Tammy Bruce, the Fox News contributor turned State Department spokesperson who is now awaiting confirmation as deputy U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, spent years promoting baseless Islamophobic conspiracy theories and espousing incendiary rhetoric, including about then-President Barack Obama.
A CNN investigation examined Bruce’s public comments beginning in the early 2000s and found “a pattern of demeaning language about Muslims,” including statements suggesting that American Muslims “needed to prove their loyalty” to the U.S. following 9/11.
Much of Bruce’s rhetoric—the bulk of which was published on her personal blog, which is no longer available online but was accessed using the Internet Archive—targeted Obama.
Bruce referred to Obama as a “Kenyan,” an “idiot” and a ”dumb bastard,” and incorrectly described him as Muslim (Obama, a Christian, was born to an American mother and a Kenyan father in Hawaii, a U.S. state).
She also raised questions about his birth certificate, a conspiracy theory promoted heavily at the time by Donald Trump, and suggested that Obama “secretly wishes” for the U.S. to be harmed by nuclear weapons launched by North Korea.
“Somewhere in Kenya, a village is missing its idiot,” she wrote on her blog. Bruce also criticized the U.N., describing it as America’s “enemy” in one 2006 post, and advocated for it to be torn down in another.
Bruce has been working as a spokesperson for the State Department since January, and was chosen for the deputy U.N. ambassador role earlier this year. Her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is scheduled for Wednesday.
In a post announcing her nomination to the deputy ambassador role, in which she would be serving under Ambassador Mike Waltz, Trump wrote, “Since the beginning of my Second Term, Tammy has been serving with distinction as Spokesperson of the State Department, where she did a fantastic job.”
”Tammy Bruce will represent our Country brilliantly at the United Nations. Congratulations Tammy!"
Bruce, in turn, thanked the president in a post on X, writing, “I’m blessed that in the next few weeks my commitment to advancing America First leadership and values continues on the global stage in this new post.”
A White House spokesperson said in a statement to CNN, “Tammy Bruce was an effective Spokesperson for the State Department because of her steadfast loyalty to President Trump, which makes her an effective voice for the President and administration’s views on important issues.” The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
Bruce’s incendiary rhetoric was not limited to online blogs; as a Fox News personality, she garnered controversy after describing then-Harvard President Dr. Claudine Gay as “that Black woman at Harvard,” and making fun of an autistic child, calling him a “snowflake.”
Bruce also used to mock Secretary of State Marco Rubio, her boss for much of this year, dubbing him “Little Marco” and criticizing him for “sounding like his Establishment handlers.”
Her tenure as spokesperson has seen her spar with reporters as she developed a reputation for avoiding their questions, leading CNN anchors to become visibly frustrated when interviewing her live on air.
During one interview, CNN anchor Pamela Brown told the former Fox host, who had refused to answer questions about Rubio’s withdrawal from Ukraine peace talks, “You are the State Department spokesperson.”
“It is very fair for me to ask you basic questions about what has been said publicly.”
”I’m trying to be!” Bruce responded, imploring Brown to “accept my answers.” ”I answered them, but not in the way that you wanted,” Bruce argued.
