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Fox News Host Gets Dragged as ‘Complete Moron’ for Falsely Claiming America Was First to End Slavery (Video)

Fox News host Katie Pavlich is under fire for her false claim that America was “the first country” to end slavery “within 150 years.” She was also criticized for demanding America deserves “credit” for ending slavery, when as even her Fox News co-hosts noted, it took a deadly civil war to do so.
“They keep blaming America for slavery, but the truth is that throughout human history slavery has existed,” Pavlich complained on Tuesday. “America came along as the first country to end it within 150 years. And we get no credit for that.”
Fox’s Pavlich complains that America gets no credit for ending slavery.
“They keep blaming America for slavery, but the truth is that throughout human history slavery has existed. America came along as the first country to end it within 150 years. And we get no credit for that.” pic.twitter.com/d4deB0lrbB
— Lis Power (@LisPower1) March 19, 2019
Pavlich’s “within 150 years” claim appears to be mean within 150 years of being founded as an independent nation.
And it’s false, as historian and author Kevin Kruse noted:
Years between independence and abolition of slavery:
Haiti: 0
Costa Rica: 3
El Salvador: 3
Guatemala: 3
Honduras: 3
Chile: 5
Bolivia: 6
Uruguay: 8
Nicaragua: 17
Mexico: 19
Paraguay: 29
Colombia: 41
Venezuela: 43
Argentina: 45
Brazil: 66USA: 87https://t.co/IGoUmmhsgc
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) March 8, 2019
CNN’s Nathan McDermott adds:
America was one of the last countries in the western world to abolish slavery, and while others ended it peacefully, we fought a war over it, but sure.
With the complete ignorance so many Americans have about our own history, is it any wonder we have the problems we have today? https://t.co/dKFkZdg4u8
— Nathan McDermott (@natemcdermott) March 19, 2019
Journalist, media executive and former CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien weighed in:
Is it hard for @KatiePavlich to be a complete moron? The utter stupidity. https://t.co/X882Qvappc
— Soledad O’Brien (@soledadobrien) March 19, 2019
Pavlich, apparently angry, responded, again, with a totally false tweet:
Should have said one of* first countries, from the point of founding. My argument stands, but please @soledadobrien please continue name calling as your argument and the smearing of America as the originator of slavery. https://t.co/95dhf2b9aR
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) March 19, 2019
Meanwhile, the internet responded.
Washington Post opinion columnist and MSNBC contributor:
Make it stop, Lord. Make it stop. #ignoranceisahelluvadrug https://t.co/7Z15YzhLAl
— Jonathan Capehart (@CapehartJ) March 19, 2019
Media Matters’ reporter:
“why doesn’t the united states get any credit for taking a century and a half to decide that maybe we shouldn’t own human beings as farm equipment” – katie pavlich basically
— Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) March 19, 2019
some will notice that pavlich’s “150 years” figure means she either thinks the united states was founded in 1715, or american slavery didn’t end until 1926. i’m not sure one can determine what the fuck she is referencing
— Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) March 19, 2019
More:
Hi from the British Empire https://t.co/Ce6Sc43acy
— David Frum (@davidfrum) March 19, 2019
“We get no credit” for it because it isn’t true. https://t.co/LbY4YzsHJ2
— Joshua D. Rothman (@rothmanistan) March 19, 2019
Fox’s Katie Pavlich complains that the US doesn’t get enough credit for ENDING slavery.
Up next: “Is Hitler underrated as a man? After all, there were more than six million Jews in the world.” https://t.co/zIYPU9QrcF
— Bryan Behar (@bryanbehar) March 19, 2019
Britain abolished slavery throughout the British Empire with the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833, 3 whole decades before America got round to it. https://t.co/qNxbJ4OwuY
— Danielle Blake (@abradacabla) March 19, 2019
Fox News pundits are not journalists. https://t.co/82CWNjs9Ur
— Holy Bullies (@holybullies) March 19, 2019
This is both historically inaccurate (many countries banned slavery within 150 years of independence, including El Salvador and Mexico) but also, the argument that America should get credit for ending a practice America engaged in with gusto makes little sense. https://t.co/UMj2J3IYwR
— Jane Coaston (@cjane87) March 19, 2019
Let’s put slavery aside for a minute. Let’s discuss why Black folks NEEDED the Civil Rights movement. Voting Rights. Let’s discuss mass incarceration, police brutality (which yall NEVER want to hear from Blk/POC perspectives), voter oppression. Education system. https://t.co/Z2OPAxKA2k
— I was on the plane with Dwayne (@BrujadeLaMancha) March 19, 2019
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