In July 2016, after the Nice (France) truck attack, MacKenzie wrote an article for "The Sun" in which he queried whether it was appropriate for "Channel 4 News" presenter Fatima Manji to read the news wearing a hijab. Manji accused MacKenzie of attempting to "intimidate Muslims out of public life" and attempting to smear 1.6 billion Muslims in suggesting they are inherently violent. She said, "He has attempted to smear half of them further by suggesting they are helpless slaves. And he has attempted to smear me by suggesting I would sympathise with a terrorist".