"Don't come": "Fox & Friends" hosts respond to Pete Buttigieg's Fox News criticism

Southbend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

The hosts of "Fox & Friends" responded on Monday to Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg's criticisms of Fox News during a town hall on the network, saying that the South Bend mayor's discussion of Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham's shows showed "absolutely no courage."

"Don’t hop on our channel and continue to put down the other hosts on the channel, or the channel. If you feel that negative about it, don’t come."

"Fox & Friends" host Brian Kilmeade

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What Buttigieg said, while defending appearing on the conservative-leaning network, following criticism from some Democrats:

"You’ve got Tucker Carlson saying that immigrants make America dirty. ... You’ve got Laura Ingraham comparing detention centers with children in cages to summer camps. There's a reason why anybody has to swallow hard and think twice before participating in this media ecosystem."

The other side: President Trump earlier accused Fox News of "wasting airtime" on the Southbend, Indiana, mayor at the town hall in Claremont, New Hampshire. "Fox is moving more and more to the losing (wrong) side in covering the Dems," he said.

The big picture: Buttigieg discussed a range of issues at the town hall with Fox News' Chris Wallace, including his views on conservative moves to restrict abortions. He was given a standing ovation at the end of the town hall.

I believe that the right of a woman to make her own decisions about her reproductive health and about her body is a national right. I believe it is an American freedom that should be enjoyed by women in every state. The next president needs to be ready to protect those rights. pic.twitter.com/NM5IJkO9GO

— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) May 20, 2019

Go deeper: Pete Buttigieg on the issues, in under 500 words