Tomi Lahren

[[File:Tomi Lahren Profile.png|thumb||165px|The background, like her mind, is a void]]
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{{Cquote|Tomi Lahren is on TV because she’s probably attractive to the people that watch her show, not because she’s a political scientist or sociologist or someone qualified to address society’s ills. She, like so many other journalists, plays to an audience comprised of{{sic}} people seeking affirmation, not facts. It’s not her fault, really it’s not. Its ours. We as a society have failed because people like Tomi Lahren exist.|20px|20px|Eric D. Berry<ref>Eric D. Berry, [http://hiphollywood.com/2016/02/total-lunacy-tomi-lahrens-beyonce-rant-is-utterly-ridiculous/ "Total Lunacy: Tomi Lahren’s “Beyonce” Rant Is Utterly Ridiculous"], ''Hip Hollywood'', February 10, 2016.</ref>}}

'''Tomi Rae Augustus Lahren''' {{lived|August 11, 1992}} is an [[United States|American]] (of German & Norwegian descent) "snowflake melter"<ref>http://the-daily.buzz/a/tomi-lahren-lists-her-specialty-as-melting-snowflakes-on-tv-and-twitter-dragg</ref> and wingnut political [[pundit]] who formerly had a show on [[One America News Network]] and ''[[The Blaze]]''. Lahren is, in most ways, just a [[Proll|typically very obnoxious]] right-wing radio host. Imagine a more clueless [[Rush Limbaugh]] who looks like a female [[Fox_News#Female_news_anchors|FOX News anchor]] (which, as of August 2017, she actually is now.)

==Views and stuff==
===This pesky thing called race===

{{Cquote|Look at you. Pretty little white girl. You got no idea what it's like, always living on the outside, looking in through a window, seeing all the things you can never have because they say so.|20px|20px|Angela Bassett in ''American Horror Story''}}

Tomi Lahren seems to get upset when black people speak up about issues which affect them, actually christening the [[Black Lives Matter]] "More"<ref name="beyonce" /> movement as the new [[KKK]].<ref>Sophia Tulp, [http://college.usatoday.com/2016/07/13/over-56000-people-want-tomi-lahren-fired-from-the-blaze-after-kkk-tweet/ "Over 56,000 people want Tomi Lahren fired from The Blaze after KKK tweet"], ''USA Today'', July 13, 2016.</ref>
In February 2016 Lahren lost her shit when Beyoncé had a [[Black Panthers]]-inspired Super Bowl halftime performance, infuriated about the group's using violent and intimidating means to achieve not racial equality but the evil goal of overthrowing "[[white supremacy|white domination]]" instead of using peaceful measures to cause change.<ref name="beyonce">[[YouTube]]: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2O5MGpfKTc "Beyonce and the Black Panthers | Final Thoughts with Tomi Lahren"], ''[[The Blaze]]'', Feb 11, 2016</ref> However when black people do protest peacefully [[hypocrisy|Lahren is quick to scold them for their actions]]. When actor Jesse Williams' acceptance speech at the BET awards featured his views on black oppression in American society, she accused him of perpetuating black victimhood.<ref>Ricky Riley, [http://atlantablackstar.com/2016/06/30/tomi-lahrens-utter-cluelessness-in-response-to-jesse-williams-speech-is-an-astounding-reminder-of-white-fragility/ "Tomi Lahren’s Utter Cluelessness in Response to Jesse Williams’ Speech is an Astounding Reminder of White Fragility"], ''Atlanta Black Star'', June 30, 2016.</ref> When quarterback Colin Kaepernick decided to make a stand by sitting from now on whenever the national anthem is played before NFL games, peacefully protesting racial injustice in the [[US]], Lahren [[Tu quoque#In response to support|urged him to leave the country]] when his supposedly ungrateful half-white existence hates [[Race#White (European)|white people]] so much. However, in the latter case, [[irony|Kaepernick didn't mention white people once]] when he explained his reasons for the protest.<ref>Ricky Riley, [http://atlantablackstar.com/2016/08/30/charlamagne-crushes-conservative-tv-host-tomi-lahren-for-rant-against-kaepernick/ "Charlamagne Crushes Conservative TV Host Tomi Lahren for Rant Against Kaepernick"], ''Atlanta Black Star'', August 30, 2016.</ref>

Tomi Lahren offers her own solutions to get [[African-American]]s out of their ostensibly self-imposed misery. Namely, black men should stick around to raise their children<ref>Brad Reed, [https://www.rawstory.com/2016/08/tomi-lahrens-explodes-on-kaepernick-again-the-real-villains-are-deadbeat-black-fathers-like-his/ "Tomi Lahren explodes on Kaepernick again: The real villains are deadbeat ‘black fathers like his’"], ''[[Raw Story]]'', August 31, 2016.</ref> and stop selling crack cocaine for over a decade to protect black neighborhoods.<ref>Trent Fitzgerald, [http://theboombox.com/jay-z-reacts-conservative-pundit-tomi-lahrens-drug-dealer-remark/ "Jay Z Reacts to Conservative Pundit Tomi Lahren’s ‘Drug Dealer’ Remark [VIDEO]"], ''The Boombox'', February 13, 2016.</ref>

=== Abortion ===

Lahren has often identified as pro-choice, despite referring to abortion as "murder" in the past. She made this stance a tiny bit clearer in a March 2017 interview on ''The View''.

