Popular Fox News host Jeanine Pirro been suspended for insensitive remarks about Muslim congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s patriotism, a source with knowledge of the matter told The Daily Beast on Sunday, hours after President Trump angrily pushed back that one of his favorite TV personalities be put back on air.
It was not clear how long the cable news channel plans to suspend Pirro, but she was bumped from her usual 9 p.m. time slot Saturday night and there has been no statement regarding her return. CNN first broke news of Pirro’s suspension Sunday.
Reached for comment, a Fox News spokesperson declined to talk about Pirro’s status, stating, “we are not commenting on internal scheduling matters.”
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News that Pirro had been bumped from the Fox News lineup set off a Twitter tirade from Trump on Sunday morning with the president shooting off a series of tweets urging that Pirro be brought back on the air.
“Bring back @judgejeanine Pirro,” the president tweeted around 9 a.m. “The Radical Left Democrats, working closely with their beloved partner, the Fake News Media, is using every trick in the book to SILENCE a majority of our Country,” he charged.
The president continued: “Keep fighting for Tucker and fight hard for @JudgeJeanine,” referring to another of his favorite Fox hosts, Tucker Carlson, who has come under fire for recently unearthed misogynistic comments. “Your competitors are jealous—they all want what you’ve got—NUMBER ONE. Don’t hand it to them on a silver platter. They can’t beat you, you can only beat yourselves!”
Fox had previously rebuked Pirro for her remarks on Omar’s hijab. “Is her adherence to this Islamic doctrine indicative of her adherence to Shariah law, which in itself is antithetical to the United States Constitution?” Pirro had asked last week.
Some advertisers protested the remark, and Fox said her views do not “reflect those of the network.” Instead of Justice With Judge Jeanine, viewers saw a rerun of of the documentary series Scandalous in the 9 p.m. Saturday slot.
— Lloyd Grove contributed to this story.
