Laura Ingraham’s show used Rep. Ocasio-Cortez's speech condemning sexism to fearmonger about Democrats

The Ingraham Angle included Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s speech calling out Rep. Ted Yoho for calling her a “fucking bitch” in a highlight reel of examples of Democrats supposedly trying to ruin “the old America”

Written by John Whitehouse

Published

Earlier this week, Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL) was caught by a reporter calling Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) a “fucking bitch” after he had confronted her on the Capitol steps on issues of policing and crime. Yoho later gave a speech that New York magazine called a “terrible apology for the ages.”

On Thursday, Ocasio-Cortez responded with a powerful speech on the House floor:

Yoho’s outright sexism and Ocasio-Cortez’s response generally got brief coverage, if any, on Fox. 

In her opening monologue, Laura Ingraham used Ocasio-Cortez’ speech as the first example of Democrats trying to “destroy” “the culture,” “the system,” and “the old America.” And like Special Report, Ingraham’s show censored Ocasio-Cortez’ quote of what Yoho actually said.

From the July 23, 2020, edition of Fox News' The Ingraham Angle

LAURA INGRAHAM (HOST): What you are seeing on the streets, that leftward lurch of the Democrat Party, is their reaction against you. It's not just that they despise Trump. Sure, they do, but they despise you, your patriotism, your churchgoing, your Judeo-Christian values, your belief in personal responsibility and a work ethic, your big families, your SUVs, your guns, all of it. Because you represent the old America that they want to destroy, root and branch. When they say “systemic racism," that means the system, the culture. It has to be taken down. It has to be eradicated and replaced by one that they create in the image of AOC and the squad. The party's true thought leaders.

(CLIP BEGINS)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): Yoho called me, and I quote, “a f---ing b---h."

...

It is a culture of a lack of impunity, of accepting violence and violent language against women.

(CLIP ENDS)

(The other examples in The Ingraham Angle highlight reel are also objectionable, for the record. I’m focusing on this one example given how newsworthy it was this week.)

Ingraham is signaling exactly what she thinks of using sexist slurs when it comes to people she doesn’t like. And while not surprising for Fox News, it is extremely telling.