{{Cquote|I am a constitutional, y’know, someone that loves the Constitution. I’m someone that’s for limited government. So I can’t sit here and be a hypocrite and say I’m for limited government but I think the government should decide what women do with their bodies. I can sit here and say that, as a Republican and I can say, you know what, I’m for limited government, so stay out of my guns, and you can stay out of my body as well.<ref>Erin Gloria Ryan, [http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/03/17/tomi-lahren-to-the-view-i-m-pro-choice.html "Tomi Lahren to The View: ‘I’m Pro-Choice’"], ''The Daily Beast'', March 17, 2017.</ref>}}

Her little moment of awesome would end up costing her, as [[TheBlaze]] suspended her show the following Monday.<ref>Peter Hasson, [http://dailycaller.com/2017/03/20/tomi-lahren-suspended-from-the-blaze/ "The Blaze Suspends Tomi Lahren"], ''The Daily Caller'', March 20, 2017.</ref> Then, she was fired and "banned permanently" from TheBlaze.<ref>Abid Rahman (March 27, 2017). [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/politics-news/conservative-star-tomi-lahren-banned-permanently-blaze-report-988876/ "Conservative Star Tomi Lahren 'Banned Permanently' From The Blaze (Report)"]. ''The Hollywood Reporter''.</ref><ref>Jenni Miller (March 26, 2017). [https://www.thecut.com/2017/03/the-blaze-has-permanently-banned-tomi-lahren.html "The Blaze Has Permanently Banned Tomi Lahren"]. ''The Cut''.</ref> TheBlaze, by the way, is an enthusiastic promoter of free speech, whose "fearless op-ed" proclaims,  free-speechily, "Any American who fails to protect free speech is a traitor".<ref>Whitlock, J. (November 30, 2022). "[https://www.theblaze.com/fearless/oped/whitlock-any-american-who-fails-to-protect-free-speech-is-a-traitor Any American who fails to protect free speech is a traitor]". ''TheBlaze''. Accessed January 15, 2023.</ref> Lahren filed a wrongful termination lawsuit over this, which was settled in May 2017.<ref name="CBSAlabama">Caitlin O'Kane (May 17, 2019). [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/i-will-be-attacked-by-fellow-conservatives-for-saying-this-tomi-lahren-shares-surprising-opinion-on-alabama-abortion/ "'I will be attacked by fellow conservatives for saying this': Tomi Lahren shares surprising opinion on Alabama abortion law"]. ''CBS News''.</ref>

In May 2019, she spoke against an abortion ban in Alabama for being "too restrictive"; the law included no exceptions in cases of rape or incest. She added: "It doesn’t save life, it simply forces women into more dangerous methods, other states or countries. You don’t encourage life via blanket government mandate!"<ref name="CBSAlabama"/>

===Guns and ammo===

Lahren is a firm supporter of the Second Amendment. After the Las Vegas shooting in late 2017, she wrote off big names in the media seeking gun control to prevent further massacres as liberals and elitists sneering at lawful gun owners who would use the attack as an excuse to push their agenda. She claimed the average citizen needs firearms for protection as opposed to the powerful who would have bodyguards and paid protection. All the while, she didn't miss a chance to ignore the legitimate concerns of gun control and smear anyone else seeking change as Democrats looking to erode American rights, to say nothing of how she, as a well-off white woman, is exactly one of those who would not need guns. For someone who accused celebrities like Colbert and Kimmel of trying to control the conversation, she co-opted the voice of the little people she is supposedly on the side of and [[Irony|certainly had more than an agenda to push even in the wake of the tragedy]], instead of actually providing any condolences or countermeasures to be taken.<ref>[http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/10/06/tomi-lahrens-final-thoughts-gun-control-push-after-las-vegas-shooting "Tomi Lahren: I'm So Sick of Celebs, Elitists Looking Down on Gun Owners] "Fox News"</ref>

