Kilmeade “misspoke” about “all terrorists” being “Muslims” — twice

http://mediamatters.org/research/201010180007

After repeatedly claiming that “[n]ot all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims,” Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade “clarif[ied]” his comment and claimed that he “misspoke.” In fact, Kilmeade not only made the claim at least twice in a single day, but he also questioned whether “moderate Muslims” need to prove “you’re not one of them,” which is in line with his history of bigoted and anti-Muslim statements.

Kilmeade repeatedly falsely claimed “all terrorists are Muslims”

Kilmeade: “Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims.” On the October 15 edition of Fox News‘ Fox & Friends, Kilmeade defended Bill O’Reilly’s comments on the October 14 edition of ABC’s The View by claiming the show’s hosts “were outraged that somebody was saying there’s a reason — there was a certain group of people that attacked us on 9-11. It wasn’t just one person. It was one religion. Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims.”

Later during his radio show, Kilmeade asserted that it’s a “fact” that “every terrorist is a Muslim.” On the October 15 edition of Fox News Radio’s Kilmeade & Friends, Kilmeade stated: “Not every Muslim is an extremist, a terrorist, but every terrorist is a Muslim. You can’t avoid that fact.” From Kilmeade & Friends:

KILMEADE: Muslim extremists, Al Qaeda, blew up those buildings — blew up the Khobar Towers, blew up the [U.S.S.] Cole, blew up the embassies, tried to blow up Times Square, tried to blow up the plane. The shoe bomber, the Times Square bomber, the underwear bomber — they have one thing in common. They are all extremists, and they are all Muslims.

Not every Muslim is an extremist, a terrorist, but every terrorist is a Muslim. You can’t avoid that fact. And that is ridiculous that we got to keep defining this — the people that equate Timothy McVeigh with the Al Qaeda terrorist organization, which is growing and a threat that exists.

Kilmeade also asked if Americans “have a right to look at moderate Muslims and say, ‘Show me you’re not one of them.’ ” On the October 15 edition of Kilmeade & Friends, Kilmeade said: “From what we’ve seen from the Khobar Towers to the Cole bombing to the embassy bombings to the Times Square, the shoe bomber, do you think Americans have a right to look at moderate Muslims and say, ‘Show me you’re not one of them.’ ”

Fox News VP says Kilmeade would “clarify” his comments on Monday. On October 15, The Huffington Post reported that Bill Shine, Fox News’ senior vice president of programming, said that Kilmeade would “clarify” his comments on Monday. From The Huffington Post:

Fox News SVP of Programming Bill Shine says Kilmeade will address the comments on Monday.

“Brian was talking about the events on ‘The View’ yesterday and was referring to the radical extremists who killed Americans on 9/11,” Shine told the Huffington Post. “Obviously, not all terrorists are Muslim and Brian will clarify this point on television and radio on Monday.”

Kilmeade addresses comments, claims he “misspoke”

Kilmeade: “I’m sorry about that, if I offended … or hurt anybody’s feelings. But that’s it.” On the October 18 edition of Fox & Friends, Kilmeade stated:

KILMEADE: Meanwhile, on the show on Friday, I was talking about Bill O’Reilly’s appearance on The View, and I said this: “Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims.” Well, I misspoke. I don’t believe all terrorists are Muslims. I’m sorry about that, if I offended or — offended or hurt anybody’s feelings. But that’s it. Now let’s go over to Stuart.

Kilmeade did not address the fact that he made the claim both on Fox & Friends and on his radio show, in which he stated it was simply a “fact” that “every terrorist is a Muslim.”

Kilmeade has a history of offensive and inflammatory comments regarding Islam and Muslims

Kilmeade: Muslims “have to understand” being profiled because of “the war that was declared on us.” On the November 10, 2009, edition of Fox & Friends, Kilmeade told Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham: “You get a chance to talk to a lot of Islamic experts, Muslim experts, and people who understand the Quran, and I asked him one time, off camera, I said, ‘How do you feel about the extra scrutiny, clearly, you’re getting at the airports?’ And he said, ‘I’m all for it, because I want to get home to my family, too.’ And that’s really got to be the attitude. So, if you’re Islamic, or you’re Muslim and you’re in the military, you have to understand … and that’s just the fact right now in the war that was declared on us.”

Kilmeade asks if “it’s time for the military to have special debriefings” of Muslims, because “I’ve got to know the guy next to me is not going to want to kill me.” Following the shooting at Fort Hood, Kilmeade asked on the November 6, 2009, edition of Fox & Friends: “Do you think it’s time for the military to have special debriefings of Muslim Army civilians, officers, anybody enlisted, because if I’m going to be deployed in a foxhole, if I’m going to be sticking in an outpost, I’ve got to know the guy next to me is not going to want to kill me.” Guest host Peter Johnson Jr. asked Fox News legal analyst Geraldo Rivera, “You won’t countenance special screenings for Muslim officers, will you? … Will you countenance that?”

Kilmeade: “[I]f you’re a 20- to 30-year-old Islamic male, even if you have no evil intentions, expect to be delayed. We have to profile.” On the January 4, 2009, edition of Fox & Friends, Kilmeade said: “[N]inety percent of these terrorists are men, Islamic men, between 20 and 30. Why are we pretending that all of us should get equal training [sic]? Shouldn’t we just tell — if you’re a 20- to 30-year-old Islamic male, even if you have no evil intentions, expect to be delayed. We have to — we have to profile.”

Kilmeade reacts to Bloomberg’s Park51 support with anti-Muslim rant. On the August 25 edition of Fox & Friends, Kilmeade played video of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s statement that “Islam did not attack the World Trade Center, Al Qaeda did. To implicate all of Islam for the actions of a few who twisted a great religion is unfair and un-American.” Kilmeade responded:

KILMEADE: That’s one way of looking at it, you could say just for a few. Those few have us bogged down really in two wars, one of which, I guess, is concluding. And then we have those few people in Yemen and those few people in Somalia and those few people that blew up in Madrid, and those few people that — those bus bombings in London. Besides those few, I don’t really see the problem.

Kilmeade asks if “Islamic community” is “gloating” by building Islamic community center near Ground Zero. On the May 26 edition of Fox & Friends, Kilmeade said: “Six-hundred feet from where World Tower One – World Trade Center One stood. Is this gloating on the part of the Islamic community?”

Kilmeade calls Islamic cultural center plans “an outrage” and accuses Muslims of “taunting” 9-11 victims. On the May 25 edition of Fox & Friends, Kilmeade said, “Let’s talk about what’s happening downtown, because this is an outrage and it gets worse,” referencing Park51. Kilmeade later claimed: “This is taunting. This is an absolute insult, especially to those 9-11 families. … And now across the street you’re going to have an Islamic learning center? If at the very least, it shows a crassness and callousness to the U.S.”

Kilmeade was also forced to apologize following statement that Swedes have “pure genes” because they don’t marry “other ethnics”

Kilmeade: Americans don’t have “pure genes” like Swedes because “we keep marrying other species and other ethnics.” On the July 8, 2009, edition of Fox & Friends, while discussing a study on the relationship between marriage an Alzheimer’s, Kilmeade opined that “we keep marrying other species and other ethnics and … the Swedes have pure genes, because they marry other Swedes. Because that’s the rule.”

Kilmeade later apologized for those comments. On the July 20, 2009, edition of Fox & Friends, Kilmeade apologized for his remarks, saying he had “made comments that were offensive to many people. That was not my intention, and looking back at those comments I realize they were inappropriate. For that I sincerely apologize.”