Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez seems to have a knack for placing blame where it doesn’t belong. This time, it’s on a well-known television personality.
According to the New York Democrat, Fox News’ Judge Jeanine Pirro is at least partly responsible for a recent death threat against Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN).
Finding a scapegoat
Ocasio-Cortez made the accusation in a tweet posted on Saturday evening.
“Understand when Jeanine Pirro goes on Fox [and] rallies people to think hijabs are threatening, it leads to this,” AOC wrote of the threat against Omar.
The freshman congresswoman was referring to a comment Pirro made on her Saturday evening program in March questioning whether Omar’s choice to wear a hijab signals her lack of allegiance to the U.S. Constitution. Pirro’s remark was widely condemned, including by Fox News, who suspended the host for two weeks.
“Folks who imply we’re ‘bad’ for politics, the party, the country, etc. have no idea the threats we deal [with] because of that kind of language,” Ocasio-Cortez continued. “Talk policy, not personal.”
Understand when Jeanine Pirro goes on Fox + rallies people to think hijabs are threatening, it leads to this.
Folks who imply we’re “bad” for politics, the party, the country, etc. have no idea the threats we deal w/ because of that kind of language.
Talk policy, not personal. https://t.co/udFg3LMdgB
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 7, 2019
Unexcusable threats
Pirro was blamed by AOC for the actions of 55-year-old Patrick Corlineo, who called Omar a “terrorist” and threatened to kill her in a phone call with a member of her Washington staff on March 21.
“Do you work for the Muslim Brotherhood?” he allegedly said. “Why are you working for her, she’s a [censored] terrorist. I’ll put a bullet in her [censored] skull.”
Corlineo gave the staff members his name and contact information, and was later arrested and charged with threatening to assault and murder a United States official.
But while Corlineo’s actions can’t be excused, it’s hard to place the blame for them on Pirro. After all, Pirro has a right to free speech, and she certainly didn’t call for Omar’s death.
Moreover, Omar has certainly not helped herself stay out of trouble, either. Since taking office, she has earned the ire of many Americans with her repeated anti-Semitic remarks, which she has merely half-heartedly apologized for.
But at the end of the day, the person at fault for this disgusting threat is Patrick Corlineo — and him alone. AOC should leave Judge Jeanine out of it.
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