Not content to rest on her laurels, she would later parrot the same nonsense on Twitter after the Parkland school shooting in February of 2018, this time claiming the shooting had nothing to do with guns and everything to do with mental illness, in addition to the same smears of the Left as using a tragedy simply to push their way forward.<ref>[https://twitter.com/tomilahren/status/963978544295505922] @TomiLahren Twitter 14 Feb 2018, 7:29 PM</ref> Things would go south for her this time, as the teens who survived the massacre immediately took her to task on their own Twitter accounts and said this issue was absolutely related to guns, telling stories of how powerless they were in the wake of the incident, amongst other well deserved colorful remarks for her thoughtlessness.<ref>[http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/florida-school-shooting-survivors-slam-tomi-lahren-for-anti-gun-control-tweet/article/2649203 "Florida school shooting survivors slam Tomi Lahren for anti-gun control tweet"] Mandy Mayfield February 15 2018, 1:39 PM</ref> Proving once and for all what a classy blonde she really is, she doubled down on her comments, not even bothering to apologize to the students who had directly messaged her and instead shat out another load of [[Santorum|santorum]], this time about how unfair it is to blame the gun when used in a school shooting as opposed to how people don't blame guns when cops shoot innocent people.<ref>[https://twitter.com/TomiLahren/status/965253965335158784] @TomiLahren Twitter Feb 18 2018, 7:57 AM</ref> The Left doesn't respect the dead, huh?

==A different shade of wingnuttery==
Lahren could also be considered representative of the slight departure from [[religious fundamentalist|religious fundamentalism]] that informed the older American far-right and instead follows a broadly [[Nationalism|ultranationalistic]], [[Nativism|nativist]] line of thought that would be more fitting for, say, the [[Front National]] than for a fundamentalist church. But before getting a wrong impression of her she still parrots climate change denialism,<ref>[[Twitter]]:[https://twitter.com/tomilahren/status/658787800712482816 Tomi Lahren tweet], October 26, 2015.</ref> believing drilling and fracking should be done to get independent from Middle Eastern oil (because screw the evidence and your "hippie friends"),<ref name="weather">[[YouTube]]: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF7nt2iuIDY "Climate Change | 'Final Thoughts with Tomi Lahren'"], ''[[The Blaze]]'', October 26, 2015</ref> and unsurprisingly supported [[Donald Trump]] for president in 2016. Lahren also says [[Barack Obama]] is "being friendly to the [[jihad]]i mentality” (did she miss that it was him who took down Bin Laden?) while also saying that Obama should bomb them which would apparently be a new strategy.<ref>Scott Eric Kaufman, [http://www.salon.com/2015/07/22/gay_marriage_and_white_racism_didnt_kill_people_in_chattanooga_%E2%80%94_obama_being_friendly_to_the_jihadi_mentality_did/ "Gay marriage and white racism didn’t kill people in Chattanooga — Obama being “friendly to the jihadi mentality” did"], ''Salon'', July 22, 2015.</ref> That the Obama administration did exactly that did not appear to cross her mind, but such is the way of these things. Lahren's delivery makes Rush Limbaugh's seem calm and laid back in comparison. Lahren often delivers fast-paced rants where she's yelling the whole time, overuses the word "snowflake" (even by wingnut standards), and while the expression "foaming at the mouth" is typically meant figuratively, Lahren does it literally, as she seems to have an aversion to swallowing her spit - by the end of every video she's severely foaming out the sides of her mouth, lisping and/or gurgling her words, and looking like a strange combination of pitiable and scary. This is more like the persona of YouTube "skeptics" turned up to 11 than anything older conservatives would be familiar with.

==Far-right groups==
[[Stopped clock|Being granted bare minimum credit]], she at least has called the [[alt-right]] movement "disgusting" and said she would never be "an advocate, a cheerleader or an apologist for the KKK or any other hate group.”<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/04/business/media/tomi-lahren-young-vocal-and-the-rights-rising-media-star.html|title=Tomi Lahren: Young, Vocal and the Right’s Rising Media Star|last=Bromwich|first=Jonah Engel|date=4 December 2016|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|language=|access-date=May 31, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/a8578782/tomi-lahren-facts-the-blaze-things-to-know/|title=Who Is Tomi Lahren? 12 Things You Need to Know About the 24-Year-Old Conservative Commentator.|last=Roberts|first=Kayleigh|date=24 May 2017|newspaper={{wpl|Cosmopolitan (magazine)|Cosmopolitan}}|language=|access-date=May 31, 2017}}</ref> Furthermore, she also denounced Roseanne's racist Twitter comments.<ref>https://twitter.com/TomiLahren/status/1001566606844084226</ref>

==See also==
*[[Lauren Southern]] – Her counterpart from [[Canada|up north]].
*[[Ann Coulter]]
*[[Ben Shapiro]]

==References==
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[[Category:Alt-lite]]
[[Category:Antifeminism]]
[[Category:Atheophobia]]
[[Category:Christians]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theorists]]
[[Category:Global warming denialists]]
[[Category:Gun nuts]]
[[Category:Homophobes]]
[[Category:Islamophobes]]
[[Category:Internet kooks]]
[[Category:Neoconservatives]]
[[Category:Racists]]
[[Category:Right-wing activists]]
[[Category:Transphobes]]

Categories: Alt-lite, Antifeminism, Atheophobia, Christians, Conspiracy theorists, Global warming denialists, Gun nuts, Homophobes, Islamophobes, Internet kooks, Neoconservatives, Racists, Right-wing activists, Transphobes