Fox Host: Joni Ernst Was ‘Feigning Outrage’ Over Being Called Attractive

Andrea Tantaros gave her take on Joni Ernst's response to being called attractive by Sen. Tom Harkin.
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Fox News host Andrea Tantaros said on Monday she believed Iowa Republican Senate nominee Joni Ernst was “feigning a little bit of outrage” over being called attractive by outgoing Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA).

Tantaros was on Fox’s “Outnumbered” discussing an appearance Ernst made on the news channel earlier in the day, where the candidate blasted the comments as sexist.

“He called her attractive,” Tantaros said. “She was feigning a little bit of outrage. There’s worse things he could say about her, right? That sounds like a very liberal woman’s response. Like ‘How dare he call me hot!’ Like every woman secretly likes to be acknowledged for their looks, I believe.”

Co-host Jedediah Bila agreed that Ernst was over-reacting.

“When she responded,” Bila said, “my instinct was ‘Ugh, why didn’t you just laugh it off? Why did you play offended?’ But I think she was capitalizing on a moment.”

During her Monday appearance on “Fox and Friends,” Ernst said Harkin wouldn’t have commented on her looks if her “name had been John Ernst.”

Harkin originally made the comments during a Democratic Party barbecue last week.

“She’s really attractive and she sounds nice,” Harkin said. “I don’t care if she’s as good looking as Taylor Swift or as nice as Mr. Rogers, but if she votes like Michelle Bachmann, she’s wrong for the state of Iowa.”

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Notable Replies

  1. Hahahaha! When issues collide.

    Ultimately, Tantaros would rather double-down on the “sexism doesn’t exist” canard than support a fellow GOPer.

    Too conservative for the GOP. Never thought I’d see the day.

  2. "She's really attractive and she sounds nice," Harkin said. "I don't care if she's as good looking as Taylor Swift or as nice as Mr. Rogers, but if she votes like Michelle Bachmann, she's wrong for the state of Iowa."
    

    Yet another mangled quotation. What Harkin actually said:

    “You know, in this Senate race, I’ve been watching some of these ads,” Harkin said, according to video of his remarks. “And there’s sort of this sense that, ‘Well, I hear so much about Joni Ernst. She’s really attractive, and she sounds nice.’”

    “Well I gotta to thinking about that," he continued. "I don’t care if she’s as good looking as Taylor Swift or as nice as Mr. Rogers, but if she votes like [Minnesota Rep.] Michele Bachmann, she’s wrong for the state of Iowa.”

    TPM seems to have abandoned all pretense of adhering to any journalistic standards, even with the bar set as low as it is by people like Chuck Todd.

  3. It’s a bit of an oversight ( probably intended) to omit that may of Ernst’s supporters have referred to her looks. Harkin’s remarks, when taken in full contexts, are not an illusion to her looks but a dismissal of that being important.

    Yes she was faking outrage…that’s all she does is fake.

  4. Avatar for rssrai rssrai says:

    It is reverse sexism for a woman to be offended by being called attractive when men get called attractive all the time when they are. Women say President Obama is good looking all the time, and he says thank you, thank you very much. Fox is right and wrong at the same time. I think I am going to go to purgatory for saying this.

  5. Avatar for mantan mantan says:

    Joni’s insisting she’s unattractive and has Ebola…

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