Fox got to work exploiting the acquittal of the undocumented immigrant who killed (pretty, white) Kate Steinle by urging Number One Fan Donald Trump to "take advantage" of the situation and build his border wall.
Before the announcement of Mike Flynn’s plea deal, Fox News was surely planning on spending the day milking every bit of bigoted, pro-Trump partisanship they could get out of the Steinle acquittal.
Media Matters caught the discussion:
BRIAN KILMEADE (CO-HOST): And I’m telling you right now, the president’s got to take advantage of this opportunity and take the anger and the energy towards building the wall, or whatever barrier works for whatever part of the southern and northern border to—he’s got to push it forward. Because now, people are actually listening.
AINSLEY EARHARDT (CO-HOST): I agree with you, I was thinking this morning he could take advantage of this. Because I think many Democrats would still feel the same way many of you are feeling.
[...]
STEVE DOOCY (CO-HOST): Right now, the Congress is considering spending bills. What they need to do is include language so that these particular Justice Department Byrne Grants could be cut off if you are a sanctuary city. Right now the language is they get to keep the money.
That prompted a melodramatic performance from Earhardt. I don’t recall her ever getting so emotional over people shot and killed in everyday gun violence. But somehow, because Steinle was killed by an “illegal immigrant,” that made her death so much worse. It was also, in Earhardt’s mind, something we all need to be so much more concerned about happening to us.
EARHARDT: Is this your America? I mean, is this why we live in this country to be protected, to protect our kids so you can walk down the pier and not have to worry about someone who’s been in and out of our country illegally over and over and over from shooting our child dead. … And it’s happening over and over and over again. We talked to another mom earlier in the show who lost her son to an illegal immigrant and she said today kids are going to die and we’re not going to hear about it because it’s happening so often.
Watch the theatrical exploitation disguised as sympathy above, from the December 1, 2017 Fox & Friends.
Crossposted at News Hounds.
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