Rachel Campos-Duffy made a stupid attempt to hit back at President Biden’s WHCD joke about Fox News personnel being vaccinated by announcing that neither she nor cohost Pete Hegseth were vaccinated.
As I noted in my previous post, Biden got big laughs at the White House Correspondents Dinner last night when he took a dig at Fox by saying, “Everyone had to prove they were fully vaccinated and boosted” to attend the dinner. “So, if you're at home watching this, and you're wondering how to do that, just contact your favorite Fox News reporter. They're all here - vaccinated and boosted, all of 'em.”
Obviously, Biden was cracking a joke about the Fox people at the dinner, not speaking literally about every Fox News talking head. But Campos-Duffy thought she had a gotcha. Or maybe she was insulted that anyone would think she might be vaccinated. She announced that she had been invited but didn’t go “for many reasons,” with the vaccine requirement being one of them. Biden “tried to call out Fox News and say, look, Fox News is all vaccinated. No, that’s not true," she griped. Pointing to Hegseth, she added, "He’s not vaccinated, I’m not vaccinated.” Then she squeaked, “We allow people choice and so that’s the part that I thought was so ironic.”
What’s really ironic is that Campos-Duffy thinks she and Fox “allow choice.” Certainly not when it comes to a woman’s right to healthcare and certainly not when it comes to the choice of opposing Ron DeSantis’ “Don’t Say Gay” bill. And it’s definitely not allowed if you choose to oppose Tucker Carlson or Donald Trump.
Moreover, Campos-Duffy, herself, can't tolerate choice on vaccines. Just yesterday, she suggested that the impeccably-credentialed woman in charge of the DHS’ Disinformation Governance Board is not qualified because she was probably vaccinated.
Campos-Duffy has a daughter with Down Syndrome, which means she is four times more likely to be hospitalized—and 10 times more likely to die – than the general population. I’ll leave it to Campos-Duffy as to why she’s cool with endangering the life of her child. But I will say that Campos-Duffy has a helluva nerve holding herself up as a pro-lifer.
And what about Fox’s vaccine mandate? Remember when the network said that everyone working out of the New York City headquarters was required to be vaccinated? I thought Hegseth’s temper tantrum at being asked about his vaxx status was a sure sign that he had been. Although, I noticed Hegseth said nothing, did not nod and gave no other sign of agreement when Campos-Duffy pointed to him as an unvaccinated person.
Nevertheless, it suggests that Fox exempted at least some employees from its mandate. Justin Baragona wondered about this, too, at The Daily Beast.
Campos-Duffy and Hegseth, both loud critics of the COVID-19 vaccines, have previously noted on-air that they are not vaccinated. In November, weeks before the company announced its New York City policy, Campos-Duffy boasted on air that she and Hegseth had not received any shots.
Furthermore, back in February, Mediaite ran a piece wondering how Hegseth was hosting in-studio at Fox News’ New York City location despite seemingly admitting he was unvaccinated. At the time, Fox News declined to comment on how the host appeared to circumvent the company’s own policies, citing confidentially of private employee health matters.
Baragona noted that New York City still requires workplace vaccinations, though Fox may be using the loophole that exempts city-based athletes and entertainers.
You can watch Campos-Duffy pose as someone who believes in choice below, from the May 1, 2022 Fox & Friends.
Fox News' Rachel Campos-Duffy says she didn't go to the WHCD because she's unvaxxed.
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) May 1, 2022
"And [Biden] tried to call out Fox News and say Fox News is all vaccinated. That’s not true. Pete's not vaccinated. I’m not vaccinated...and so that’s the part that I thought was so ironic." pic.twitter.com/jSjae1NFVc