America needs to shut up.
>> It seems like people who move
here from countries that are not
free appreciate the freedoms
here much more than a lot of
us who grew up with those freedoms.
Have you noticed that?
I feel like I'm going to just say
this and I'm going to be honest,
people should feel
really blessed and
lucky to be in this being America
because they love to criticize it.
But when you live a country
like Turkey or China or
somewhere else, you will appreciate
the freedoms you have here.
>> Yes.
>> So, I feel like they should just
please, they should just keep their
mouth shut and
stop criticizing the greatest
nation in the world and they should
focus on their freedoms and their
human human rights and democracy.
So, this is America,
give me everything I have.
So, I'm definitely appreciate
the United States of America.
>> That's how I feel.
Now Jack, I will have you answer
for your fellow countrymen in just
a moment, but before you do so.
>> Answer my fellow American.
>> Sure, but before I do that I
just want to know,
like that logic is ridiculous.
Okay, so
if you love something you're
not allowed to ever criticize it.
So, don't you dare discipline your
kids because your kids are perfect
and if you really love them,
you wouldn't criticize them.
You wouldn't discipline them.
In fact, if you do discipline them
must mean you don't love them and
you shut your mouth anyway,
Jean go ahead.
>> Yeah, kids, you go out there and
tell your parents to shut their
mouth and tell them hashtag freedom
because if you love
something you can't criticize it.
Okay, so, it goes both ways for
parents advocates.
And if America is so perfect, do we
really need the second amendment?
I mean, what was the second
Amendment for again?
>> It was to protect against
tyranny because America might
become turnout.
>> No, no, but
America's perfect Jinn.
>> It's perfect so we don't need
it. >> We don't need it.
>> That's good news.
Okay, so, I guess we'll
get rid of it.
>> Mission accomplished guys,
awesome.
>> And while we're getting rid of
amendments, he seems like he's not
in favor of the first Amendment.
>> Let's get rid of that.
>> Okay, alright,
America's perfect.
So let's get rid of the First
Amendment of the Second Amendment.
Okay, we're making fun because it's
an absurd thing to say my new name
is freedom and you should shut your
mouth about it.
>> [LAUGH] So look,
I love this country like Enes,
I came here and I'm a naturalized
American citizen from Turkey,
very similar fact pattern.
And I think I'm blessed to be in
America, but I recognize that it
still has issues and I think that
we can make the country better.
Like our founding fathers said, we
could strive towards a more perfect
union, okay.
And by the way amendments are one
way that we do that,
we could continue and
the founding fathers said continue
to do amendments because that is
basically political revolution.
And so, you don't have to do
a physical one.
So there's a lot of great parts of
the United States constitution at
the same time in the beginning,
they call black people 3/5 of
a person and that was only, so
the south could have more power.
Didn't actually even give them 3/5
rights, they have zero rights and
they treated them as property.
So, was that a bad thing?
I hope Enes thinks it was
a bad thing.
But back then,
when that was what was happening,
people like Enes would have said,
well if you don't like it,
shut your mouth, okay.
It's called, hey,
I'm proud to be an American.
What are you not proud of how
America is?
Well, no,
I'm not proud of the slavery part.
I would have said back then and
he was just shut your mouth.
And that is what conservatives have
said throughout American history.
If you ever want any change, hey,
they got kids working in the mines
there like eight years old.
And they're working nonstop and
then they and everybody's getting
black lung disease, maybe we
shouldn't have kids working,
maybe we should have weekends.
Shut your mouth.
Okay, America's the best freedom
get back in the goddamn minds.
No, no, wait a minute,
wait a minute.
We can love the country and in fact
because we love the country,
we can try to make it better.
>> No, I think that if you really
love something you should enable
its bad behavior.
>> I see a good point.
Good point. I hadn't
thought of it that way.
>> You should be an apologist for
its flaws.
>> Yeah, now,
look, it is more you should know
about an ex con Kanter or contact
is how you would say in Turkish.
So, he's a supporter of
Fethullah Gulen.
Gordon is
the Muslim fundamentalist,
he's probably the second most
powerful person in Turkey.
Him and Erdogan,
another Muslim fundamentalist who's
now the president of Turkey,
the most powerful person used to be
great allies.
Then they got into a catfight.
And they both wanted almost all
the power.
They don't actually disagree on any
philosophy or politics or
principles.
They're both fundamentalist and so,
I'm against that I'm secular and
I'm secular in America,
I was secular when I was in Turkey.
Now, neither one of those guys
are secular,
they love the religion of Islam and
think it should rule, okay.
Now, but they got into their cat
fight and so everybody split into
different camps and since Kanter
was raised in Gordon's schools,
he join Gordon's cult and
it is very much a cult.
>> Does Kanter know about all this.
>> Yeah, I mean it's funny this now
here's interesting facts.
The American government clearly is
protecting you that the Turkish
government wants to get that back.
