Fox News’ Megyn Kelly and Howard Kurtz on Wednesday night jumped to Ann Coulter’s defense after the conservative writer refused to hug an undocumented immigrant during a Fusion interview on Tuesday.
When activist and undocumented Ecuadorian immigrant Gaby Pacheco on Tuesday asked to give Coulter a hug, Coulter declined and said she was recovering from the flu. And when Pacheco asked again, Coulter still refused to engage in a hug.
In an appearance on “The Kelly File” Wednesday, Kurtz said Coulter “was smart not to fall into this activist’s trap.”
“The woman was obviously trying to create an embarrassing moment for Ann and have an image that would go viral,” he said, adding that Coulter was being “diplomatic” when she said she had the flu.
Kelly agreed with Kurtz’s defense.
“She didn’t want to do it because it did seem like a trap,” Kelly said.
Kelly said that while on television, “You always have to be aware if someone is trying to bait you into something that you don’t want to be involved in.”
She then brought up an incident in 2004, when protesters threw pies at Coulter during a speech at the University of Arizona.
“You gotta give her a little bit of credit for being a little reticent about her public exchanges with a bunch of strangers,” Kelly said.
Watch the clip below via Media Matters:
