NEWARK, N.J. — Fox News host Greg Gutfeld launched a blistering attack on New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim and Gov. Mikie Sherrill after both Democrats appeared outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility during Memorial Day protests against ICE operations.
During a televised monologue, Gutfeld accused Kim and other Democrats of prioritizing undocumented immigrants over American veterans while using the Newark protest confrontation for political attention.
“So that’s how they spent their Memorial Day?” Gutfeld said. “The message is clear. Illegal immigrants, no matter how criminal they are, take priority over dead soldiers.”
The comments came after tensions escalated outside Delaney Hall over the weekend, where demonstrators protested alleged conditions inside the immigration detention facility and attempted to block detainee transfers.
Gutfeld Says Democrats Manufactured “Visual Chaos”
Gutfeld repeatedly accused protesters and Democratic officials of creating confrontations designed to generate political outrage and media coverage.
“Do I care that Andy Kim got pepper-sprayed? No, I don’t care,” Gutfeld said during the segment. “You are doing this on Memorial Day, champ.”
The Fox host also argued that demonstrators were intentionally provoking conflict with federal immigration agents.
“The visual chaos is caused by them,” Gutfeld said. “You brought the violence there, you scum.”
The remarks quickly spread online, particularly among conservative commentators and New Jersey political activists already criticizing Kim and Sherrill for appearing at the protest site.
Delaney Hall Protest Became National Flashpoint
The controversy erupted after protesters gathered outside Delaney Hall in Newark beginning Friday in support of detainees reportedly engaged in a hunger and labor strike over alleged medical neglect and detention conditions.
“So that’s how they spent their Memorial Day? … The message is clear. Illegal immigrants, no matter how criminal they are, take priority over dead soldiers. We would rather foment anti-American spectacles on Memorial Day. Do I care that Andy Kim got pepper-sprayed? No, I don’t care. You are doing this on Memorial Day, champ. You’re actually participating in something that undermines our country’s security.
You know, a veteran was murdered a few days ago. You didn’t give two turds about that. I don’t care about you. What Kim got was what he wanted. He wanted the attention off of Memorial Day and on him. But it’s not going to change the way we feel about him or anything else. Here’s the deal: this is all designed… All this that we know.
This and we’re not scared of it anymore. That’s the beauty of it. It doesn’t bother us. But it’s designed to create a visual spectacle, an obstacle that then pressures you into submission. Then when the spectacle happens, they go, ‘Look! Look what the policy is creating! Look at this chaos! Isn’t this awful?’
This went on in Minnesota. We can go through all that. But it’s the visual chaos that they claim is being caused by the deportation. No, it isn’t. The visual chaos is caused by them. It’s like if I throw a party and you bring a gun. You can’t blame me for my party leading to gun violence. You brought the violence there, you scum.
-Greg Gutfeld | Fox News
Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Sen. Andy Kim both visited the facility on Memorial Day. Sherrill later said federal officials denied her request to enter the detention center.
Kim stated he was pepper-sprayed while attempting to calm tensions during a confrontation between demonstrators and federal agents.
Sherrill later criticized ICE officers and accused them of escalating the situation.
“When you pepper spray a United States senator, you are not working to keep people safe,” Sherrill said earlier this week.
The Department of Homeland Security responded by accusing Sherrill of “shamelessly peddling smears” against ICE personnel and defending federal immigration enforcement operations.
