Tomi Lahren

Tomi Lahren
Lahren in 2018
Born (1992-08-11) August 11, 1992
Rapid City, South Dakota, U.S.
Residence Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma mater University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Occupation Vlogger: Tomi Lahren's Final Thoughts
Conservative political commentator
Employer Fox News/Fox Nation
Political party Republican

Tomi Lahren (/ˈtɒmi ˈlærən/; born August 11, 1992) is an American conservative political commentator and former television host.[1] She hosted Tomi on TheBlaze, where she gained notice for her short video segments called "final thoughts", in which she frequently criticized liberal politics.[2] Many of her videos went viral, with The New York Times describing her as a "rising media star."[3]

Lahren was suspended from TheBlaze in March 2017 after saying in an interview on The View that she believed women should have legal access to abortion.[4] Shortly thereafter, she began working for Great America Alliance, an advocacy organization that supports Donald Trump,[5] and, in August 2017, she joined Fox News as a contributor.[6] Lahren's commentaries have frequently been described by critics as racist, which she disputes.[3]

Early life

Lahren grew up in Rapid City, South Dakota, in a USMC family, and attended Central High School.[7][8][9] She is of German and Norwegian descent.[10] Lahren graduated from University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2014 with a B.A. in broadcast journalism and political science.[11] She also hosted and associate produced the university's political roundtable show The Scramble.[12] Lahren interned for Republican congresswoman Kristi Noem, serving as the first intern at Noem's Rapid City office.[13]

Career

Hoping to find an internship in political commentary, Lahren applied to One America News Network (OANN), obtained an interview, and was instead offered the opportunity to host her own show. She moved to San Diego, California and began working for OANN. On Point with Tomi Lahren debuted in August 2014.[14][7][15]

In July 2015, a video of her commentary on the 2015 Chattanooga shootings garnered widespread attention.[16] On August 19, Lahren announced that she had completed her last show with OANN. She moved to Texas, and began a new show with TheBlaze in November 2015. She became known for ending her program with three-minute segments called "final thoughts", in which she spoke extremely quickly. These segments became widely popular on social media, but have been called "screeds" and "rants".[17]

In January 2016, Lahren endorsed Marco Rubio for president in the Republican Party presidential primary.[18][19] On November 30, Lahren appeared on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah for a 26-minute interview. Many critics compared her appearance to former host Jon Stewart's friendly rivalry with Bill O'Reilly.[20][21][22]

On March 17, 2017, Lahren made a guest appearance on The View in which she said that women should have access to abortion and said she would be a hypocrite if she supported both "limited government and also government restrictions on abortion".[23] TheBlaze's owner, Glenn Beck, who is pro-life , criticized Lahren for her comments and suspended her with pay,[4][24] leading Lahren to file a wrongful termination suit.[25][26][27] The suit was settled under an agreement in which Lahren kept her Facebook page but removed videos she had made with TheBlaze.[28]

In May 2017, Lahren began working in communications at Great America Alliance, an offshoot of Great America PAC, a large pro-Donald Trump super PAC chaired by Newt Gingrich and Rudy Giuliani. Lahren described her role there as a "side gig" and said she would return to television as a commentator.[5] In August 2017, Lahren joined Fox News as a contributor.[11]

Political views

Lahren speaking at a campaign rally for U.S. Senate candidate Kelli Ward in August 2018

Lahren describes herself as a "constitutional conservative".[29] She has said that she is a commentator, not a journalist,[30] and that her shows are not about presenting news neutrally, but about commentary and "mak[ing] the news".[17] The Daily Beast described her as a "right-wing provocateur".[31]

Critics have considered Lahren's commentaries racist, which Lahren has disputed.[3][30] She has been described as an "anti-feminist who admires strong women", with positions on immigration similar to those of Donald Trump.[17] She has criticized African Americans on various social issues, including drug abuse and unemployment.[17] She has said that while she does not consider herself a feminist,[32] she believes in women's empowerment and looks up to various women from both the political left and the political right.[17]

In July 2016, Lahren posted a tweet comparing the Black Lives Matter movement to the Ku Klux Klan.[17] Tens of thousands of people signed a Change.org petition in response asking for her to be fired from TheBlaze.[33] The petition was unsuccessful. In November 2016, Lahren released a video on the protests against Donald Trump.[34] In August 2016, she released a video criticizing NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who had been protesting police brutality by kneeling during the playing of the national anthem before football games.[3]

In March 2017, Lahren said she was pro-choice, sparking criticism from a number of pro-life writers.[35] TheBlaze owner Glenn Beck, among others, noted that Lahren had previously publicly said she was pro-life, in addition to numerous other inconsistencies on other issues.[26] Soon thereafter, Lahren told Playboy that she had always supported abortion rights as a matter of national law but was personally against abortion.[36][37]

Lahren supports fracking and denied climate change.[9][23]

Controversy

In August 2018, at a political rally for Kelli Ward, Lahren warned against voters electing 'RINOs' (Republicans in name only) like Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake into Congress.[38] Lahren was criticized as cruel and disrespectful as McCain was in very poor health; that day he discontinued medical treatment for brain cancer, and he died the next day. Many people have called out Lahren for her behavior including former Fox News anchor Greta Van Susteren.[39][40]

