Transphobic Slurs And Death Wishes: How Right-Wing Media Responded To The Commutation Of Chelsea Manning’s Prison Sentence

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Written by Brendan Karet

Published

After President Barack Obama commuted most of Chelsea Manning’s remaining prison sentence, right-wing media figures responded by attacking her gender identity, denouncing transition-related care, and hoping Manning would commit suicide.

President Obama Commutes Bulk Of Chelsea Manning’s Sentence

New York Times: President Obama Commutes Bulk Of Chelsea Manning’s Sentence. In a January 17 report, the New York Times reported “President Obama on Tuesday largely commuted the remaining prison sentence of Chelsea Manning,” in a decision that “rescued Ms. Manning, who twice tried to kill herself last year, from an uncertain future as a transgender woman incarcerated at the men’s military prison at Fort Leavenworth”:

President Obama on Tuesday largely commuted the remaining prison sentence of Chelsea Manning, the army intelligence analyst convicted of an enormous 2010 leak that revealed American military and diplomatic activities across the world, disrupted the administration and made WikiLeaks, the recipient of those disclosures, famous.

The decision by Mr. Obama rescued Ms. Manning, who twice tried to kill herself last year, from an uncertain future as a transgender woman incarcerated at the men’s military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. She has been jailed for nearly seven years, and her 35-year sentence was by far the longest punishment ever imposed in the United States for a leak conviction. [New York Times, 1/17/17]

Right-Wing Media Figures Respond To Pardon With Transphobic Slurs, Fantasize About Manning Killing Herself

Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro: “Traitors Are Bad Whether They’re Men Or Men Who Think They’re Women.”

[Twitter, 1/17/17]

Conservative Writer Matthew Vadum: “There Is A High Probability He/She/It Will Die By Suicide Anyway, So There Is A Silver Lining To The Bradley Manning Commutation.”

[Twitter, 1/17/17]

Matthew Vadum: “Bradley/Chelsea Manning Will Probably Kill Itself Anyway Because Trannies Are Severely Mentally Ill By Definition.”

[Twitter, 1/17/17]

National Review’s Jim Geraghty: “FWIW, I Still Think They’re All Bad Guys.”

[Twitter.com, 1/17/17]

The Resurgent’s Erick Erickson: “On The Bright Side, Taxpayers Won’t Have To Keep Paying For The Bradley Manning’s Sex Change Nonsense.”

[Twitter.com. 1/17/17]

Daily Caller’s Jim Treacher: “What A Perfect Capper To The Identity-Politics Nightmare Of The Past Decade.”

[Twitter, 1/17/17]

The Blaze’s Matt Walsh: “A Man Is Allowed To Commit Treason So Long As He Pretends To Be A Woman Afterwards?”

[Twitter, 1/17/17]

Conservative Radio Host Steve Deace: “If Bradley Manning Had Not Joined A Cherished Leftist Victim Class He’d Be Rotting In Prison Where He Belongs.”

[Twitter, 1/17/17]

Conservative Media Analyst Mark Dice: “Chelsea Manning Is Lucky She Has Trans-Privilege Or Else Obama Would Have Let Her Rot In Prison.”

[Twitter, 1/17/17]

Media Research Center’s Dan Gainor: “Libs Do Love Their #LGBT Traitors.”

[Twitter, 1/17/17]

Conservative Commentator Ann Coulter: “If Putin Wants Sanctions Removed By Obama, He’s Got To Take Off His Shirt Again And Put On A Blouse.”

[Twitter, 1/17/17]

Daily Wire Editor-At-Large John Nolte: “Chelsea Manning Was Freed To Ghostwrite Obama’s Upcoming Bio … ‘Ha Ha, I’m Really A Gay Muslim Born In Kenya.'”

[Twitter, 1/17/17]

Fox’s Greg Gutfeld Attacks Chelsea Manning's Health Problems: Weren't They “Because Of Herself?” On the January 17 edition of Fox News' The Five, Fox host Greg Gutfeld attacked Manning for her suicide attempts and blamed her for her health issues in prison:

GREG GUTFELD (CO-HOST): I'm not a fanning of Chelsea Manning, that's for sure. Why did this happen? Why did this happen? One, because when she was a he, leaked incredible information, lots of information about our embassies, about intel that had to do with how we were treating prisoners. He was a hero, then he became a she, and then became a different kind of hero, a hero in the transgendered community and in the media because that is something to be -- that's admirable. You put that together, how could she lose?

And then you have this concern about her health, that her health is under threat in prison, but is the threat to her health because of herself? I think she has attempted to kill herself twice, a number of times. So, if you want to get pardoned -- I mean, if this were just an average guy that had leaked this stuff and just went to jail as an average guy and didn't go and -- and have a sex change and become a sympathetic character, would that person be treated differently?

KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE (CO-HOST): Suicides, yeah right.

GUTFELD: Yeah, I think that -- I think the person would be treated differently than Chelsea Manning. [Fox News, The Five, 1/17/17]

Ben Stein: Obama Pardoned Manning Because Of “Nebulous” Dysphoria “Of Gender Differences Or Gender Wishes.” On the January 17 edition of Fox News’ Your World with Neil Cavuto, frequent Fox guest Ben Stein asserted President Obama had commuted Chelsea Manning’s sentence “on the basis of something very nebulous, dysphoria because of gender differences or gender wishes”:

BEN STEIN: I'm all for having better conditions in prisons, I think it's absolutely vital. But to let go of somebody who leaked very important documents, and to do it on the basis of something very nebulous, dysphoria because of gender differences or gender wishes just doesn't make any sense. Look, we have laws. This president and this Democratic Party don't believe in enforcing the laws. I think Donald Trump does. [Fox News, Your World with Neil Cavuto, 1/17/17]