Fox News host Laura Ingraham is astute enough to know a liberal when she sees one.
Or so the controversial right-wing commentator claimed.
She recently used her Fox News platform to attack former Trump coronavirus task-force members Df. Deborah Birx and Dr. Anthony Fauci. The two medical doctors hold a laundry list of qualifications that made them seemingly fit choices to guide the country through the earliest months of the pandemic.
But Ingraham didn't like their body language.
To Ingraham—who was once called a monster by her own brother—it looked like some "liberal" body language.
Since Laura's getting all scientific-like, what does this body language tell us?pic.twitter.com/cjfL7LH5uQ— Eric Williams (@Eric Williams) 1623726878
Ingraham made the comments while conversing with GOP Senator Ron Johnson, of Wisconsin on her Fox News show The Ingraham Angle. To set up her criticisms, Ingraham referred to a recently published book by ex-Biden pandemic advisor Andy Slavitt.
According to Slavitt, Birx once implied she hoped Biden would win the election.
Ingraham said she was hardly surprised.
"I had the feeling―you know, I could just tell by her body language and the way she looked at President Trump. Same with Fauci. I mean, it was obvious to me from the very beginning that they were, you know, pretty liberal people―which is fine. They're liberals."
"But they can't have that much authority over these medical decisions as unelected Democrats in a Republican administration―not if they're not paying attention to real science."
Republican Senator Johnson apparently felt her comments were a nice opportunity to push conspiracy theories.
"There is a very deep state―it's primarily populated by liberal Democrats.They oppose a conservative president's agenda. ... It's actually amazing how much President Trump accomplished with that level of resistance."
People who heard about Ingraham's liberal radar, first reported by Media Matters and later by the Huffington Post, thought it was ridiculous.
Neither Birx nor Fauci were seen storming the Capital wearing their Q tee-shirts, so that must have seemed very suspicious to Laura.— Phillipe de Gravaux (@Phillipe de Gravaux) 1623726510
Because they carry themselves with the confidence of expert knowledge and do not exhibit thin-skinned behavior? Okay sure.— helchose for Congress\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@helchose for Congress\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1623726303
I don't know if I trust her take on "body language." After all, she mistook this for a hunk of burning lovepic.twitter.com/280omidSIr— xxxJDxxx (@xxxJDxxx) 1623726760
To be fair Laura generally proceeds from a position of lacking the remotest idea of what she\u2019s talking about, never with a concern it poses an obstacle.— Chuck Graef (@Chuck Graef) 1623727194
If anyone SHOULDN'T be talking about sociopolitical cues from body language, it's Laura Ingraham.pic.twitter.com/z6649M8EaO— vaxxed! \ud83e\udd8d\ud83d\udca8 (@vaxxed! \ud83e\udd8d\ud83d\udca8) 1623727155
It was the whole \u201cknuckles not dragging on the ground\u201d posture, wasn\u2019t it?— Matt Lehman (@Matt Lehman) 1623726651
Hmmmm\u2026\u2026Republican\u2026?pic.twitter.com/AdKWQnBcQL— Andrew M. Smith\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6 (@Andrew M. Smith\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6) 1623778207
Laura Ingraham could tell Fauci and Brie were liberals because\u2026\u2026.?\n\nBecause they desperately wanted everyone to live.— NMWizard (@NMWizard) 1623772305
pic.twitter.com/0f9ryBtpFw— Josh Hsu (@Josh Hsu) 1623726388
How? By the fact that they weren\u2019t goose-stepping?— \ud835\udc02\ud835\udc21\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc2b\ud835\udc25\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc2c \ud835\udc01\ud835\udc2e\ud835\udc1c\ud835\udc21\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc27 (@\ud835\udc02\ud835\udc21\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc2b\ud835\udc25\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc2c \ud835\udc01\ud835\udc2e\ud835\udc1c\ud835\udc21\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc27) 1623726465
Ingraham—who faced boycotts of her program's sponsors over her history of racism, xenophobia, homophobia, Islamaphobia, transphobia and various other bigotries—didn't elaborate on what distinguished liberal from conservative body language.
So for all you liberals out there, if you ever interact with Laura Ingraham, keep your cards close to your vest.