Fox News Refused to Air Anti-ICE Ad Which Features Joe Rogan’s ‘Gestapo’ Comment

 

Fox News Channel declined to air a new national television advertisement from the Jewish Democratic Council of America criticizing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Trump administration, while CNN and MSNBC are running the spot this week as part of a six-figure media buy.

JDCA’s 30-second ad, titled “It’s Gone Too Far,” began airing Monday on MSNBC’s Morning Joe and various CNN programs, including AC360  and Erin Burnett’s OutFront. The organization said Fox News refused to carry the ad.

JDCA CEO Halie Soifer told Mediaite that the group placed a national ad buy on Friday with the intention of running the spot nationally on Fox & Friends, the morning program widely viewed as President Donald Trump’s favorite television show.

The ad focuses on immigration enforcement and law enforcement actions tied to the Trump administration, including footage from unrest in Minneapolis following ICE and Border Patrol operations. It opens with references to the killings of Renee Good and  and includes a clip of podcast host Joe Rogan asking, “Are we really going to be the Gestapo? Where’s your papers? Is that what we’ve come to?”

The spot intersperses footage from Minneapolis with headlines accusing the administration of “winking at white nationalists” and mismanaging political fallout. It calls on Trump to “stop the abuse” and “investigate the killings,” concluding that immigration enforcement has “gone too far.”

The Minneapolis footage follows the second killing of a civilian protester by federal agents in the city. Shortly after that incident, Fox News host Brian Kilmeade suggested on air that former ICE director Tom Homan should be sent to Minneapolis to calm tensions and restore order. Roughly an hour later, Trump publicly announced that Homan would be deployed to the city, raising questions about whether the president heard the proposal from the Fox News host.

JDCA said the campaign reflects polling showing that roughly two-thirds of American voters believe immigration enforcement has crossed a line. The initial buy totals six figures and includes national television and digital placements.

“Jewish Americans have long rejected Trump’s extremism, but it’s now reached a tipping point for our community and our country,” Soifer said in a statement announcing the campaign. She described the ad as a call to action ahead of the midterm elections.

Soifer told Mediaite that neither she nor anyone at JDCA received an explanation from Fox News about why the ad was rejected. She characterized the decision as part of a broader “chilling effect” that she said the Trump administration has cast over free speech.

Mediaite reached out to Fox News seeking an explanation for why the ad was declined while running on other cable networks. A Fox News spokesperson declined to comment.

JDCA describes itself as the national political home for Jewish Democratic voters and said the campaign is part of a broader advocacy effort heading into the 2026 election cycle. The ad is also running across digital platforms and is available online through the organization.

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Colby Hall is the Founding Editor of Mediaite.com. He is also a Peabody Award-winning television producer of non-fiction narrative programming as well as a terrific dancer and preparer of grilled meats.