On Monday, a top Fox News columnist apologized for defending President Donald Trump’s decision to host a cage fight on the White House lawn. The change of heart came, he said, after a fighter’s offensive statement about former First Lady Michelle Obama.
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“I’ve defended the administration’s America 250 plans, because I trusted they really would be non partisan, really would bring us together,” David Marcus posted on Monday. “But I was wrong.” Marcus posted this over a retweet of his own from Sunday evening, which declared, “The fighter yelling ‘Michelle Obama is a man,’ at an official White House event to honor America is utterly unacceptable and the administration should [denounce] it in no uncertain terms.”
He was referring to a post-fight interview with Joe Rogan in which UFC fighter Josh Hokit randomly taunted, “And lastly — Michelle Obama is a man! Am I right, America?” Michelle Obama has frequently been the target of this and other racist statements, though they are typically relegated to online posts and far-right rally rants rather than at White House events honoring the nation. Hokit’s words drew a smattering of laughter, and Rogan moved on without addressing the remark.
“I feel betrayed,” Marcus said in another post. “I believed these would be non partisan celebrations.” He wasn’t the only one angered by Hokit’s comment.
“I don’t care what you think about the Obamas or anything,” said Trump voter and Barstool Sports host Dave Portnoy. “That has to be an immediate denounce.”
“What a disgrace,” posted Robert Griffin III, a former NFL quarterback and a UFC fan. “It takes a really small man to use his biggest moment to attack a woman by calling her a man. Especially with the history behind calling black women men.”
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UFC CEO Dana White stopped short of condemning the comment, in a text to Time Magazine saying, “I understand that the Obamas are public figures but I’m completely against saying nasty and false things about people’s families. Everyone knows my position on free speech but I hate that kind of nonsense.”
As of this writing, there has been no denouncement from the White House, which has repeatedly sidestepped the question.
Many of Marcus’ followers expressed surprise at his anger over the matter, prompting him to elaborate on his outrage.
“Maybe it’s because I produced theater for so long, but this is hard for me to forgive,” he noted. “Between this and the Kennedy Center some people are getting the keys to this stuff that don’t know how to drive the car.”
When another commenter tried to argue that Marcus was taking the matter too seriously, the Fox columnist’s response was simple: “America only gets one 250th birthday.”
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