Geraldo Rivera Can't Make 'Fox & Friends' Hosts See That Trump Tweets Are Racist

David Moye

As a journalist, Geraldo Rivera is supposed to report the facts. Sadly, the hosts of “Fox & Friends” weren’t willing to acknowledge them on Friday.

It happened during a discussion about Donald Trump’s recent series of racist tweets telling four Democratic congresswomen of color that they should “go back” to other countries. Later this week, people at a Trump rally in North Carolina began chanting “Send her back!” in reference to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), one of the lawmakers Trump targeted.

Host Peter Hegseth claimed Trump’s tweets couldn’t have been racist since he never specifically mentioned anyone’s race in the tweets.

“He’s talking about whether you love this country and appreciate it,” Hegseth said. “And if you don’t appreciate it, don’t love it, and don’t want to work to make it better, you could consider going somewhere else.”

Rivera didn’t like Hegseth’s argument one bit.

“What the hell!” he exclaimed. “Come on, Pete! This is their country, they’re citizens of the United States!”

Rivera, a Puerto Rican who grew up in New York, then tried to school Hegseth about why phrases like “send her back” are so hurtful.

“You can’t say that to me!” he said. “I’ve gotten into 10 streetfights based on that, saying to me, because I’m Puerto Rican, ‘Go back.’ ... Once you make nationhood and citizenship like that conditional on your political loyalties, you’re on a very dangerous path here.”

Yet it was a path Hegseth seemingly had no intention of leaving.

He continued to insist that Trump’s comments weren’t referencing race, but the politicians’ “lack of gratitude.”

Rivera then pointed out that “a lot of people aren’t grateful to be here.”

He added: “Gratitude is not a requirement of citizenship.”

You can see the exchange below:

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Birmingham is a Muslim-only city

No it isn't. But this didn't stop the channel allowing an expert claim other wise. Steven Emerson said: "And in Britain, it's not just no-go zones, there are actual cities like Birmingham that are totally Muslim where non-Muslims just simply don't go in." A full apology and retraction swiftly followed.
No it isn't. But this didn't stop the channel allowing an expert claim other wise. Steven Emerson said: "And in Britain, it's not just no-go zones, there are actual cities like Birmingham that are totally Muslim where non-Muslims just simply don't go in." A full apology and retraction swiftly followed.

This Is Their Other Expert On Muslims In The UK

<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/01/13/fox-news-nigel-farage_n_6461938.html" target="_blank">Oh come on...</a>
Oh come on...

Paris Has No-Go Zones For Non-Muslims

<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/01/20/fox-news-to-be-sued-by-city-of-paris-for-lying-about-muslim-no-go-areas_n_6509372.html" target="_blank">No. It Doesn't.</a> It's not often an entire city feels the need to sue a network.
No. It Doesn't. It's not often an entire city feels the need to sue a network.

Climate Change

Fox regularly host guests who believe <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/fox-news-climate-change/" target="_blank">climate change is nothing more than a myth</a>, including <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/08/charles-krauthammer-climate-change-superstition_n_5289084.html" target="_blank">Charles Krauthammer</a>. "It's the oldest superstition around," he said. "It was in the Old Testament, it's in the rain dance of Native Americans: if you sin, the skies will not cooperate." Sure, see you at the end of the world.

This Guy

<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/10/08/jon-stewart-bill-oreilly-debate-video_n_1947482.html" target="_blank">Aside from Bill O'Reilly's views on pretty much everything</a>, another reason to dislike the presenter surfaced recently when it transpired he had lied about covering the Falklands War. O'Reilly claimed he had been at the centre of the action when in fact he'd been <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/02/19/fox-news-bill-oreilly-accused-of-fabricating-record-as-war-correspondent-during-the-falklands-conflict_n_6717338.html" target="_blank">lounging around in a hotel in Buenos Aires.</a>

Photo Manipulation

<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/03/31/trayvon-martin-george-zimmerman-us-embassy_n_1393461.html" target="_blank">During coverage of the shooting of Trayvon Martin,</a> Fox were accused of <a href="http://www.newscorpse.com/ncWP/?p=6851" target="_blank">darkening a photo of the black teenager</a> to make him look more menacing compared to a picture of the shooter, George Zimmerman, who wore a beaming smile in a colour photo.

The Immigrant Germ Invasion

Fox News would have you believe that biggest threat the US faces from immigration isn't pressure on public services or over population <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/02/border-patrol-diseases-anti-immigration-myth" target="_blank">but simply that Mexicans are full of disease.</a>

US Debt

In 2011 Fox were happy to broadcast unchallenged, <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/on-the-record/transcript/palin-039i039m-not-conventional-status-quo-politician-last-thing-i-worry-about-mainstream?page=2" target="_blank">Sarah Palin's assertion that Barack Obama had accumulated</a> "more debt under than all the other presidents combined". <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/jun/01/sarah-palin/sarah-palin-says-obama-has-accumulated-more-debt-p/" target="_blank">Only he hasn't. Here's proof. </a>

We Could Go On...

But instead of an endless slideshow, here's a really excellent <a href="http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/tv/fox/" target="_blank">breakdown of how often Fox News tell the truth...</a>
But instead of an endless slideshow, here's a really excellent breakdown of how often Fox News tell the truth...

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.