A NEW FORM OF RESISTANCE
Fox News Crew Who Hosted Wrong Democrat Feeling Really Sorry for Themselves – Throw Online Pity Party
Fox News Hosts Claim They ‘Got Hijacked’ – Democrat Blames Their Lack of ‘Due Dilligance’
The crew of “Fox & Friends First,” the early AM show that airs 4-6 AM ET, apparently mixed up their bookings and put live on-air a Democratic candidate for Congress – but the wrong Democratic candidate for Congress. What followed was an interview that went off-the-rails, with the co-hosts not quite understanding that their guest was Massachusetts state senator Barbara L’Italien, not Arizona’s Ann Kirkpatrick.
L’Italien took the opportunity to “speak directly to Donald Trump,’ and told Fox News viewers that “separating kids from their parents is illegal and inhumane.”
She demanded Trump “stop putting kids in cages,” which the co-hosts tried to insist was not still happening (it is.)
Once the early AM Fox News crew figured out their mistake, they pulled the plug – literally – on L’Italien, whose screen suddenly went blank.
And while they tried to laugh it off, telling viewers, “That didn’t go as planned,” on social media they threw a pity party for themselves.
“Fox & Friends First” cohost Rob Schmitt, rather than apologize to viewers for the embarrassing mixup, attacked his guest. He accused her of hijacking the segment with “a publicity stunt.”
Fun morning. We expected democrat Anne Kirkpatrick (left) but got hijacked by Democrat @teambarbara w/ a publicity stunt 🙄 pic.twitter.com/s5bZ2HOrcz
— Rob Schmitt (@SchmittNYC) July 23, 2018
His tweet almost suggests that the Fox News producers got confused because the two Democrats look somewhat alike, kind of?
Schmitt later went on to claim L’Italien snookered the producers, but how exactly did that happen?
Desperate for attention – @teambarbara pretended to be someone else to multiple people within Fox News and get on tv
— Rob Schmitt (@SchmittNYC) July 23, 2018
Meanwhile, Schmitt’s co-host, Jillian Mele, went nuts.
Looking for sympathy, she attacked L’Italien, for pulling a “weak move.”
I was stuck in an elevator before work then I get to work and this happens. One heck of a Morning so far. By the way, kind of a weak move to do this on live TV. https://t.co/53YLozNChP
— Jillian Mele (@jillianmele) July 23, 2018
Meanwhile, Mele wasn’t done.
One Twitter user chastised her decision to work for Fox News:
What the hell happened to @jillianmele? Wonder if she’ll look back someday and wish she had been more patient instead of selling her soul to move up the media food chain. #Sad https://t.co/8xBOXJYKsX
— Jamie O’Grady (@JamieOGrady) July 23, 2018
Mele attacked:
What happened to me? I took a job that I wanted and love. How dare you criticize and judge someone else when what I do, has zero impact on your life. That’s what’s sad. https://t.co/Mze64gMxBU
— Jillian Mele (@jillianmele) July 23, 2018
Her target responded, explaining why her reasoning is dead wrong:
Sorry, @jillianmele, I didn’t get the memo on what is and is not my right to say. When you outright lie about kids being reunited w/ parents, expect to be called out for it. I get it … you’re not a parent, but please, do even a cursory bit of research before spewing propaganda. pic.twitter.com/qMRnxYCdt9
— Jamie O’Grady (@JamieOGrady) July 23, 2018
And so, Mele apparently blocked O’Grady:
Sure, @jillianmele, you can block me, but you impact ALL OF US. You’re not a reporter; you don’t disseminate facts. You’re part of a corrosive, divisive org. existing solely to profit upon the most ill-informed, hateful, & manipulatable among us. You’re a BIG part of the problem. pic.twitter.com/n4KilWeve0
— Jamie O’Grady (@JamieOGrady) July 23, 2018
So, how did this actually happen?
L’Italien’s staff told ThinkProgress:
“They reached out to our staff believing they were reaching the Kirkpatrick office due to their own failure of due diligence,” a source with the L’Italien campaign told ThinkProgress. “Over the process of getting the interview scheduled, they repeatedly showed very little grasp on the facts, down to whether or not Ann Kirkpatrick was still in Congress.”
UPDATE: 11:34 AM ET –
Apparently O’Grady isn’t the only one Mele is blocking:
welp, that earned me an insta-block pic.twitter.com/125VFBo1IR
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 23, 2018
While Schmitt just called his viewers stupid:
On BOTH sides of the aisle are astounding numbers of people who don’t know anything, think they know *everything, and tweet NONSTOP lol
— Rob Schmitt (@SchmittNYC) July 23, 2018
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