On Thursday’s broadcast of Fox News Channel’s “The Kelly File,” host Megyn Kelly challenged potential Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump on his remarks on Twitter critical of “Draw Mohammad” event organizer Pamela Geller.
The U.S. has enough problems without publicity seekers going out and openly mocking religion in order to provoke attacks and death. BE SMART
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 5, 2015
According to Trump, Geller was a “terrible messenger,” but Kelly questioned that response since Geller was in defiance of a movement that challenged American ideals.
Partial transcript as follows:
KELLY: Let’s talk about free speech because after that Pam Geller event down in Garland, Texas, where they were attacked and the two would-be Jihadi’s were shot dead by the police force, you also sent out some tweets saying why taunt in order to provoke possible death? Dumb in that moment.
TRUMP: I think Pam Geller is a terrible messenger. I think she’s terrible. We have enough problems without taunting and driving everybody crazy.
KELLY: But my question to you is, because this turned into a bigger thing, like what do we stand for as Americans if not for freedom of speech, ability to express yourself, this speech in particular which was in defiance, it’s like the cartoon that won the contest it had Muhammad standing there saying you can’t draw me and the person looking up to him saying, that’s why I draw you. It was about people trying to shut down an American ideal and this group, however unsympathetic they may have been, saying, we reject that attempt.
TRUMP: They were totally unsympathetic. Now, you look at Muhammad and you look at some of the positions they have Muhammad and some people are going to get extremely upset about it. Now, I’m not the only one and I’m not the only Conservative Republican that feels this way. They’re lucky to be alive. Why with all the problems we have, why taunt?
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor
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