Fox News personalities Pete Hegseth and Geraldo Rivera got into a heated argument about President Trump’s tweets directing four prominent liberal members of Congress to “go back” to their native countries if they’re unhappy with the status of America and the debacle that has since ensued.
Last Sunday, Trump expressed the idea on Twitter and has since repeatedly stood by the sentiment. The feud grew to new heights Wednesday night when the crowd at the president’s North Carolina rally chanted “send her back” after Trump mentioned Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. He proceeded to condemn the chant Thursday.
“I was disappointed by his tweet that started this firestorm, and then when the crowd started that chant, I was appalled. I think it was, it was un-American. It was, an attack that was a nativist, xenophobic, racist attack,” Rivera stated during Friday’s Fox & Friends. “I didn’t like it. I’m not alone. Ivanka, the president’s daughter, also suggested to him he made perhaps a mistake in that initial ‘send her back’ stuff. You know, ‘go back to where you came from’ is a old racist trope that all of us, ethnic or racial minorities have grown up with at various times. It is unforgivable, this day and age.”
Hegseth countered, “Geraldo, but you, like many, accused him of racism. But if you go back and look at that tweet, he’s not talking about race. He is talking about whether or not you love this country and appreciate it, and if you don’t appreciate it and don’t love it and don’t want to work to make it better, then maybe you could consider going somewhere else.”
“What the Hell, come on Pete? This is their country. They are citizens of the United States,” Rivera responded.
They then argued over whether or not they could say “go back to where you came from” to each other.
“You can’t say it to me!” Rivera announced. “I’ve had ten street fights based on that, saying to me because I’m Puerto Rican, ‘Go back where you came from.’ I was born on 17th Street.”
Hegseth maintained his argument that race was not a part of the debate and that it’s rather about “a lack of gratitude.”
