In her desperate and misguided attempt to normalize the modern-day concentration camps at which the Trump administration is collecting children that have been ripped from their parents seeking legal asylum at the border, Fox News’ Laura Ingraham blithely suggested earlier this week that the detention centers are akin to “summer camps.”
I don't know what the fuck kind of summer camp Laura Ingraham went to… pic.twitter.com/MiWewWQpAg
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) June 19, 2018
Despite the fact that many on both sides of the aisle have spoken out – including all five First Ladies (Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Rosalynn Carter, Laura Bush and even Melania Trump), former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, Republican Senator John McCain, and the 49 Senators (no Republicans) who currently support legislation that would end the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” policy of separating parents and children at the border – Ingraham nonetheless defends the practice on national television.
It seems that her misguided comments are finally hitting her where it hurts: financially. InterActiveCorp., a media and internet company, has pulled its advertising from Ingraham’s show. Where two companies that IAC represents – HomeAdvisor and Angie’s List – had previously aired ads during The Ingraham Angle, those ads will no longer air, per Politico.
Fox News, for its part, has remained defiant amid the departures. “There’s been no impact on our business, and new advertisers continue to opt in for our powerful prime-time lineup,” according to a Fox News spokesperson.
The departure follows a renewed boycott call by David Hogg, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivor who had previously spearheaded a brutally effective boycott campaign against the reviled Fox News host when she opted to mock him after getting rejected from a college to which he had applied.
Wanna go to summer camp @IngrahamAngle? https://t.co/U9peuHehV5
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) June 19, 2018
So @IngrahamAngle we meet again. Who are you biggest advertisers now?
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) June 19, 2018
If this renewed boycott is anything like the last, Ingraham will have plenty to worry about.
Her preview slew of lost sponsors included IBM, Allstate, Blue Apron, Slimfast, Bayer, Honda, Ruby Tuesday, Liberty Mutual, Office Depot, Nestle, Wayfair, TripAdvisor, Nutrish, Expedia, Joseph A. Banks, Hulu, Stitch Fix, Atlantis Bahamas, Jenny Craig, Miracle-Ear, and Johnson & Johnson.
Amid the previous exodus, Ingraham did attempt to issue a half-hearted apology to Hogg.
Any student should be proud of a 4.2 GPA —incl. @DavidHogg111. On reflection, in the spirit of Holy Week, I apologize for any upset or hurt my tweet caused him or any of the brave victims of Parkland. For the record, I believe my show was the first to feature David…(1/2)
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) March 29, 2018
… immediately after that horrific shooting and even noted how "poised" he was given the tragedy. As always, he’s welcome to return to the show anytime for a productive discussion. WATCH: https://t.co/5wcd00wWpd (2/2)
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) March 29, 2018
Hogg, for his part, firmly rejected the transparent olive branch as a way to staunch the bleeding.
I 100% agree an apology in an effort just to save your advertisers is not enough. I will only accept your apology only if you denounce the way your network has treated my friends and I️ in this fight. It’s time to love thy neighbor, not mudsling at children. https://t.co/H0yWs4zMGk
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) March 29, 2018
With the kidnapped children in a constant state of despair, and some even considering or attempting suicide, these are no summer camps. Throughout the world, the policy enacted and carried out unilaterally by the Trump administration is being likened to WW2’s Japanese internment camps and even Nazi concentration camps.
Laura Ingraham has already chosen her place in the history books, aligning herself with the Trump administration and its abhorrent policy, but her sponsors can still do what’s right and continue to distance themselves from this vile woman once and for all.
