Tomi Lahren’s first post-TheBlaze interview is out – and it’s with Playboy. It’s an unconventional choice for a conservative, but not at all shocking since conservatives – and their sexism – are to blame for her ouster. In her mind, at least.
The interview is long (8,000 words) and contains a trigger warning at the beginning:
The conversation that follows is unavoidably going to offend a lot readers on both sides of spectrum. Our goal was to understand the psychology and history of a firebrand who’s currently at war with both her party and the left wing. We’ll leave it to you to decide if she’s the future of conservative media, the hopelessly partisan mouthpiece of the spiraling Trump administration or something else entirely.
I don’t see many conservative readers being “offended” by the conversation. I predict reactions more of the eye roll and chuckling variety.
On quite a few topics, I agreed with Tomi. What currently passes for “feminism” in this country is incredibly harmful to women. “Hands up, don’t shoot” was a false narrative (fake news!). The mainstream media delegitimizes the plight of white working class Americans.
But there are two topics Lahren is dead wrong on.
If you thought her comments on abortion couldn’t get any more nonsensical, well, get ready. Here we go:
I’m anti-abortion. But I’m pro-choice because I don’t believe the government does most things well, in the same way that I don’t believe a gun-free zone or a weapons ban is going to limit violence. I also don’t believe government-restricted abortion is going to lessen abortion.
Huh? You think if government restricts or forbids abortion, or makes the country an “abortion-free zone” that won’t limit the practice? Well, actually, it will. It wouldn’t eliminate it, but it most certainly would limit it.
But take the phrase “I’m pro-choice because I don’t believe the government does things most things well,” and try to explain to me exactly what government’s ineptitude has to do with being pro-life or pro-choice? In any discussion I’ve ever had about abortion over the years, the number of times government bureaucracy has come up is exactly zero.
She was then asked if she thought airing her (inconsistent) views on abortion on The View was a bad career move, and replied:
I mean, for those are willing to discount me or throw me out as such a strong female voice on the right, or discount me because I don’t link up on every item on your check list? I don’t really need you. You can disagree with me, but if you now hate me or turn your back on me because I have this position, I don’t need you.
As almost every other female conservative writer or commentator has said since that time – people aren’t willing to discount you as a strong female voice because you don’t line up on every item on their check list. There are many examples of her non-abortion views that were slammed for being uninformed or, just plain horrible – for instance, on Syrian refugees and the USDA and beef.
She slammed “the right” for diminishing, silencing, and shaming her:
But I feel like if the right is not a champion for free speech and independent thinking, who will be? Also, the left is watching how the right treats women, and we are doing their work for them. We can’t silence, diminish, and shame a strong female voice because she takes an opinion that maybe we don’t like—even if she stands for conservative values in every other way but this one issue. I think the left looks at us and thinks, “Oh, good, you’re doing our work for us by taking down strong women on the right.”
Does she even realize how she’s completely buying into the feminist BS victimhood mentality she railed on a few questions earlier? There are dozens of strong, independent female voices in conservative media – including close to a dozen right here at RedState. And just ask our fellow contributors. I don’t think they would ever characterize one as weak, nor would they attempt to silence us for an opinion they don’t like.
Tomi, remember that show you were on, The View? Jedediah Bila is a strong female voice – but she knows what she’s talking about and doesn’t stoop to using sensationalism to build her career. You have Mary Katharine Ham, Dana Loesch, Kira Davis, Katie Pavlich, Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter – the list goes on. Those women don’t all agree on everything, but when male conservatives disagree with them they don’t cry sexism.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member