Fox News Co-Host's Quip About Paul Pelosi Sparks Fury: 'Sickening'

Fox News' Rachel Campos-Duffy's quip about Paul Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has sparked fury on social media on Saturday.

President Joe Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 19 recipients on Friday, including to Representative Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, former Secretary of State John F. Kerry, a Democrat, and Representative James E. Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat. Many recipients of this highest civilian award were Biden's political allies.

Appearing on Fox News' Jesse Watters Primetime on Friday, Campos-Duffy listed others who she felt should receive the Medal of Freedom including former President Donald Trump, billionaire Elon Musk for "caring about freedom of speech," and the U.S. Border Patrol.

Pete Hegseth, who hosts Fox & Friends Weekend with Campos-Duffy, praised his colleague's choice of suggested recipients, calling it a "great list" on Jesse Watters Primetime.

"But it's probably more likely to go to Paul Pelosi, Susan Rice, and [Democratic California Governor] Gavin Newsom," Hegseth saidFriday. "So, I think your list is correct but a little off brand for Big Joe." Rice was previously the director of the domestic policy council under the Biden administration after serving under former Presidents Barak Obama and Bill Clinton.

Campos-Duffy then quipped: "Well maybe Paul Pelosi needs the hammer instead of the medal," which was accompanied by laughter between the two.

Newsweek reached out to Fox News via email for comment.

The Fox News host was referring to an incident from October 2022 when Paul Pelosi was struck with a hammer by assailant David DePape who broke into the Pelosis' San Francisco home in the early morning hours. Nancy Pelosi, who was House speaker at the time, was not home during the attack.

Paul Pelosi, who was 82 at the time, was hospitalized with a fractured skull, among other injuries, following the attack. DePape was later convicted by a federal jury of one count of assault on the immediate family member of a federal official and one count of attempted kidnapping of a federal official.

DePape still faces state charges relating to the attack—attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, residential burglary, false imprisonment and threatening the life of or serious bodily harm to a public official.

When asked about the backlash Campos-Duffy received for her remarks, Aaron Bennett, a spokesperson for the Pelosi family told Newsweek via email on Sunday: "Due to the ongoing attempted murder trial of the man who allegedly attacked Mr. Pelosi, the Pelosi family has no comment."

Meanwhile, people on social media were outraged that Campos-Duffy made light of the attack.

Lawyer George Conway, a political commentator who is a frequent critic of Trump, reacted to a clip of Campos-Duffy's joke on X, formerly Twitter and wrote: "Sick. Utterly sick. Welcome to @FoxNews."

Political commentator Brian Krassenstein, who gained fame for trolling Trump during his presidency, called the joke "sickening."

"Since when was it funny to joke about an 84 year old grandpa being hit and nearly killed by a hammer? Can we please stop villainizing those we disagree with?" he wrote.

X user @mmpadellan, a Democrat who has 1.3 million followers on X, wrote: "Paul Pelosi was almost brutally MURDERED by an attacker's hammer, and this ghoul, Rachel Campos-Duffy, thinks that was hilarious? Seriously, Fox News? Telling your audience that attempted murder is laugh-worthy? Maybe Rachel Campos-Duffy needs to be fired instead of being employed, or do you guys need to be sued for another $787 million?"

Fox News settled a lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems in April 2023 for over $787 million to avoid a defamation trial over lies it allegedly broadcasted about the 2020 presidential election.

Others on X used words like "disgusting, reprehensible, and vile" to describe the joke.

Update 5/5/24, 6:03 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Bennett and with additional information.