this post was submitted on 14 Sep 2025
509 points (99.2% liked)

World News

38168 readers
512 users here now

News from around the world!

Rules:

founded 6 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Fox News host Brian Kilmeade suggested using "involuntary lethal injection" to kill homeless people with mental illness during a September 10, 2025 segment of "Fox & Friends"[^1]. The comments came during a discussion about the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska by a homeless person with schizophrenia in North Carolina[^2].

After co-host Lawrence Jones argued that homeless people should be forced to accept help or face jail time, Kilmeade interjected: "Or involuntary lethal injection... or something. Just kill 'em"[^3]. His co-hosts briefly acknowledged the comment before continuing their discussion[^4].

The remarks sparked widespread condemnation. Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia tweeted: "America's homeless population includes over a million children and tens of thousands of veterans, many of whom served in Iraq or Afghanistan. Nobody deserves to be murdered by the government for mental illness or poverty"[^1].

California Governor Gavin Newsom responded by quoting Proverbs 21:13: "Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered"[^3].

[^1]: The Independent - Fox News' host Brian Kilmeade says 'just kill 'em' about mentally ill homeless people

[^2]: Rolling Stone - Fox Host Says to 'Just Kill 'Em' While Discussing Homeless People Who Decline Help

[^3]: HuffPost - 'Just Kill 'Em': Fox Host Makes Shocking Comment On Homeless People

[^4]: Media Matters - Fox News host on mentally ill people who commit crimes: "Just kill them"

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Bonifratz@sh.itjust.works 107 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Time to read up on Aktion T4, the Nazi campaign to mass murder people with disabilities and mental illness. During Aktion T4, the Nazis developed the techniques later used in concentration camps.

Kilmeade's comment is a Nazi comment.

Also, I don't know Don Beyer and maybe the tweet is meant in good faith, but arguing "we shouldn't kill the homeless because some of them are children or veterans" is highly problematic, too.

[–] Rudee@lemmy.ml 26 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Unfortunately some people have sympathy so selective that unless you can tug on very specific heartstrings, they will never give a damn about other people.

[–] hector@lemmy.today 13 points 1 month ago (2 children)

They are cynically playing the sheep, they have no heartstrings.

And the sheep are led into an alternate reality where the moral thing is to follow these cynical influencers.

It did not happen overnight, 30 years of fox working on previous propaganda has step by step brought their sheep to support fascism.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] bloup@lemmy.sdf.org 78 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (6 children)

Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade endorsed euthanizing unhoused people suffering from mental health issues who decline getting help.

Why do journalists do this sort of thing where a guy will literally say that we should murder homeless people and then they try to dress down their language to the point of dishonesty? Euthanasia is when you help something die that is in horrible unyielding pain. Not when you kill something because you don’t know how to take care of it.

[–] wurzelgummidge@lemmy.ml 23 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Journalists are an endangered breed, Fox certainly doesn't employ any

[–] floofloof@lemmy.ca 9 points 1 month ago

They're not talking about the language of the Fox presenters. They're talking about the journalists who report on what the Fox presenters said.

[–] Barabas@hexbear.net 18 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

They view homeless people as less than human and thus use the same wording as they would about an animal. Convenience euthanasia is when you just kill an animal because you don't want it anymore, but it is still called euthanasia.

[–] bloup@lemmy.sdf.org 10 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I guess what made me find this weaselly language especially sickening is I have long criticized the tendency of people to refer to killing inconvenient animals as “euthanasia” and I would usually ask people if they could imagine calling doing the same thing to people “euthanasia“. Well, I guess this person is happy to.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] RidgeDweller@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 month ago

News orgs, and frankly many public institutions, seem to be lliability averse to a fault. My guess is journalists have generally been instructed to use passive language to avoid libel lawsuits due to the expense of settlement or counsel fees.

Passive language has become so common in journalism these days, and the far right terrorist cohort realizes the vocal minority bad faith pearl clutching schtick works well enough that they continue to threaten litigation against objective truth regularly. It's Trump's MO, and I assume it works because those being sued are terrified his base will be out for blood if he doesn't get his way.

The more the news orgs settle and normalize this shit, the more inertia there is to get back to reality. It's maddening, tbh.

[–] Hanrahan@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Why do journalists do this sort of thing

FOX has always said it's entertainment, not News. They use that defence in court cases. They're not journalists, they're entertainers.

[–] bloup@lemmy.sdf.org 16 points 1 month ago

to be clear I’m quoting the Rolling Stones article that was linked

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] Zerush@lemmy.ml 72 points 1 month ago
[–] ExtremeDullard@piefed.social 71 points 1 month ago (1 children)

So this guy was sacked, right?
Just like the MSNBC dude who expressed schadenfraude OFF THE AIR over Kirk's murder, right?