Okay, because,
>> The Muslim fundamentalists.
>> Yeah, they want the Muslim
fundamentalists to not be protected
by the American government.
Okay, because they think he
orchestrated a coup in Turkey.
This pretty good evidence to that
effect, okay.
And by the way when we covered it
on air, I showed you John Kerry who
was the Democratic Secretary of
State back then,
was very noncommittal about whether
the coup was a good idea or not.
So the American government had
an interesting role there,
potentially we don't know.
Okay.
>> Americans be cool then.
>> Yeah, they cool all over
the world.
Now, Gulen is very much supported
by the American government.
He has charter schools all across
the world in strategic places
coincidentally.
And of course they need teachers,
that need to be sent in there into
those strategic areas under
the guise of,
hey it's a good Muslim school that
you should send your Muslim kids do
in Muslim countries, right?
And but he also has a lot
of schools here in America now
normally Fox news would be alarmed
by a Muslim fundamentalist running
charter schools all over Texas but
they seem to be
totally okay with it.
And so does the American government
and they will not turn them over
Turkey under any circumstances.
That is an interesting set
of facts.
So now, does that make
Logan the good guy?
No, neither one of them is
the good guy.
We actually do news here.
I know that's a foreign concept,
both in Turkey unfortunately and
in America, but Fox news
does right wing propaganda.
Corporate media does
corporate propaganda.
We're here to tell you the truth.
So Erdogan is also a Muslim
fundamentalist.
He's a danger to the country,
by the way, Kanter
is also misrepresents Turkey too,
let's be clear about that.
So, I'm being super frank about
the two most powerful people
that are related to Turkey.
But again, good and
lives in Pennsylvania protected
by the American government.
That's the guy that Kanter loves.
But they're both wrong,
they're both right wingers,
they're both fundamentalists,
they're both are destroying
the secular government of Turkey.
But Turkey was not this place that
Kanter's making it out to be where
if you disagree with
the government,
you'd be snatched up by the police.
I lived in Turkey until I
was eight,
obviously I've had family and
friends there for my whole life.
If you're having a conversation,
people have nonstop conversations
about the government.
He makes it sound like
a police state.
Now, on the other hand does Erdogan
just trample on people's rights and
lock people up
if they speak publicly against him?
Yes.
And that is destroying the Republic
of Turkey,
which didn't used to be like that.
And then finally I'll be fair to
Kanter, like look, it's possible
that he's kind of an innocent guy.
I read a couple of his interviews
and he seems really naive.
Either he's got a good act or
he actually is naive and
he's like, I was with you that when
the coup was happening and
he seemed really upset.
He cried that night.
Yeah, dude, his coup failed,
that's why he was crying, okay.
[LAUGH] But anyways, so, and
he fights for
some good things like he's really
concerned about the concentration
camps at the Chinese are running
against the younger people.
And he has a sneaker that says free
Ugur, I'm in favor of that.
[LAUGH] Okay, so
he does make some good points.
He does argue in favor of
some human rights,
but I think he's being used and
manipulated by the right wing.
Both Turks and
Americans like Tucker Carlson for
their own agenda.
That is yeah, rah rah,
American deep state is awesome,
ironic on Fox news.
And China is the worst and and
of course Lebron is terrible.
That's why Fox news loves them even
more etc.
He's just being used.
>> Okay, so final question for you.
So, Mr. Freedom is not the only
Turkish player in the NBA,
how do you think Mr.
Freedom would do in a matchup
against Miami Heat Turkish player,
Young Steven.
Look at, >> I know sports.
>> She had to look it up and
she was looking down the whole time
to read his name.
>> [LAUGH] I went to like one NBA
game recently, it was Miami Heat
against the Lakers and my husband
was like, that one player with
the Miami Heat is a Turkish guy.
So, I had to look him up.
>> No, >> Omar Farouk Young Steven.
>> [LAUGH] Okay.
Honestly, I have no idea.
I haven't been following the NBA
regular season at all.
But look guys, unfortunately in
Turkey because all those basketball
players are national figures and
very public figures,
they kind of have to pick camps.
So, you're going to go Erdogan or
you're going to go get that and
you're going to be in a lot of
trouble if you go against Erdogan
who is the president, right?
And they even arrested Kanter's dad
as a show of force.
So there's like very serious
oppression in Turkey right now
because Erdogan's government.
So, Kanter is not wrong about that.
It's just his guy isn't any better.
And in fact,
lead massive oppression when he was
in charge with Erdogan in Turkey.
And look, I'm in a unique position
where I have the freedom,
funny enough to be against both.
Which a lot of Turks don't get to
have that freedom these days.
>> May be your last name needs to
be freedom.
>> Think about it because I'm in
favor of freedom in Turkey and
in America, and I don't think
anyone should shut their mouth.
My God, there you have it,
free Ugur.