Trump commands Fox News to air Jeanine Pirro's show after the network skipped an episode following comments about Rep. Ilhan Omar's hijab
- President Donald Trump demanded that Fox News reinstate Jeanine Pirro's show after the network didn't air a new episode Saturday night.
- Fox News declined to comment on why a new episode didn't air, but one report indicated that she has been suspended from the network for two weeks
- A week earlier, Pirro created controversy when she suggested Rep. Ilhan Omar's hijab is "antithetical to the United States Constitution."
- Fox News condemned her for the comment, but Pirro didn't apologize.
- Pirro has a long history of anti-Muslim remarks and has numerous associations with Islamophobic groups and people.
President Donald Trump complained about Jeanine Pirro's show not being aired Saturday night and demanded the network reinstate it.
Fox News, which airs Pirro's show "Justice with Judge Jeanine," declined to comment to news organizations on its decision to not air a new episode Saturday. The episode cancellation followed Pirro's controversial remarks a week earlier about Rep. Ilhan Omar's religious observance.
"We're not commenting on internal scheduling matters," a spokesperson told INSIDER.
One source reportedly told CNN's Brian Stelter that Pirro has been suspended from the network.
In a series of tweets, Trump repeated a conspiracy theory that media organizations and "The Radical Left Democrats" are working together to "silence a majority of our country."
Bring back @JudgeJeanine Pirro. 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. They have all out campaigns against @FoxNews hosts who are doing too well. Fox .....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2019
....must stay strong and fight back with vigor. Stop working soooo hard on being politically correct, which will only bring you down, and continue to fight for our Country. The losers all want what you have, don’t give it to them. Be strong & prosper, be weak & die! Stay true....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2019
....to the people that got you there. Keep fighting for Tucker, and fight hard for @JudgeJeanine. 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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2019
Fox News aired "Scandalous," a documentary about Bill Clinton's impeachment, in Pirro's time slot Saturday.
Pirro's show a week earlier sparked controversy when she suggested that Rep. Ilhan Omar's hijab was anti-American.
"Think about it: Omar wears a hijab," Pirro said. "Is her adherence to this Islamic doctrine indicative of her adherence to Sharia law, which in itself is antithetical to the United States Constitution?"
Pirro didn't apologize for those remarks in her public statement following the controversy, instead inviting Rep. Omar on to her show.
"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," she said in the statement. "I invite Rep. Omar to come on my show any time to discuss all of the important issues facing Americans today."
In the same statement released to reporters, Fox News denounced Pirro's comments.
"We strongly condemn Jeanine Pirro's comments about Rep. Ilhan Omar," Fox News said in a statement. "They do not reflect those of the network and we have addressed the matter with her directly."
Pirro has a long history of making inflammatory comments about Muslims and associating with people and groups who have spread anti-Muslim conspiracy theories.
She is a staunch supporter of Trump himself who, as a candidate, called for banning all Muslims from traveling to the United States and has spread numerous conspiracy theories about them. Pirro in 2014 received an award from the Center for Security Policy, a group that promotes anti-Muslim conspiracy theories, according to the Anti-Defamation League. In a 2015 Fox News column, she condemned the Muslim civil rights advocacy group CAIR, the idea of interfaith dialogue, and the decision to invite Muslims to worship in the national cathedral in Washington, DC.
"They can kill us, but we can't hurt their feelings?" she wrote, speculating that "There will be efforts to limit our First Amendment — our free speech — to comply with Sharia blasphemy laws which call for death to those who slander the prophet Mohammad."
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