‘Ridiculous!’ Kara Swisher Tears Into House Republican Calling TikTok ‘Digital Fentanyl’

Podcast host Kara Swisher expressed frustration with Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) after he compared TikTok to the drug fentanyl.

On the Thursday edition of On with Kara Swisher, Swisher said the comparison was “ridiculous.”

Producer Nayeema Raza said, “Representative Mike Gallagher, who’s the youngest Republican from Wisconsin, who Kevin McCarthy put in charge of the New House Committee on China back when — Kevin McCarthy had some power.”

“How many votes are we on?” Swisher asked. “He’s being held captive by Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert.”

“It’s a very sad situation,” Raza laughed.

“They deserve every minute of it,” Swisher added.

As the conversation progressed, Raza pointed out that Gallagher recently called TikTok “digital fentanyl” during a Sunday appearance on NBC’s Meet The Press.

“What do you make of that?” Raza asked.

“Here’s the thing. They just can’t stop for a second,” Swisher said.

“Fentanyl is a massive issue across — a tragic and massive issue around the world. People are dying and TikTok is an addictive social network, is what it is. It’s not ‘digital fentanyl,'” she continued.

“This is what happens. This is what Trump did. Like you can say, we’ve got a problem here. We’ve got a security problem, we’ve got an addiction problem without having to go this far,” Swisher said.

“And I think it really undercuts what we need to do here when we’re talking about it, calling it fentanyl. It’s like — I just — it irritates me because we have an opportunity to do good things and then these people just can’t help but, you know, mug for the cameras,” she added.

Raza asked if Swisher believed Gallagher and those like him “over-inflate the issue.”

“It’s not digital fentanyl. It’s a problem. It’s an addiction problem and it’s a security problem,” Swisher insisted. “Let’s deal with it like normal people and not have to make big, like ‘Let’s get on Fox News’ statements, so Tucker Carlson will hug us tighter. It’s ridiculous!”

Listen above via On with Kara Swisher.