It seems like once or twice a year Tomi Lahren will say something so outrageous that the general public can't help but be outraged. Honestly, it's clearly her strategic bread and butter. Offend the snowflakes, generate attention, cash in on said controversy for fame and fortune from her army of followers on the right. Rinse and repeat.
Except for this time, it backfired entirely.
As Wednesday night's Democratic primary debate was getting underway, Lahren took to Twitter to attack Sen. Kamala Harris.
Kamala did you fight for ideals or did you sleep your way to the top with Willie Brown?— Tomi Lahren (@Tomi Lahren) 1564619193.0
The attack has nothing to do with policy or even political ideology. Instead, it's a smear stemming from the early days of Harris' professional career when she dated former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. Though there is no supporting evidence to the attack, Lahren was playing into an idea floated by some conspiracy theorists that Harris only had a romantic relationship with Brown in order to jumpstart her then-nascent political career. No steam-affair, no rise to California Attorney General, no election to the U.S. Senate and no top-tier presidential campaign in 2020.
It's so ridiculous that it's not even worth breaking down the logic.
It's so offensive that several of Lahren's own colleagues at the Fox News Channel publicly chastised her for the low blow.
@TomiLahren If a male contributor had tweeted this they would probably be suspended with a trip to HR. Pretty disgu… https://t.co/RIJF5dGoos— Janice Dean (@Janice Dean) 1564649246.0
Fox News meteorologist Janice Dean responded on the thread, writing:
"If a male contributor had tweeted this they would probably be suspended with a trip to HR. Pretty disgusting, Tomi. Are clicks and retweets worth demeaning women? Would you do the same to a 'conservative' female candidate?"
I am curious to know what you think bringing a woman’s personal/sexual life into this accomplishes. Men do that to… https://t.co/qFj0vocCbF— Kat Timpf (@Kat Timpf) 1564622098.0
Fellow political host Kat Timpf added:
"I am curious to know what you think bringing a woman's personal/sexual life into this accomplishes. Men do that to us enough as it is. I'm honestly asking."
@TomiLahren Do you have any idea how damaging this is to women who’ve actually been sexually harassed, assaulted or… https://t.co/22RvJEQRE6— Britt McHenry (@Britt McHenry) 1564629522.0
And finally, Britt McHenry, another Fox News personality who has accused her former co-host of sexual harrassment, probably had the most damning response of all:
"Do you have any idea how damaging this is to women who've actually been sexually harassed, assaulted or demeaned in the workplace? How much this weakens our own gender, regardless of partisanship. My goodness."
It got so bad that Lahren finally tweeted a half-hearted apology.
I apologize for my comment on Kamala’s personal relationship. It was the wrong choice of words. There are many othe… https://t.co/1Me3KvDBSZ— Tomi Lahren (@Tomi Lahren) 1564666001.0
The question remains: Did Lahren actually learn anything from the exchange? Or, is she simply embarrassed for having been called out? There's nothing with criticizing Kamala Harris for her political beliefs, her record or her policy proposals. But keep it in the arena of ideas or get out of the debate game and leave the jousting to those with something to say and the principles to say it correctly.