Ask anyone who's lived west of the Rockies in recent years—wildfire smoke is no laughing matter.
It makes you sick. It makes you wheeze. It makes your head hurt for days and keeps you up at night with gravel in your throat. It also kills people.
So naturally, the fine, upstanding folks at Fox News think it's hilarious New York and several other East Coast cities are currently blanketed in smoke from the Canadian wildfires. They also think anyone who thinks otherwise is a giant "woke" baby.
Fox News went full retro on the topic, with mainstays Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro and Jesse Watters mocking the public health advice to wear a mask outside to protect from the smoke just like they did during the pandemic.
First up is Pirro, who somehow made the wildfire smoke the fault of New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and implied Democrats smelled an "opportunity" in the horrifically toxic New York air to bring back "mask insanity."
You can see Pirro's comments here:
With a straight face and devoid of irony, Pirro said:
“While Americans choke on the smoke, the far left smells an opportunity... [AOC] says that we must, quote, ‘Adapt our food systems, energy grids, infrastructure, and health care to prepare for what’s to come [with climate change]."
"Other Democrats are pumping up climate hysteria and bringing back, you guessed it, mask insanity."
That's right, not breathing wildfire smoke is for snowflake libs.
Then there was Jesse Watters, who took a break from bragging about being a predator to use the wildfire situation to blame Democratic President Joe Biden for not doing whatever it is President Biden is supposed to do about wildfires in another country.
Watters said:
“Half the country can’t go outside or breathe fresh air because of our stupid neighbors up north, and the President hasn’t said a single word about it because we don’t have a real President."
He then went on to mock New York City Mayor Eric Adams for giving New Yorkers similar advice to that during the early days of the pandemic—stay home and wear a mask if you must go out because the air is literally poison right now.
Then Sean Hannity claimed the whole thing wasn't even happening and everyone complaining was just a bunch of weakling cry-babies.
\u201cwhat is wrong with these people\u201d— Andrew Lawrence (@Andrew Lawrence) 1686188958
Speaking to contributor Charly Arnolt, Hannity said:
“I’m like, ‘I’m walking in the same place you’re walking in and I don’t feel a thing'..."
“I think if I was having difficulty breathing I would notice, but these are young people saying this. Are they all snowflakes?”
Arnolt agreed, saying everyone was playing the "victim card."
As you might guess, this stuff hasn't gone over very well with people who breathe and live in the affected areas.
\u201c@ndrew_lawrence You couldn\u2019t even see the sky today. All of New York City smells like burnt wood. They know this. They are in NYC.\u201d— Andrew Lawrence (@Andrew Lawrence) 1686188958
\u201cFox has learnt nothing. On the Canadian fires \ud83d\udd25 \n\n...nothing to do with climate change\n\n..another excuse for people to start complaining again\n\n..are young people all snowflakes\n\n\ud83e\udd37\ud83c\udffb good grief\n\nhttps://t.co/QlBB8jpdCT\u201d— Andrew Lissiman (@Andrew Lissiman) 1686267337
\u201cJeanine Pirro, Jesse Watters and Sean Hannity all dismissed the city\u2019s atrocious air quality \u2014 and mocked official advice to wear face masks\n\nIrresponsible, reprehensible & dangerous garbage flowing from FOX\n\nAre they trying to get people to die? https://t.co/AMVl7uWkAb\u201d— \ud83c\udf0e Revolves Around The Sun (@\ud83c\udf0e Revolves Around The Sun) 1686222780
\u201c.@FoxNews commentators haven't learned not to lie from the #dominion lawsuit. This mashup video shows how nefarious #MurdochGutterMedia is. #climatechangeisreal https://t.co/p9NM6r7vFY\u201d— jimmymalecki \ud83c\udf08 #ratverifed \ud83d\udc00 (@jimmymalecki \ud83c\udf08 #ratverifed \ud83d\udc00) 1686266769
\u201c@ndrew_lawrence He has the audacity to call people snowflakes when he\u2019s one of the people who ran wall to wall coverage of the genitals of M&Ms. A dangerous pathetic person\u2026\u201d— Andrew Lawrence (@Andrew Lawrence) 1686188958
\u201cWelp...\nGo ahead MAGA.\nDon't listen to science.\nKeep believing FOX and go outside and inhale some fresh air.\nDeeply... \nRepeatedly.... \nTake some horse meds just to be safe...\n\nFox News Hosts Have Most Predictable Response To New York Wildfire Smoke\nhttps://t.co/skhPE4NygD\u201d— GrouchyMarkx\u262e\ufe0f (@GrouchyMarkx\u262e\ufe0f) 1686228628
\u201cI guess I shouldn't be surprised, but Fox News going with "there's totally nothing wrong with breathing in smoke all day" has caught me off guard\u201d— Stop Cop City (@Stop Cop City) 1686233679
\u201cFox\u2019s handling of the Canadian wildfires is a speed run of its deadly COVID coverage: The danger is overblown, masks are for losers, smoke isn\u2019t that bad for you. https://t.co/JCj22YQADE\u201d— Matthew Gertz (@Matthew Gertz) 1686228472
\u201cFox News and other conservative outlets have positioned themselves as science-deniers for so long, they have to maintain that stance no matter how abjectly stupid it is.\n\nEven if it means telling their viewers that breathing wildfire smoke is good.\n\nConservatism is a death cult.\u201d— ohrobin.bsky.social (@ohrobin.bsky.social) 1686242845
Fox News staffers were required to take the COVID-19 vaccinations and mask to enter Fox buildings, then spent years mocking pandemic health measures.
Their hypocrisy with this health hazard is likely the same.
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