Tomi Lahren tells people to 'leave' US, Internet says they are 'ashamed of the govt', not the country
Conservative political commentator Tomi Lahren has once again drawn flak from the Internet for her strong opinions on those who criticize President Donald Trump's administration. Employing rhetoric that has been used multiple times where Trump supporters tell those who oppose his moves to leave the country if they do not like his decisions, Lahren seemed to push the narrative that the world is the United States' playground.
Lahren, who is the host of 'First Thoughts' on Fox News' streaming service, Fox Nation, tweeted, "If you don’t like this country there are about 200 others to choose from. Pick one and leave." While there aren't quite 200 countries that Americans can travel to — there are 193 United Nations member states, of which only 183 countries that Americans can travel to without a visa.
Many took to social media to criticize Lahren's tweet. Some said that they loved the country and reserved the right to criticize what they do not like about it. A user wrote, "It's not only our right, but it's also our duty when our leadership is incompetent. Poor Tomi doesn't have the wherewithal to understand that or to see 'incompetence'. Sad." Another responded, "I love this country! It's the government I'm ashamed of."
A user tweeted, "In this country, we're allowed to criticize an incompetent leader. If you don't like that, try North Korea," while another wrote, "Says the person who thinks immigrants should stay and fix their own countries rather than coming here."
Some users joked that other countries would not let Americans in due to the country's poor response to the coronavirus pandemic. Former CIA agent John Sipher tweeted, "They won’t let us in," as another chimed in, "How? No country will allow us in because Donald Trump, the President, is considered to be the worst leader right now on planet earth. Can you make a call or something?" A user wrote, "Yeah but none of them will let us in because Trump botched the pandemic response and Coronavirus is surging in the US while every other developed country is returning to normal life."
A user criticized Lahren's stance, tweeting, "This whole argument just shows your privilege and how easy you think it is. I would love to leave this country for one of the many better ones. I even tried and you know what? I can’t afford to leave. Almost nobody can." Another wrote, "What I absolutely cannot stand about these fake patriots and trump supporters is they claim to be so American. It’s very obvious that y’all don’t know our Constitution. Trump is our biggest threat to the Constitution and y’all worship him. None of these people are real Americans."
This is not the first time that the Fox News contributor has raised controversies over her tweets. In August 2019, Lahren tweeted in reference to Senator Kamala Harris, "Kamala did you fight for ideals or did you sleep your way to the top with Willie Brown?" Lahren was criticized for the tweet, including by fellow Fox News contributor, Kat Timpf. A month before, Lahren tweeted, "If you traipse your kid 2,000 miles in dangerous conditions you're not only a criminal, you're a shitty parent."
To this, the 'Avengers' and 'Knives Out' actor responded, "Wow. The complete lack of sympathy, respect, and general awareness is astonishing. Also, I would carry my kid through fire if it meant escaping hell." Earlier this year, Lahren tweeted that compliance to stay-at-home orders is "starting to look a whole lot like willful slavery" in a tweet that has since been deleted.