References

  1. ↑ Schmidt, Samantha (2017-07-31). "Tomi Lahren, conservative firebrand, bashes Obamacare while benefiting from it". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-02-27.
  2. ↑ Wilson, Jason (2016-09-23). "The rise of Tomi Lahren, the media star lampooned as 'white power Barbie'". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-02-27.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Bromwich, Jonah Engel (December 4, 2016). "Tomi Lahren: Young, Vocal and the Right's Rising Media Star". The New York Times.
  4. 1 2 Estepa, Jessica (March 20, 2017). "Commentator Tomi Lahren suspended from TheBlaze". USA Today.
  5. 1 2 Schmidt, Samantha (May 23, 2017). "Tomi Lahren lands new gig at pro-Trump advocacy group after settling suit with the Blaze". The Washington Post.
  6. ↑ Otterson, Joe (August 30, 2017). "Fox News Signs Tomi Lahren as Contributor". Variety.
  7. 1 2 Hammond, Christy (September 21, 2014). Rapid City woman anchors political talk show at 22, Rapid City Journal
  8. ↑ Soderlin, Barbara (May 7, 2010). Teens gear up for first job hunt, Rapid City Journal
  9. 1 2 Tomi Lahren: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know
  10. ↑ "Tomi Lahren: the young Republican who's bigger than Trump on Facebook". BBC. November 29, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  11. 1 2 Otterson, Joe (August 30, 2017). "Fox News Signs Tomi Lahren as Contributor". Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  12. ↑ The Scramble - Episode 315, UNLV Journalism and Media Studies, youtube channel
  13. ↑ "Who Is Tomi Lahren? 10 Things You Need to Know About the 24-Year-Old Conservative Commentator". March 16, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Tomi Lahren on Twitter". Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  15. ↑ Beattie, James (July 20, 2015). Watch: News Anchor Gets Fed Up With Obama, Says What Everyone's Thinking In EPIC Rant, Western Journalism Center
  16. ↑ Conley, Cole (July 21, 2015). TV host Tomi Lahren slams Obama's Middle East policy, USA Today
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wendling, Mike (November 30, 2016). "Tomi Lahren: the young Republican who's bigger than Trump on Facebook". Retrieved December 7, 2016 – via www.bbc.com.
  18. ↑ "New video highlights Marco Rubio's conservative credentials - Florida Politics". Florida Politics. 2016-01-14. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
  19. ↑ TheBlaze (2016-03-11), Blue Wall: Why Tomi Supports Marco Rubio | "Tomi", retrieved 2017-04-09
  20. ↑ Deerwester, Jayme (December 1, 2016). "After that 'Daily Show' interview, is Tomi Lahren Trevor Noah's Bill O'Reilly?". USA Today. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  21. ↑ Bradley, Laura (December 1, 2016). "The Daily Show Just Got One Step Closer to Reviving the Spirit of Jon Stewart". Vanity Fair. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  22. ↑ O'Neal, Sean (December 1, 2016). "Trevor Noah has his best interview yet with living Facebook screed Tomi Lahren". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  23. 1 2 Cobler, Nicole (June 2017). "Tomi Lahren: Being a conservative is much harder than being a woman". Dallas News.
  24. ↑ "Tomi Lahren 'banned permanently' from The Blaze". March 26, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  25. ↑ "Tomi Lahren sues Glenn Beck and The Blaze for wrongful termination". USA Today. April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  26. 1 2 Martin, Naomi (April 7, 2017). "Tomi Lahren sues Glenn Beck, The Blaze for wrongful termination over pro-choice stance". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  27. ↑ "Tomi Lahren Sues Glenn Beck For Wrongful Termination". Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  28. ↑ Hawkins, Derek (May 2, 2017). "Tomi Lahren settles lawsuit with Glenn Beck, the Blaze, ending abortion comment dust-up". The Washington Post.
  29. ↑ McGough, Cameron (March 18, 2017). "Conservative host Tomi Lahren came out as pro-choice". Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  30. 1 2 Wilson, Jason (September 23, 2016). "The rise of Tomi Lahren, the media star lampooned as 'white power Barbie'". The Guardian.
  31. ↑ Burke, Timothy (2018-08-22). "Tomi Lahren Lives in Alternate Universe Where Fox News Never Attacked Michelle Obama". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  32. ↑ "'I will not lay down and play dead — ever,' Tomi Lahren tells 'Nightline' - Texas". Dallas News. April 13, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  33. ↑ Tulp, Sophia (July 13, 2016). "Over 56,000 people want Tomi Lahren fired from TheBlaze after KKK tweet". USA Today. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  34. ↑ Bryant, Nick. "CLINTON VS TRUMP HOW DID IT COME TO THIS?." Australian Women's Weekly 86, no. 3 (March 2016): 86. Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File, EBSCOhost (accessed November 14, 2016).
  35. ↑ Schmidt, Samantha (18 March 2017). "'I'm pro-choice,' says Tomi Lahren: 'Stay out of my guns, and you can stay out of my body'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  36. ↑ "Tomi Lahren Exclusively Talks To Playboy After Her Blaze Fallout". Playboy. May 2, 2017.
  37. ↑ Guinto, Joseph (May 7, 2017). "Tomi Lahren Will Not Shut Up". Politico.
  38. ↑ Hutzler, Alexandra. "Tomi Lahren calls John McCain 'RINO' on same day his family announced he was stopping cancer treatment". Newsweek. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  39. ↑ Haring, Bruce. "Fox News Contributor Tomi Lahren Criticized For Dig At John McCain". Deadline. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  40. ↑ "John McCain: Tributes as Vietnam veteran and six-term senator dies at 81". BBC News. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  • Fox News Insider: "Tomi Lahren's Final Thoughts"
  • Joseph Guinto (May 7, 2017). "Profile: Tomi Lahren Will Not Shut Up". Politico magazine.
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