Laura Ingraham opened her show Thursday evening with a clarification of her Wednesday evening opening monologue in which she denounced “demographic” changes being “foisted” on the American people.
“A message to those who are distorting my views, including all white nationalists and especially one racist freak whose name I will not even mention. You do not have my support, you don’t represent my views and you are antithetical to the beliefs I hold dear,” said Ingraham.
The line about “one racist freak” is almost certainly a reference to David Duke, the former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard who voiced his support for Ingraham’s message on Wednesday.
“The purpose of last night’s angle was to point out that the rule of law — meaning secure borders — is something that used to bind our country together.” She added, “And despite what some may be contending — I made explicitly clear that my commentary had nothing to do with race or ethnicity, but rather a shared goal of keeping America safe, and her citizens safe and prosperous.”
The Ingraham walk-back came after the host faced a storm of criticism for a rant about immigration. Critics were particularly incensed by this moment spotted by Media Matters researcher Andrew Lawrence:
“In some parts of the country, it does seem like the America that we know and love doesn’t exist anymore. Massive demographic changes have been foisted upon the American people, and they are changes that none of us ever voted for, and most of us don’t like,” said Ingraham.
“From Virginia to California, we see stark examples of how radically, in some ways, the country’s changed,” she added during her widely disputed monologue. “Much of this is related to both illegal and — in some cases — legal immigration that, of course, progressives love.”
Fox News haters and even fellow Republicans spent much of Thursday attacking Ingraham over the remarks with many calling them racist and a dog whistle to white nationalism. Media Matters, which helped spearhead an advertiser boycott against her over her remarks about Parkland survivor David Hogg, ominously posted a link to several of her advertisers in the hours before her clarification was aired.