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‘Fox & Friends’ Host Brian Kilmeade: Who Cares That Beto O’Rourke Reads Books?

LITERACY IS FOR LIBS

‘He has this huge library,’ Kilmeade whined. ‘As if it’s a big plus that he reads books.’

On the morning that former Texas Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke officially announced that he was tossing his hat in the 2020 presidential race, Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade groused over the size of the congressman’s library, asking why anyone would care that O’Rourke reads books.

Prior to the ex-congressman making his official announcement Thursday morning, Vanity Fair’s curtain-raising profile on his intended run noted that O’Rourke's “floor-to-ceiling bookshelf contains a section for rock memoirs (Bob Dylan’s Chronicles, a favorite) and a stack of LPs (the Clash, Nina Simone) but also a sizable collection of presidential biographies.”

Discussing O’Rourke’s launch on Thursday’s Fox & Friends, Kilmeade grumbled that the magazine “helped launch his campaign.” And then the Fox host obsessed over O’Rourke’s reading habits.

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“They also point out that he has this huge library,” he said. “As if it’s a big plus that he reads books.”

Kilmeade, who is the author of several books, continued: “We would assume that. And he talks all the presidential libraries there, and the writer writes, ‘there’s always a sense that he belongs on that,’ as if a book of a president’s is going to be in there.”

This wasn’t the only unintentionally hilarious moment of the day for Kilmeade. Later in the broadcast, the Fox host struggled to name a single pie when co-host Steve Doocy noted that today was Pi Day. Eventually, Kilmeade mentioned small pre-packaged Drake Cakes, prompting Doocy to sigh.

“That’s a cake,” Doocy shouted as co-host Ainsley Earhardt stared into the camera.

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