Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hammers Fox News hosts for 'outright bigotry'

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) called out the “outright bigotry” of two of Fox News’ prime-time conservative hosts.

In a tweet, Ocasio-Cortez wrote, “Many have recognized that @FoxNews has crossed a line beyond conservatism and into outright bigotry with their financing of Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham.”

The newly sworn-in congresswoman took on Carlson after the right-wing site he co-founded, the Daily Caller, pushed a fake nude photograph of her. The outlet described the photo as a “Photo Some People Described As A Nude Selfie of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.”

But the picture had been debunked long before the Daily Caller promoted it.

Carlson and partner Neil Patel launched the site in 2010 with $3 million from right-wing financier Foster Friess. Ocasio-Cortez highlighted how Carlson, with his program “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” has spent years catering to white supremacists and using the bigoted language of racists.

On his program, Carlson said immigration makes America “poorer and dirtier.”

Carlson’s show, on which he has said immigration makes America “poorer and dirtier,” is so deeply infused with racism that advertisers have been pulling their sponsorship of his show rather than be associated with such blatant hate-mongering.

Recently, Red Lobster pulled their advertising from Carlson’s program. In a statement, the restaurant chain said they support programming “that represents the highest standards of good taste, fair practice and objectivity.” In dropping Carlson, they noted his program “is no longer in line with our criteria.”

Despite this backlash — or perhaps because of it — Mike Pence recently sat down with Carlson for an interview. Carlson and the Trump-Pence team are unified in their racist attacks on immigrants.

Also singled out by Ocasio-Cortez was Laura Ingraham, host of “The Ingraham Angle,” which follows Carlson’s show.

Ingraham has spent years on the right, mainly on the radio, bashing immigrants and generating racist programming. After Trump’s presidential victory, the network hired her and added her to their lineup (she was reportedly in the running to be his press secretary).

From that elevated perch she has continued her racist attacks and demagoguery. After athletes like NBA superstar LeBron James condemned Trump’s racism, Ingraham whined and complained and insisted that he and other black athletes not speak up on political issues. She was widely ridiculed and condemned for the attempt to silence Trump’s detractors.

Ingraham recently suffered a major setback when her attacks on the teenage survivors of the mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, led over 130 advertisers to drop her show.

Fox News is a racist propaganda outlet that has spread racial demagoguery for over 21 years on the air. They helped Trump to spread his racist conspiracy theory about President Barack Obama’s birth certificate, and that helped to make Trump into a political figure.

Ocasio-Cortez is helping the public by succinctly laying out the network’s pernicious role in fostering, broadcasting and bankrolling bigotry. No wonder she makes them so angry.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.