Conservative Journalist Denies Almost Uttering Racial Slur About Haitian Migrants

It happened Monday when Kelly was interviewing National Review editor Rich Lowry about the bomb threats and other threats of violence that have plagued the small city since former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, have spread a baseless smear that Haitian immigrants there were eating neighbors’ pets. Advertisement Vance told CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday that he felt the need to “create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people.” Lowry didn’t seem perturbed by the made-up story, comparing it to “alternative facts,” a term coined by Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway to defend his lies about the crowd size at his 2017 inauguration. In fact, Lowry went so far as to say that Vance had brought “other facts to bear in the debate that are being ignored.” Lowry then seemed amused that journalists such as Bash were spending their time trying to verify the story. “I loved ― I think it was Dana Bash in that interview ― where she says police have gone through 11 months of recordings of calls,” he said. Only two calls!” Many people on X, formerly Twitter, were convinced they heard Lowry almost say the N-word before correcting himself. Having a hard time coming to any conclusion besides the obvious one about what Rich Lowry catches himself blurting out here pic.twitter.com/PFHQMCS8UP — Madeline Peltz (@peltzmadeline) September 16, 2024 Although many people were convinced that Lowry started to say the racial slur, he got support from Fox News and National Review contributor Andy McCarthy. McCarthy defended Lowry, saying, he “obviously got crossed up between ‘immigrants’ (short i) and migrants (long i) ― started mispronouncing “migrants” with short i” but “instantly corrected himself with no embarrassment because it was patently a mispronunciation.” Advertisement Ridiculous. @richlowry (not tagged here, natch) obviously got crossed up between ‘immigrants’ (short i) and migrants (long i) — started mispronouncing “migrants” with short i; instantly corrected himself with no embarrassment because it was patently a mispronunciation. https://t.co/a1EYDqp3kl — Andy McCarthy (@AndrewCMcCarthy) September 16, 2024 Although Lowry didn’t respond to HuffPost’s request for a comment, he did comment on McCarthy’s defense, saying, “Yep, this is exactly what happened—I began to mispronounce the word ‘migrants’ and caught myself halfway through.” Yep, this is exactly what happened—I began to mispronounce the word “migrants” and caught myself halfway through https://t.co/Y1wyvrkq8x — Rich Lowry (@RichLowry) September 16, 2024 Support Free Journalism Consider supporting HuffPost starting at $2 to help us provide free, quality journalism that puts people first. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone. The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone. The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Kelly also chimed in, saying that the accusations against Lowry were “disgusting and obviously leveled by someone” who doesn’t know him. — Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) September 16, 2024 Advertisement However, many people on X weren’t convinced by Lowry’s explanation for the weird word slip. We all heard it with the hard R. — Alejandra Caraballo (@Esqueer_) September 16, 2024 Let’s let the people judge for themselves. Kinda a guilty conscience I’d say.https://t.co/BKriRLr4nM — Isiah Sanders (@MrZaySanders) September 16, 2024 – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/conservative-reporter-haitian-immigrants-slur_n_66e88926e4b0b7fef8322bab