Somewhere, Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer and contributor Tammy Bruce should be hanging their heads in shame for having smeared a 10 year-old autistic boy over his interaction with Vice President Mike Pence.
As Mom Dr. Ingrid Herrera-Yee explained yesterday on CNN, her son, Michael Yee, a military child, was thrilled to meet Vice President Mike Pence in the White House last week as part of National Military Appreciation Month. She also explained that Michael is “on the autism spectrum” and that learning manners has been a big part of his education.
So when Pence’s open arms accidentally struck Michael, the boy’s request for an apology was part of his focus on manners, not a complaint, his mother said. As you can see in the video, Pence handled the request gracefully. He hugged Michael and apologized.
But Fox, ever on the lookout for excuses to smear the left, attacked Michael as a spoiled snowflake (transcript partially via Media Matters):
HEMMER: Kids these days, what - they’re telling their parents what to do, they’re telling their teachers what to do, and I guess they’re telling the vice president what to do.
BRUCE: I guess we’re giving birth to snowflakes now because that looked like that kid needed a safe space in that room.
[…] The eight year-old pretty much stalked the vice president afterwards. He wasn't even -- the headlines said he was "hit, he was struck, he was smashed, he was bumped." The fabric on his sleeve touched his nose maybe. He stalks the vice president, says, "you owe me an apology." This is like he was channeling [University of Missouri professor] Melissa Click wanting to get some muscle into the room. This is crazy. Now look, he's seen it either on television, maybe he's seen it at home perhaps, but he felt aggrieved because, I don't know, the vice president maybe slightly touched his nose. It's pretty amazing.
Obviously, neither Bruce nor Hemmer did any investigation prior to smearing Michael. Nor did they consider the hurt they might be causing. Herrera-Yee said that though she tried to shield her children from this, Michael’s brother saw comments online, tried to defend his brother and was so viciously attacked, she found him crying.
Herrera-Yee thinks Fox News owes her family an apology (via Media Matters):
HERRERA-YEE: I'd want to ask on his behalf for Fox News to apologize for having used my son out of context, and using those really, you know, horrible words to describe him and our family. That's really what I would want to come out of this is just more awareness.
And please don't use kids, whether, you know, they are typically developing kids, it doesn't matter that he's autistic or he's a military kid. Forget all that. He's a kid. And you don't use children as examples on national television like that. I would hope that this is the very last time that this happens.
We hope so, too, Dr. Herrera-Yee. You and your family deserve a huge apology. In fact, if Fox had any class, they'd not only apologize but arrange for Michael to meet the president.
Watch Herrera-Yee’s soft-spoken shredding of Fox News’ cruelty below, from CNN's May 15, 2017 The Lead with Jake Tapper. Underneath is the clip Tammy Bruce should be ashamed of, from the May 12, 2017 Tucker Carlson Tonight. Both are via Media Matters.
Because Fox News is the last place I’d turn to set my moral compass. They can keep their hypocrisy to themselves.
I didn’t know the context of her apology so it’s nice to get it here.
FOX is the main reason for the divide in this country today. They inject their poison 24/7/365. They need to be destroyed – utterly & completely.