Fox News’ Katie Pavlich came up with an especially vile and bigoted smear when it was her turn to attack Democratic candidate and phenom Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over her decision to bar the press from two town halls.

Fox’s obsession with Ocasio-Cortez continued on the Outnumbered show today. Today’s excuse for attacking her: the town hall decision.

Let me say that excluding press from a candidate’s town halls makes me queasy. But if she’s doing lots more that will be open to the press (she says future ones will be open), then this does not seem like a big deal. Besides, I’ve yet to see this show do a whole segment sneering at Donald Trump who not only banned a CNN reporter for asking questions but has repeatedly attacked the media as an “enemy of the people.” Trump wouldn’t even allow anyone other than a translator, into his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

But on Trump TV, attacking a not-yet-first-term Democratic Congresswoman is a more important task than questioning the demonizing of the press by the man in the Oval Office.

In fact, Lisa “Kennedy” Montgomery made Trump a conservative victim. “This, of course, as the president regularly faces criticism for his treatment of the press,” Kennedy said, as if the two situations were at all equivalent.

“Say what you will about the president’s fire and fury against the press,” Kennedy added. “At least he invites them to events.” She got hearty chuckles from the others. But, in fact, Trump frequently does not invite the press. The Pentagon has been punishing critical reporters by barring access, too. Ditto for the EPA. Yet not one of the three other cohosts corrected Kennedy’s falsehood.

According to Ocasio-Cortez, her decision was based on the fact that her district is 50% immigrants, includes victims of domestic violence and those with other sensitive issues she wanted them to be free to discuss. However, cohost Charles Payne sneered, “I think she was only protecting one person and that was her because she can’t get her act together, she can’t articulate her own message.” Nevertheless, he acknowledged, “She’s powerful, she’s dynamic.” Presumably, that is why Fox can’t stop talking about her.

But cohost Katie Pavlich took the smearing to new lows:

PAVLICH: She says that 50% of the community are immigrants but, at the same time, doesn’t want to let anyone in to meet who these people are, which signals to me that they’re actually illegal immigrants and that they are harboring them and they don’t want the press to expose that they’re here illegally.

That seemed to be a bridge too far for cohost Melissa Francis who interrupted that vein of discussion . But rather than come right out and acknowledge that Pavlich had zero basis for such a claim, Francis said Pavlich had fallen into Ocasio-Cortez’ “trap.”

“It’s obviously just an excuse, she’s throwing it out there,” Francis said, “but it’s so cheap to use that. I mean it’s so tawdry.” As if baselessly claiming Ocasio-Cortez is “harboring” illegal immigrants isn’t cheap and tawdry.

And then Francis changed the subject to Hillary Clinton. Because, yeah, she’s so relevant to this election cycle. Ocasio-Cortez is “taking a page out of Hillary’s book,” Francis said. It’s hard to imagine two Democrats less alike than Clinton and Ocasio-Cortez. But hey, maybe all Democrats look alike to this gang.

Watch the fear covered up by smears below, from the August 20, 2018 Outnumbered.

(H/T Richard)