Fox & Friends Defends Expulsion of Tennessee State Legislators: ‘Sending a Message Not to Storm Our Government Buildings’
Fox & Friends defended the expulsion of two Tennessee state legislators Friday morning, making an odd comparison to the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
Two Democratic lawmakers — Reps. Justin Jones and Justin J. Pearson — were ousted from the Republican-controlled Tennessee state House of Representatives on Thursday, while one, Rep. Gloria Johnson, was allowed to stay after facing separate expulsion hearings Thursday. The three allegedly violated the chamber’s rules of decorum by participating in a gun control protest at the state Capitol last week.
Johnson claimed that she was not expelled because she is White, while the other two lawmakers are Black. President Joe Biden even weighed in on the “shocking” controversy, calling it “undemocratic.”
Fox & Friends host Ainsley Earhardt defended the controversial expulsions, describing them as, “sending a message not to storm our government buildings. Right?”
“Because these three were leading those protesters onto the balcony in the House chamber last week. Then it carries into this week. And the Republican-led House has said we won’t stand for this.” she added.
The clear comparison to the January 6 attack on the Capitol will not be lost to many; neither will the irony of that comment coming the day after Fox News asked the judge presiding over the Dominion defamation lawsuit that January 6 not be mentioned during the trial. MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough noted that amounts to an admission that Fox New’s promotion of stolen election theories fueled the attack that day.
But the Fox & Friends segment was just getting started. Will Cain proceeded to compare the protest against school shootings to the violent effort to overturn a free and fair election. And who did he blame? Joe Biden, of course.
“I’m listening to President Biden, and I’m just trying to understand — and I’m going to feign some inability to understand this because I fully get that the use of protecting democracy or accusing something of being undemocratic is just a proxy for I want you to lose,” he said. “So during January 6th, people condemn-ably rioted and stormed the Capitol and it is described as undemocratic. In Tennessee, people stormed the Capitol, interrupted the democratic process, and used bullhorns. And if you punish them, that’s undemocratic. So it’s undemocratic as long as it is in disfavor with Joe Biden.”
There is an enormous difference between the two protests of course, and Cain, I’m sure, realizes that but would rather made a tortured comparison to appease his viewers.
“Here’s the big difference,” Brian Kilmeade replied to Cain. “It’s okay to storm the Capitol if you are against assault, against gun control laws, or if you’re for gun control, it is. Okay. Here’s the difference. It’s a state house as opposed to the Capitol. I get it. Number two is lawmakers were leaning toward this. They were just like, ‘Hey, guys, I agree with you, but get out.'”
Watch above via Fox News.
This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.
