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Twitter Is Fuming About Ingraham's "Summer Camps" Comment
For the second time in just about three months, Fox News host Laura Ingraham has drawn a firestorm of criticism to herself over a comment she made about the news of the day. This time, Ingraham referred to the detention centers for children separated from their parents as "essentially summer camps." Now, less than a day later, there are numerous tweets about Ingraham's "summer camps" comment, all showing that no one is quite ready to let that comment slide.
“As more illegal immigrants are rushing the border, more kids are being separated from their parents and temporarily housed at what are, essentially, summer camps," Ingraham said on her show, The Ingraham Angle. She was referring to the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy, which, as The New York Times reported, insists on separating undocumented would-be immigrant families as a deterrent to immigration.
Recently, reports have emerged showing not only that over 2,000 children have been separated from their families in the last six weeks, as the Department of Homeland Security announced, but also that many of the children in the detention centers are downright miserable. Ingraham happened to call the centers "summer camps" on the same day that a ProPublica report came out, allowing people to hear exactly how miserable the children were.
Ingraham clarified what she meant, in a statement from Fox News Channel’s The Ingraham Angle:
Apparently there are a lot of people very upset because we referred to some of the detention facilities tonight as essentially like summer camps. The “San Diego Union Tribune” today described the facilities as essentially like what you would expect at a boarding school. So I will stick to there are some of them like boarding schools. And I suggest that a lot of the folks who are worried about that spend more time in Central America. I have. And we should make adoption easier for American couples who want to adopt these kids.
This, however, has not quelled the angry tweets rolling in in response to Ingraham.
1From A Previous Target
Ingraham previously landed herself in hot water — and lost numerous sponsors — after she criticized Parkland shooting survivor and activist David Hogg for his college admissions results, as The Wrap reported. Now, Hogg is hitting back yet again.
2Ingraham's Own Camp Experience, Perhaps?
Maybe she's just pulling from her own memories, some responders have suggested.
3She's Got Competition
Ingraham did move some focus away from Department of Homeland Security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, whose press conference about the family separation policy earlier on Monday was full of falsehoods and misleading statements about the policy's genesis and its effects.
4A Call For Empathy
Another common question from those responding to Ingraham asked her to consider whether she would put her own children in a similar "summer camp."
5Another Euphemism
"Summer camps," people feel, was an overly kind phrase to describe the detention centers for children separated for their parents. So, one person offered another overly kind phrase.
6Imagining An Ingraham-Run Summer Camp
In addition to the "summer camps" comment, the second part of the tweet references not only Ingraham's comments about Hogg but also her statement that athletes such as LeBron James should just "shut up and dribble" instead of offering political commentary.
7An Activist Response
After facing a boycott over the David Hogg comments, it's happening to Ingraham again now.
8Some Kennels Are Actually Pretty Nice ...
The Atlantic described the debate over whether the children are actually being kept in "cages," but there's no doubt that the facilities look fairly similar to your run-of-the-mill dog kennel.
9A Comment From Someone In The Business
Some people in the television industry have been willing to take a stand, at least on Twitter, against statements like Ingraham's.
10Strong Words For Ingraham
Some consider the detention facilities more like summer camps — while some consider them more like jails.
11Likening Ingraham to A Similar Character
This Twitter commentator saw some similarities between Ingraham and a fairy tale character — but not one of the good fairy tale characters.
Clearly, Twitter isn't done roasting Ingraham for her comments. It remains to be seen whether Ingraham is done making similar comments on this — or other — Trump policies.
