This month, the city of New York began mandating vaccinations for customers and employees of bars, restaurants, gyms, and other high-risk establishments in the wake of the pandemic that's killed over 600 thousand Americans.
The development happened as the Biden administration executed a withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan—a withdrawal marred by chaos and tragedy as the fundamentalist Taliban regime swiftly retook the region, endangering Americans there and their Afghan allies.
The conservative Fox News network's on-air personalities have railed against both New York City's vaccination policies and the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, but it was Fox and Friends host Brian Kilmeade who claimed the two were comparable.
Watch below.
Brian Kilmeade compares unvaccinated New Yorkers who can't go to a bar to Americans forced to hide in place in Afghanistan\n\nKilmeade: Unvaccinated NYers "have to shelter in place now like an American in Afghanistan" \n\n(He also promoted fake vaccination cards)pic.twitter.com/zr7e7bJZma— Lis Power (@Lis Power) 1629290357
Kilmeade said:
"Guess what they're doing in this terribly run city," Kilmeade said. "They are deciding you can't go to plays, you can't go to movies, you can't go to bars, you can't go to restaurants, you can't go to gyms, you can't go to anything unless you have your vaccination card. ... What if you have the antibodies, and what if you can't get the vaccination? You have to shelter in place now, like an American in Afghanistan?"
Kilmeade's screed was just the latest hysterical strawmen regarding vaccine passports and outreach, which right-wing media personalities and elected officials have compared to Jim Crow and Nazi secret police.
The host's false equivalence didn't go unchecked.
https://twitter.com/lispower1/status/1427973374609960965\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/OGnvSTRNxg— nikki mccann ram\u00edrez (@nikki mccann ram\u00edrez) 1629302552
Unvaccinated New Yorkers can always drink at home alone in a basement corner where they\u2019re less deadly. . .https://twitter.com/lispower1/status/1427973374609960965\u00a0\u2026— Paul Schmitt\ud83c\udf0a (@Paul Schmitt\ud83c\udf0a) 1629295081
fox news is intellectual terrorismhttps://twitter.com/lispower1/status/1427973374609960965\u00a0\u2026— Gary Olsen (LosHuertos) (@Gary Olsen (LosHuertos)) 1629294962
Equating facing health inspectors and health regulations to hiding from the Taliban?https://twitter.com/LisPower1/status/1427973374609960965\u00a0\u2026— Steven Dennis (@Steven Dennis) 1629294399
Lord have mercy.https://twitter.com/lispower1/status/1427973374609960965\u00a0\u2026— Megan is Probably Watching a Superhero Movie (@Megan is Probably Watching a Superhero Movie) 1629294080
https://twitter.com/LisPower1/status/1427973374609960965\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/rDAPRR1XvP— will digravio (@will digravio) 1629291496
Some said Fox was actively pushing its viewers to endanger themselves and others.
Expose yourself to a deadly virus and commit federal crimes to own the libs, the Fox News messagehttps://twitter.com/LisPower1/status/1427973374609960965\u00a0\u2026— Emily C. Singer (@Emily C. Singer) 1629293713
It\u2019s good to see conservative media coalesce around the @GOP and their pro-COVID stance.https://twitter.com/lispower1/status/1427973374609960965\u00a0\u2026— The Keeper (@The Keeper) 1629301514
It\u2019s clear that @kilmeade has no respect for the law, science, or his fellow humans.https://twitter.com/lispower1/status/1427973374609960965\u00a0\u2026— Jan X (@Jan X) 1629304378
Meanwhile, Fox News has implemented its own form of vaccine passports for employees.
@GovPressOffice/X
@thegrinningowl/Bluesky
@macstheknife/X
@JohnDuran/X
@elonmusk/X; @libsoftiktok/X
@elonmusk/X