Coverage Of American Muslims Is Bigoted And Inaccurate. This Group Is Using Hard Facts To Fix It.
Bruce Turkel, a Miami advertising executive who had been a frequent guest on Fox News, said in a sharply worded letter Wednesday that he will no longer appear on the network because of its coverage of immigration.
“Quite simply, the position Fox has taken on our government’s policy of separating children from their parents is too heinous for me to accept,” Turkel wrote in an open letter to Fox News.
Turkel, an author and branding expert who has appeared on a number of networks over the years, singled out Fox guest Ann Coulter and host Sean Hannity for remarks on the children affected by President Donald Trump’s family-separation policy.
Coulter claimed children seen crying in videos at detention centers were merely “child actors” who were given scripts. Hannity, according to Turkel’s letter, said they were part of a “rolling invasion.” Another Fox contributor said the children were better off alone in the centers’ cages than with their parents. Laura Ingraham downplayed the detention center cages as “summer camps” or “boarding schools.”
Ann Coulter on Fox News calls crying immigrant children "child actors" and looks directly into the camera to warn Trump not to fall for it. pic.twitter.com/SIjrocmxKB
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) June 18, 2018
“Accepting that this misguided policy is wrong doesn’t depend on which side of the political aisle you’re on. It doesn’t matter if you support immigration and immigrants or if you don’t,” Turkel wrote. “Separating innocent children from their parents and jailing them is just plain wrong.”
A Fox News spokesperson declined to comment on Turkel’s letter.
Turkel’s appearances on Fox were unpaid. He said in his letter that his relationship with the network generated speaking fees, book sales and appearances on other TV networks.
Turkel said he’s disagreed with Fox News coverage of other issues, and this isn’t the first time he’s “suffered a sleepless night wondering how I could continue to appear on your shows.”
What’s different now, he said, is his belief that there is no gray area in the Trump policy being supported by Fox.
“Separating children from their parents is wrong no matter who you are,” he concluded. “I quit.”
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story indicated Ann Coulter is a host on Fox News. She is a frequent guest but does not host her own show on the network.
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