Fox News weekend host Jeanine Pirro called out Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar for her recent anti-Semitic remarks on her Saturday program, questioning whether the Muslim congresswoman holds an allegiance to Islamic Sharia law over the U.S. Constitution, which she swore an oath to uphold and defend.
Pirro’s commentary predictably drew intense fire from the left, including calls for a boycott of her show and demands that she be terminated from her employment with the No. 1 cable news network.
Pirro questions Omar’s allegiance
Townhall reported that Pirro had referenced Omar’s insistence on wearing the hijab, in addition to her anti-Semitic remarks, as potential evidence of a greater allegiance to Islamic law than U.S. laws.
“Is her adherence to this Islamic doctrine indicative of her adherence to Sharia law, which in itself is antithetical to the United States Constitution?” asked Pirro.
Townhall noted that while Pirro had broached a rather touchy subject with her questioning of Omar’s allegiance, it was nevertheless a question that deserved consideration and an answer.
CAIR demands Pirro’s ouster
Nevertheless, Pirro’s commentary resulted in a statement of condemnation from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which also called on Fox News to fire the popular weekend host.
In a statement released by CAIR’s national executive director Nihad Awad, he said of Pirro, “Such an open and un-American expression of religious bigotry should be rejected by any media outlet seeking even a modicum of credibility.”
“Jeanine Pirro should be fired, and Fox News should apologize to its viewing audience,” he added.
Fox News, Pirro respond
In response to that demand from CAIR, Fox News released a brief statement which declared, “We strongly condemn Jeanine Pirro’s comments about Rep. Ilhan Omar. They do not reflect those of the network and we have addressed the matter with her directly.”
It is unclear exactly what was discussed when the network and Pirro “addressed the matter,” but based on a statement released by Pirro herself, it would appear that she had not been fired, as CAIR demanded.
Pirro said in a statement, “I’ve seen a lot of comments about my opening statement from Saturday night’s show and I did not call Rep. Omar un-American. My intention was to ask a question and start a debate, but of course because one is Muslim does not mean you don’t support the Constitution.”
“I invite Rep. Omar to come on my show any time to discuss all of the important issues facing America today,” Pirro added.