Fox’s Brian Kilmeade brings up Ocasio-Cortez unprompted while discussing New Zealand shooting

Fox often inserts Ocasio-Cortez into discussions that don’t include her

Written by Courtney Hagle

Published

On March 15, a gunman reportedly killed 49 people in mass shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. Fox & Friends invited Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) to discuss the devastating nature of the attack. Kinzinger said it’s terrible to “attack somebody because of their faith at a place of worship,” adding that he is praying and that “thoughts and prayers are impactful.” At this point, co-host Brian Kilmeade jumped in to say, “AOC says don't say thoughts and prayers.”

Kilmeade was referring to a late-night tweet from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) in which she expressed her frustration with the disturbing recent trend of shootings occurring at places of worship, such as the Pittsburgh, PA, shooting at a synagogue in 2018 and the Charleston, SC, shooting at a church in 2015. Ocasio-Cortez finished her tweet by asking, “What good are your thoughts & prayers when they don’t even keep the pews safe?”

Kilmeade’s comment fits into a trend on Fox News of pivoting conversations to talk about Ocasio-Cortez and purposefully misrepresenting her opinions in an attempt to smear her.

From the March 15 edition of Fox News’ Fox & Friends:

REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): It's awful. I mean, you know, anybody being attacked is terrible; when you focus on somebody because of their faith at a place of worship it's especially disheartening. I was in New Zealand I think about a year ago now and it's just not a place you would expect to see anything like this. So thoughts and prayers, and we mean it. Thoughts and prayers are impactful. Please pray for the people that are going through this.

BRIAN KILMEADE (CO-HOST): AOC says don't say thoughts and prayers.

KINZINGER: I know. You know what, when she says that -- when I saw that, it just doubled down my determination to tell people to do that. Prayer means something and faith means something. And I think even though we may all have different faiths, let's all stand together at this moment.