Rashida Tlaib Snaps at Fox News Over 'Death To America' Question

Representative Rashida Tlaib clashed with a Fox Business reporter on Thursday after being asked to condemn chants of "death to America" at a rally in her district.

The House Democrat from Michigan reacted by saying "I don't talk to Fox News," and accused the network of using "racist tropes" and being "Islamophobic."

The Context

On April 5 demonstrators gathered in Dearborn, Michigan, to mark the International Day of Al-Quds, an annual rally held in support of Palestine on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The protest took place outside the Henry Ford Centennial Library on Michigan Avenue. During the event some attendees chanted "death to America" and "death to Israel" in Arabic according to a report from The Detroit News.

What We Know

On Thursday Tlaib was approached by Fox Business correspondent Hillary Vaughn as she walked down a corridor in the Capitol Hill complex and repeatedly asked about the incident in Dearborn, with the exchange only ending when the congresswoman got into a lift.

Vaughn asked "at a rally in your district people were chanting 'death to America' do you condemn?" to which Tlaib replied: "I do not talk to Fox News."

Asked again to condemn the chanting Tlaib said: "I don't talk to people that use racist tropes."

She later added: "Using racist tropes towards my community is what Fox News is about and I don't talk to Fox News."

Vaughn questioned "is chanting death to America racist?" to which Tlaib replied: "I'm talking about your guys' racist tropes. You guys know exactly what you do. I know you're Islamophobic."

A clip of the incident was shared on social platform X by Daily Caller media reporter Nicole Silverio, where it received more than 325,000 views.

Newsweek contacted Rep. Tlaib's office and the Fox Business Network for comment at 3:30 a.m. ET on Friday. This article will be updated if either wants to comment.

Views

The comments from Rep. Tlaib, a Palestinian American and one of only two Muslim women in Congress, sparked an angry backlash on social media.

On X, Republican Senator Rick Scott said Tlaib "refuses to condemn chants of 'death to America.'"

He added: "This blatant disrespect to our nation is disgusting from anyone – especially a sitting member of the United States Congress."

Arsen Ostrovsky, a lawyer who runs the International Legal Forum, which is dedicated to "standing up for Israel," wrote: "Asked at least 6 times whether she condemns chants of "Death to America" (as just heard in her Michigan district), Rashida Tlaib refuses to answer. Is rather telling!"

The chanting in Dearborn on Al-Quds Day was condemned by the city's mayor Abdullah Hammoud.

In a post on X he said: "The hateful rhetoric heard on Friday does not reflect the opinion of the members of this community.

"We reject all inflammatory and violent statements made at the gathering. The Dearborn community stands for peace and justice for all people. We are proud to call this city and this country home."

Tensions surrounding the Middle East have surged since October 2023 when Hamas gunmen launched a surprise attack on southern Israel killing around 1,200 and taking several hundred people hostage. In response Israel launched a major air and ground operation against Hamas in Gaza which left 33,000 Palestinians dead according to the territory's health ministry, cited by the Associated Press, including many women and children.

On Wednesday President Joe Biden described American support for Israel as "ironclad" amid Iranian threats to retaliate following the assassination of a top Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps commander in Syria.