A Fox News anchor hosted a segment with a Tea Party leader and claimed U.S. Olympic gold medal winner Gabby Douglas and others aren’t showing enough patriotism because their uniforms aren’t covered in stars and stripes.
“There was a proud moment at the Olympics yesterday when 16-year old Gabby Douglas won a gold medal in gymnastics,” Fox News guest host Alisyn Camerota said Friday. “The crowd went wild with cheers – though we’re not hearing the chants of ‘USA, USA’ that we’ve heard in some Olympics gone by. And some folks have noticed that American athletes’ uniforms don’t carry the Stars and Stripes look as much as they had in past years. The famous flag-style outfits worn in years past replaced with yellow shirts, gray tracksuits, pink leotards. So how do we show our patriotism at the games?”
News Hounds reports:
Rather than interview somebody who might be in the know about the design of the uniforms and the behavior of the crowd, the only guest was David Webb, Tea Party radio host on Sirius/XM’s “Patriot†channel. The choice of Webb as guest was proof positive that Camerota and Fox were looking to politicize the Olympics rather than inform about them. Even though America Live, which airs from 1-3 PM ET, is supposed to be part of Fox News’ “objective newsâ€Â programming.
Camerota next specifically fingered Gabby Douglas as a suspect in the case of the missing patriotic bona fides:
So, um, you know, Gabby had that great moment – everybody was so excited – and she’s in hot pink! And that’s her prerogative but there were, you know… (her voice trailed off).
Webb agreed the hot pink was Douglas’ prerogative. But, he added accusingly, “(G)ymnasts also adjust their uniforms within boundaries sometimes.†Of course, all the American gymnasts wore the same pink leotard. What was Gabby supposed to do, sew or paint stars and stripes on hers? Make her own out of a flag?
Webb, an African American who is often a designated black attacker on Fox, continued, “But look. Here we go. I’m proud to be an American… What’s wrong with showing pride? What we’re seeing is this kind of soft anti-American feeling that Americans can’t show our exceptionalism. And, frankly, if they are offended about our showing our exceptionalism, then they have that right and I don’t care. And neither do most Americans.â€
Newsflash for Webb. Isn’t the best way to show “American exceptionalism†at the Olympics with athletic prowess? Or would Webb and Camerota have been happier if the Douglas had lost but shouted out “USA!†after performing on every apparatus?
You’ll notice the chyron in the video, below, reads: “New concerns about American patriotism at the Olympics.” A Google search found only Fox had expressed concerns.