Reacting to the latest escalation of Israeli-Palestinian violence, a Fox Business Network guest suggested Tuesday the only two Muslim women in Congress were terrorist sympathizers—and Varney and Co. host Stuart Varney offered no pushback or follow-up.
After noting that Israeli forces carried out airstrikes on Hamas targets in Gaza following Palestinian rocket attacks on Tel Aviv, Varney brought on Farley Weiss, president of the National Council of Young Israel.
“Farley, I don’t want to be too extreme here, but this is exchange of fire. Is it possible they go to war?” Varney asked, prompting Weiss to describe Hamas as the “epitome of terrorism and of evil.”
ADVERTISEMENT
The Fox Business host went on to note that he hadn’t “heard anything” from Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) about Hamas or the attacks on Israel. Omar has found herself at the center of controversy, especially from the right, over allegations that she has trafficked in anti-Semitic tropes, resulting in Republicans calling for her to be booted from her House committee assignments.
“I haven’t heard anything from her or Rashida Tlaib,” Weiss replied, bringing up the other Muslim woman in Congress. “And I think that we shouldn’t hold our breath to hear anything from them. They don’t seem to side with Israel. They seem to side with the terrorists.”
Varney, meanwhile, skipped right past his guest saying two sitting congresswomen side with terrorists, instead asking Weiss to update his viewers on “the effort to get more Jewish Americans to vote Republican.”
This isn’t the first time Varney has failed to address inflammatory remarks made by one of his guests. Late last year, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) pushed a baseless smear that Jewish philanthropist George Soros was a Nazi collaborator, only for Varney to move right along. Varney would address the issue later in the program, stating that Gohmert’s comments do not reflect his views or the network’s.
In this instance, however, it would appear that there was no later correction or clarification.
