Fox & Friends didn't like it when the ACLU prevailed and a public high school was forced to take down a painting of Jesus. But when, for no reason other than that certain people were offended, white, Republican Congressional representatives removed a young black man's painting from the walls of Congress, censorship was not a problem - at least on Fox & Friends!
A little backstory: Every year, the U.S. House of Representatives displays the winning painting from each congressional district's Congressional Art Competition. Since May, a painting, done by a young African-American student from Democratic Rep. Lacy Clay's district, which includes Ferguson, Missouri, has been hanging on a Congressional wall. It portrays what the artist feels about social injustice and inequality, particularly as they relate to what happened in Ferguson.
But because the painting shows the police as animals, a number of police organizations around the country got really riled up and, earlier this month, the controversy reached fever peak after Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) took down the painting. It was then re-hung by Clay, then taken down by more Republican members and then re-hung again. So not surprisingly, Fox & Friends provided warm validation for the art thieves.
On January 7th, Fox & Friends' Pete Hegseth and Abby Hunstman couldn't have been happier to interview the first art thief, Hunter, about what the pals described as a very big media deal. The pals chuckled as Hunter proudly proclaimed, "Sometimes, you just gotta get things done." He described his bold move to remove the "offensive" and "despicable" painting. Hunter asserted that because he is "the people's representative," he can "kinda do what I want" and that police officers have thanked him profusely for his action.
Huntsman said, "Yeah" when Hunter said that the Capitol is "not a modern art museum;" but "a place where [irony alert] you have to have respect for everybody." Totally ignoring the issue of police brutality towards minorities, Hunter made this incisive comment: "We ought to be trying to have a peaceful resolution, especially to all the police shootings that we've had here in San Diego and elsewhere."
Huntsman agreed again, saying, "That's what it's all about at the end of the day."
Hunter opined that "school kids should not be seeing policemen portrayed as pigs shooting unarmed people" during their visit to the Capitol.
Hegseth praised Hunter, saying he "took action when other people would not."
On January 11th, after the last theft and re-hanging, Fox & Friends interviewed the latest art thief, Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO). Totally ignoring the substance of the painting, Ainsley Earhardt described it as "depicting cops as pigs."
Lamborn said the painting was "blatant violation" of the art contest rules which, on the website, do not cite content but, rather, dimensions and weight. He complained about [irony alert] how the painting was "hateful and divisive" in showing cops killing people. More irony in his comment about how the art is supposed to reflect Congress (it's not) and Congress (cough) "doesn't want to promote hatred and divisiveness."
Lamborn lied about the art competition in scolding Rep. Clay for not "picking out" art that reflects Congress when "members do not select the artists, do not sign off on the artistic concepts and have no role in judging the competition." Ignoring the context of the painting, as did Hunter, Lamborn called it "disrespectful" to show cops killing people.
After noting that the painting was back up, Lamborn said he hoped it would be taken down again, but not by him.
Validation was provided with Earhardt's lament that police officers "protect all of you that are working for our great country."
Brian Kilmeade falsely said about the contest, "450 entrants and that was the winner" when there is no one national winner, rather "The winning entry from each congressional district across the United States is displayed for one year in the Cannon Tunnel of the U.S. Capitol."
People as animals - guess the GOP reps and the Fox friends have never read Orwell's "Animal House?"
Note: "The American public will no longer have to view this seditious art. The architect of the U.S. Capitol has determined that a controversial painting hung by a Missouri congressman violates standards adopted by House officials and will be removed on Tuesday."
Check out the love, from January 7th and January 11th Fox & Friends, below: