Fox News host Greg Gutfeld not only criticized a “stupid” gubernatorial candidate who lost her primary on Tuesday, but in the process deployed stereotypes about Asians.
On The Five, Gutfeld and company reacted to Wisconsin state Rep. Francesca Hong’s narrow loss in the Democratic primary. Hong, a Democratic socialist, lost to Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, a party moderate.
The Fox panel giddily dissected the election outcome and some of Hong’s years-old social media statements, including a since-deleted 2020 post in which she supported getting rid of Thanksgiving because it was “celebrating colonialism.”
When it was Gutfeld’s turn, for some reason he saw fit to bring Hong’s ethnicity into the mix.
“It is jarring to see an asian this stupid—goes against all stereotypes,” Gutfeld, 61, said. “She probably also can’t play the violin. But it shows you how the woke virus can turn any brain from any culture into, like, marshmallow pudding. It’s like, I rarely see woke asians. They’re too smart for that. Not her.”
Hong, a 37-year-old Wisconsin-born business owner and former chef, was the first Asian American elected to the Wisconsin Legislature, where she has served since January 2021. Her parents emigrated from South Korea in the 1980s.
Gutfeld wasn’t done.
“I still think it’s impressive that someone this insane made it this far. I mean, it was close. I mean, what does it say about the Democrat Party that she failed this far up, without even a pedigree?” he continued. “Imagine you are a swim team and your second fastest swimmer is an anvil. That’s the Democrats. It’s sad that she won’t be, you know, running for governor in November, but that’s going to give her plenty of time to spend with her family on Thanksgiving.”
Hong’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment about Gutfeld, whose past controversial remarks on The Five include ranting about how college students are unattractive, obsessing over Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s “behind,” and comparing gender-affirming care to slavery and Nazi Germany. Gutfeld’s 2023 comments about the Holocaust also drew backlash from within Fox, as the Daily Beast reported.
