Ben Shapiro, the right-wing founder of The Daily Wire, defended Fox News host Laura Ingraham’s assertion that child detention camps at the U.S.-Mexico border were “essentially summer camps,” adding that “people actually are being treated pretty humanely in detention centers.”
Shapiro made the comments live on his podcast this morning and dedicated a portion of his show to criticize Democratic presidential candidate Buttigieg’s appearance on Fox News. Buttigieg went on Fox News last night for a town hall forum with network hosts, after which he was predictably attacked by the network’s other hosts and their analogs in right-wing media.
At one point, Shapiro focused on Buttigieg’s comment that he had faced criticism for agreeing to appear on Fox News because of the demeaning comments hosts Tucker Carlson and Ingraham have made about immigrants. Carlson has said that immigration makes the country dirtier, and Ingraham has likened child detention centers to summer camps. Shapiro reacted by defending Carlson's and Ingraham’s comments and accusing Buttigieg of “pandering to the left,” which would be truly unthinkable given that Buttigieg is running as a Democrat.
“As far as Laura Ingraham, again, I don’t think they’re wonderful comments when she’s comparing detention centers to summer camps, but my recollection of that is what she’s discussing is that people actually are being treated pretty humanely in detention centers, which is generally a true story,” Shaprio said.
Shapiro went on to accuse Buttigieg of supporting “extreme policies” while “coming off as moderate.”
Five children have died in child detention camps since December, CBS Houston reported today, including one child who died last week. Children have been separated from their parents, and despite the Trump administration’s reversal of its “zero tolerance” immigration policy, families continue to be divided at the border.
