Fox News hosts are lashing out at Media Matters amid widespread condemnation after its hosts argued that young women were too ignorant to vote or serve on jury duty.
Host Kimberly Guilfoyle came under fire after arguing that the reason young women don't vote for conservatives is “the same reason why young women on juries are not a good idea -- they don't get it,” adding that she would automatically exclude them from being on a jury so they can “go back on Tinder or Match.com.”
As Huffington Post's Catherine Taibi pointed out, not only is Guilfoyle's argument a “terrible -- and illogical -- idea to convince young people not to vote,” but it's also categorically incorrect. Salon's Jenny Kutner wrote that while young women may “be healthy and hot, and possibly even running around, it's doubtful they're all without a care in the world” as Guilfoyle suggested.
Fox responded to the criticism on October 23, insisting Guilfoyle's comments were “taken completely out of context”:
A full transcript of Guilfoyle's initial comments is included below:
BECKEL: Can I make one point about this gender gap? People have misinterpreted this. Married women vote Republican. Single women vote heavily for Democrats. That's where the gender gap comes from.
[...]
GUTFELD: To Bob's point, he is right, that married women tend to be more conservative, but that also correlates with age. And with age comes wisdom. And it's a known fact that the older that you get the more conservative you get. And I always tell young people you don't have to wait to become a conservative, don't waste your time. But the point is a lot of women have also caught on to the big joke which it seems to be even more sexist to assume that women cannot take care of themselves because they're women and therefore need the government to take care of them.
GUILFOYLE: Right, that's the thing, but when you're young like that you think - the same reason why young women on juries are not a good idea - they don't get it. They're not in that same like, life experience of paying the bills, doing the mortgage, kids, community, crime, education, health care. They're like healthy and hot and running around without a care in the world.
BECKEL: They've got every right in the world to be - what do you mean they shouldn't be on jury duty? They've got every right in the world.
GUILFOYLE: I didn't say they shouldn't be, I just thank and excuse them so they can go back on Tinder or Match.com.
Despite Fox News' insistence that they stand behind every individual's right to vote, the network has a history of pushing propaganda to help suppress voting. Only weeks ahead of the upcoming midterm elections, Fox host Tucker Carlson suggested that young women targeted by a recent Republican campaign ad should not vote at all, and host Harris Faulkner questioned whether young people should vote “if they don't know the issues.”