Four weeks ago, when Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension from his late-night show dominated headlines, a less-watched yet infinitely worse television controversy unfolded. Brian Kilmeade, co-host of Fox & Friends, suggested euthanizing homeless people who don’t want to accept government assistance. He wasn’t fired or even suspended. But he should’ve been. Not doing so sets a horrible precedent.
The panel was discussing the recent stabbing death of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, killed by a mentally ill homeless man on a light rail in Charlotte, N.C. The conversation turned to whether homeless people who reject government programs should be jailed. Kilmeade took the opportunity to butt in and offer his thoughtful suggestion: “Or, uh, involuntary lethal injection or something. Just kill ‘em.”
I watched this video a couple of weeks ago and was, needless to say, stunned by what he said. I might’ve just taken it as black humor if he hadn’t so clearly meant it. At first, Kilmeade’s statement seemed so outrageous that I assumed it had to be taken out of context. Yet, this wasn’t some hot mic moment or private off-color remark. This was a seasoned television presenter who’s been in broadcasting for over 40 years, openly advocating murder on live television. Worse still, he doubled down after the words “involuntary lethal injection” — a euphemism for cold-blooded murder if I’ve ever heard one — left his lips and clarified, quite eloquently, “Just kill ‘em.” Nice job, Brian.
This story may be a few weeks old, but it continues to shock me that Kilmeade still has his job, regardless of Jimmy Kimmel’s return. This isn’t a political issue, and it has nothing to do with Fox News’ right-wing lean. This is about basic human decency and compassion — qualities Kilmeade demonstrated he so clearly lacks.
Luckily, Kilmeade’s comment didn’t completely skirt controversy. Many X users helpfully pointed out that a major cable news host had just called for the extermination of millions of Americans, which, I hope, is still widely seen as a bad thing. Others focused on the fact that many of America’s homeless population are veterans and calling for them to be euthanized is probably a bad take.
Under mounting pressure, Kilmeade issued an on-air apology the following Sunday for what he called his “extremely callous remark,” adding that “so many homeless people deserve our empathy and compassion.” It wasn’t a persuasive apology, but somehow Kilmeade skated by.
Now, weeks later, when I’m sitting upstairs at ’53 Commons and see Fox News on TV in the other room and Brian Kilmeade appear as though nothing happened, I find myself wondering: how does this man still have his job?
This bizarre situation also has implications for debates in our own community. Dartmouth Dialogues, launched by the administration in January of last year, prides itself on platforming ideologies that differ from the prevailing views of the student body. This begs the question: if the opportunity arose, would Mr. Kilmeade be invited to share his opinions about the homeless? At what point would we draw the line between bridging divides and platforming hate? Clearly, joking — or trying to make it seem like you were joking — about the extermination of the homeless is not a red line for major political factions in this country.
If Kilmeade can get away with saying this, then what vile garbage could a pundit not get away with saying? Where do we draw the line? It’s a slippery slope, but one that must be considered.
At least here at Dartmouth, there should be nothing political about what Kilmeade said. Conservatives should acknowledge that this warrants his dismissal and that should be the end of the story. Unfortunately, as has become a dangerous trend, political tribalism has made the American right protect Kilmeade not out of any principle, but out of a supposed necessity.
Now, this isn’t a phenomenon that exists only on one side of the political aisle, but I’ve noticed it is more prevalent on the right. The Democratic Party can be called a lot of things, but one thing they’re not is protective of their own, possibly to a fault — just look at how they tossed out Minnesota Senator Al Franken.
Dartmouth Republicans, do you want Brian Kilmeade on your team? I sure wouldn’t — no more than I’d like to call Andrew Cuomo and Bob Menendez proud leaders of the Democrat party.
In the end, those on the right, here at Dartmouth and around the country, should be fighting for Kilmeade’s firing the most vocally. After all, he represents the Republican Party on TV every day, and pushing for murdering the homeless hopefully isn’t the best pitch to vote red this November – although these days who’s to say…
Opinion articles represent the views of their author(s), which are not necessarily those of The Dartmouth.
