On Tuesday night, the 50 foot Christmas tree outside of the NewsCorp Building—home of the conservative Fox News network—in Manhattan was set ablaze allegedly by 49 year old Craig Tamanaha, who's now in police custody for arson.
Fortunately, there were no fatalities or injuries and the network said in a statement it would soon be rebuilding the tree. No evidence has been reported that the attack was politically or ideologically motivated.
Fox News hosts, many of whom have peddled a proverbial "war on Christmas" to its viewers for the better part of the 21st century, leapt to paint a picture of resilience and yuletide spirit.
But as some may have already suspected, they also made some questionable claims in the process.
Watch below.
Ainsley Earhardt on the Fox Christmas tree: "It's a tree that unites us. It brings us together. It's about the Christmas spirit. It is about the holiday season. It's about Jesus. It's about Hanukkah. It is about everything that we stand for as a country." pic.twitter.com/fV8Hg2juHI
— Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) December 8, 2021
Fox & Friends host Ainsley Earhardt delivered an impassioned monologue about what the tree on Fox Square supposedly represents, saying:
"It's a tree that unites us. It brings us together. It's about the Christmas spirit. It is about the holiday season. It's about Jesus. It's about Hanukkah. It is about everything that we stand for as a country. Freedom and being able to worship the way you want to worship. It makes me so mad."
If there's one thing a Christmas tree doesn't represent, it's Hanukkah, Judaism's eight-day festival celebrating the rededication of the Second Temple of Jerusalem.
Earhardt's comments raised some eyebrows.
Narrator: It is, most definitely, *not* about Hanukkah. https://t.co/gXAzSw1eiR
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) December 8, 2021
Universalizing Christmas is actually to secularize it - the very thing Fox News and ilk usually love to rant about this time of year - because to say Christmas is abt everything means it is abt nothing. Not that I expect them to be consistent or logical but c’mon - pick a lane! https://t.co/dT0hjXbnPd
— Neil J. Young (@NeilJYoung17) December 8, 2021
To quote my Grandma: “She’s meshuggeneh” https://t.co/toUkH4JmgS
— Emily Brandwin (@CIAspygirl) December 8, 2021
Fun fact: Until the 1840s, Christmas trees were seen as pagan symbols and not accepted by most Americans. An influx of German and Irish immigrants popularized Christmas trees, which have nothing to do with Jesus, Hanukkah, or freedom. https://t.co/19XhNkXmGi
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) December 8, 2021
Oh for the love of G-d the tree is not about Hanukkah you incompetent twit. https://t.co/MQRj4RecAJ
— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) December 8, 2021
I can assure you that a Christmas tree is not at all about Hanukkah. https://t.co/Rzux9PFLUT
— Melissa Weiss (@melissaeweiss) December 8, 2021
It wasn't long before the jokes came flooding in.
who can forget the story of jesus putting up a douglas fir and passing out gifts to the apostles over eight nights https://t.co/iQ9M5EouV3
— Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) December 8, 2021
Jesus' actual experience with actual trees was...not great. https://t.co/k8cBmh82Y5
— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) December 8, 2021
Fox News: merry Christmas ONLY no other holidays are to be acknowledged
Also Fox News: the Christmas tree is a Hanukkah tradition https://t.co/ezjvLGYvhj
— GO BLUE BEAT THEM DAWGS (@zucko) December 8, 2021
Awkward.
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