Greg Gutfeld, a Fox News host, has provoked widespread condemnation after suggesting that conservatives should reclaim the word 'Nazi' in the same way African Americans have reclaimed the n-word. The comments were made during a segment on the network's panel show The Five.
Gutfeld made the remark while discussing a recent immigration raid at a California cannabis farm, where protesters confronted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. He argued that progressives' criticisms of Republicans and the Trump administration's deportation efforts are invalid, and that right-wingers should deflect accusations of fascism by embracing the term 'Nazi' themselves.
'We need to learn from the Blacks,' Gutfeld said. 'The way they were able to remove the power from the n-word by using it. So, from now on, it's, “What up, my Nazi?”' His co-host Kennedy interjected with 'Nazi, please,' while Jesse Watters laughed in the background.
The outburst drew immediate backlash from commentators and journalists. Mehdi Hasan, founder of Zeteo, said the remarks would 'destroy the careers of any other journalist on any other mainstream national media platform,' but noted that Fox has no journalistic standards. Conservative writer Cathy Young called the hosts 'beneath contempt,' while others described the segment as the 'normalisation of Nazism.'
Gutfeld has a history of extreme rhetoric; two years ago he floated the idea of an American civil war, saying 'elections don't work.' The latest controversy has reignited criticism of Fox News for allowing such commentary on its platforms.