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 52 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The Conservative Propaganda Machine is now openly calling for a systematic, government program to murder an entire large demographic group that makes them uncomfortable.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] UltraMagnus0001@lemmy.world 48 points 1 month ago (2 children)
[–] unconsequential@slrpnk.net 10 points 1 month ago

Zero chance he gets fired. He didn’t go off script. He just read the brackets.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Yerbouti@sh.itjust.works 37 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Remember the famous speech by Jesus: Involuntary lethal injection is A-Ok if it's for homeless people, but never involuntary inject a racist-sexist-hateful right wing figure with a bullet, that's not cool.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 14 points 1 month ago

It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare. If it's a legitimate involuntary bullet, the male body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.

[–] ideonek@piefed.social 36 points 1 month ago

All people who were in the room and didn't voice a protest should never be hired in media again.

[–] QuoVadisHomines@sh.itjust.works 34 points 1 month ago

Reminder this guy 16 years ago used overt white supremacist language on Fox and Friends and still kept his job.

[–] OhStopYellingAtMe@lemmy.world 34 points 1 month ago (1 children)

But they get upset when we call them Nazis.

[–] redchert@lemmygrad.ml 10 points 1 month ago

Their worldview can not exist without victimhood

[–] unwarlikeExtortion@lemmy.ml 31 points 1 month ago

Step 1 of Nazi mass murder: ✓

[–] PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmy.ml 30 points 1 month ago (2 children)

California Governor Gavin Newsom responded by quoting Proverbs 21:13: “Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered”

Holy shit that is gruesome even for Gruesome Newsom

[–] Lenins_Sabocat@lemmygrad.ml 13 points 1 month ago

So he's admitting that he can't sleep at night from the attacks he's made on the homeless, or does he have 0 self awareness? Bonus, even; he's a spineless demagogue.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] rizzothesmall@sh.itjust.works 29 points 1 month ago

Which is fine because he wasn't drawing attention to the known facts that Charlie Kirk was a divisive fascist and the president is sitting on evidence that he, the president, is a pedophile.

[–] SubgeniUS@hexbear.net 28 points 1 month ago

I actually prefer this honesty from them. We all know they already thought this and worse. Let them speak their minds and show us how repugnant they are. They're nazis, let it show.

[–] Horse@lemmygrad.ml 27 points 1 month ago (1 children)

i think brian kilmeade should be beaten to death with a brick like the rabid dog he is

[–] DampSquid@feddit.uk 15 points 1 month ago (1 children)

That's a bit harsh on dogs

[–] Tangentism@lemmy.ml 12 points 1 month ago

Thoughts & prayers for the brick

[–] zergtoshi@lemmy.world 21 points 1 month ago

If anyone can call for murder of anyone simply for being inconvenient, how long until people call for the murder of people like Brian Kilmeade?
Do the Brians seriously not see that coming?
Do those fucktards really think their opponents will forever try to stay on the moral high ground?
The future may hold some surprises for them, but not the kind of surprise they will like.

[–] Tenderizer78@lemmy.ml 19 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Newsom is in no position to criticize Kilmeade's abhorrent views.

[–] nightlily@leminal.space 14 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I was about to say, didn’t he destroy a homeless camp as a photo-op?

[–] LeeeroooyJeeenkiiins@hexbear.net 15 points 1 month ago

lol as a photo op? try as public policy

[–] redchert@lemmygrad.ml 17 points 1 month ago

Something something political violence.

[–] obre@lemmy.world 15 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Just remember, if you're working class you're never more than three bad months away from homelessness

[–] MasterBlaster@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Actually, I think you are being optimistic. Probably 2 months considering the debt most people have just to eat regularly.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] glimmer_twin@hexbear.net 14 points 1 month ago

“We deplore violence”

Also me:

[–] collapse_already@lemmy.ml 13 points 1 month ago

"We support our troops."

[–] roux@hexbear.net 13 points 1 month ago

I knew it was gonna piss me off but I still watched it.

Suggesting slaughtering hundreds of thousands of unhoused people? Hell yeah!

Laughing at Charli Kirk getting smoked? But he had a family!!!!!!

[–] barnaclebutt@lemmy.world 12 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Odd, I kinda feel the same way about Brian Kilmeades.

[–] zergtoshi@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Imagine him introducing himself as "I'm Brian, Kill Me..." and before he gets to finish the sentence, you do him the favour!

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] FordBeeblebrox@lemmy.world 12 points 1 month ago

This is A) Horrifying and B) Literal stochastic terrorism.

Any left leaning folk who aren’t familiar with firearms should start practicing now, the Nazis are drumming up a fight whether we want it or not

[–] badbytes@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago

That is literally, terrorism!

[–] Werbert@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] muxika@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I knew this was a shit timeline, but not "Street Trash IRL" bad.

Edit: Street Trash is a movie where a mysterious liquor starts "dissolving" the homeless when they drink it.

[–] PanArab@lemmy.ml 8 points 1 month ago

May he face what he condemns others to.

load more comments
view more: next ›