Fox News host Brian Kilmeade apologized on Sunday for saying days earlier that people who are experiencing homelessness and mental illnesses should be executed – remarks that prompted calls for him to be fired.
The host said his comments on Wednesday were “extremely callous”.
Surveillance video of the Zarutska’s killing went viral online.
During the Fox and Friends appearance on Wednesday discussing Zarutska’s death, co-host Lawrence Jones said unhoused people with mental illness should either accept the publicly funded programs to help in their situation or be jailed.
“This moral asymmetry in the media and online is destroying democracy.” Zarutska’s killing has become an inflection point for Republicans, who are blaming Democratic policies in certain US cities for such crimes.
Following calls for his termination, Fox News host Brian Kilmeade issued an apology on Sunday for his comments days earlier suggesting that those suffering from mental illnesses and homelessness ought to be put to death.
His remarks on Wednesday were described as “extremely callous” by the host.
Kilmeade’s backtracking occurred in the midst of a nationwide campaign to suppress critical remarks about Charlie Kirk, the executive director of Turning Point USA, who was shot dead at a Utah event on Wednesday. People are being disciplined or fired from their jobs across the United States.
Just hours before the conservative political activist was killed, Kilmeade and two other hosts were talking about the August murder of 23-year-old Ukrainian Iryna Zarutska, who was fatally stabbed on a commuter train in North Carolina, on the right-wing Fox News show Fox and Friends.
According to reports, the man who was accused of randomly killing Zarutska in Charlotte had 14 previous criminal arrests and a schizophrenia diagnosis. Online, surveillance footage of the murder of the Zarutska went viral.
Speaking about Zarutska’s passing on Wednesday’s episode of Fox and Friends, co-host Lawrence Jones stated that homeless individuals with mental illnesses should either accept government-funded programs to assist them or face jail time.
Kilmeade replied to Jones, “Lethal injection or something that was involuntary.”. Simply put, kill them. “.”.
Kilmeade’s remarks drew a lot of criticism. “Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered,” read a biblical verse shared on social media by California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, who was one of the people who responded. “.”.
Kilmeade apologized for his suggestion to kill homeless and mentally ill people during an appearance with Jones on Fox & Friends Weekends on Sunday morning.
Kilmeade said, “I said incorrectly that they should receive lethal injections” on Wednesday. “I apologize for making such a heartless comment. It goes without saying that I am aware that not all homeless and mentally ill people behave in the same way as the North Carolina perpetrator, and that there are a lot of homeless people who need our sympathy and understanding. “”.
Unlike other people who were found to have made offensive remarks regarding Kirk’s passing, Kilmeade continued to work for Fox News.
His career path was in stark contrast to that of Dowd, a seasoned political analyst who was fired by MSNBC for implying on-air that Kirk’s far-right rhetoric might have played a role in the violence that claimed his life.
According to Dowd, “hateful thoughts breed hateful words, which breed hateful actions.”. “You cannot stop having these terrible traits, saying these terrible things, and then expect terrible things to happen. “.”.
Apologies were made by Dowd and the network separately. In a Friday Substack article, however, Dowd claimed that he had been attacked by a “right-wing media mob” and that remarks he made prior to being aware that Kirk had been shot were misunderstood.
Author Shannon Watts stated on X that “Kilmeade is calling for extrajudicial executions on FOX, but Matthew Dowd was fired by MSNBC [for] pointing out Charlie Kirk’s dangerous rhetoric.”. Democracy is being destroyed by this moral asymmetry in the media and online. “”.
For Republicans, Zarutska’s murder has become a turning point as they blame Democratic policies in some US cities for these kinds of crimes.
