The controversy has escalated beyond social media with Corey Lewandowski, adviser to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, threatening the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the event to detain and deport undocumented immigrants. "There is nowhere that you can provide safe haven to people who are in this country illegally. Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else," he told right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson on The Benny Show.
"How radical is Abigail Spanberger?" a voice says at the start of the 30-second spot. "She didn't just vote to let men in girls' locker rooms. She wrote the bill. Spanberger believes this man has the right to undress next to little girls, but it gets worse. If a child wants to change genders, Spanberger says the parents shouldn't be told. That's insane."
The late-night host's show returned after a brief suspension over comments regarding Charlie Kirk. In case you missed it, or you're in a market where local affiliates are still refusing to air the show, we've got a rundown of all the highlights. Kimmel teared up, explaining that he never intended to make light of Kirk's death. And he called political efforts to sway networks and affiliates from airing the show "un-American," noting it wasn't just about comedy.
First the piece of content, then everyone hops on, makes it about them and puts their own meaning on it, and then all the players double down into another culture war, more content, clippable, meme-able, performative. Every now and then people remember that a tragedy has happened, and there's a bit of performative decorum. And then more content arrives in, and dopamine zings.
Christopher Rufo took six months to contradict his own advice. In February, the conservative activist wrote that social-media posts "should no longer be grounds for automatic social and professional annihilation." This view won't come as a surprise to anyone who has followed Rufo's long crusade against left-wing cancel culture. By August, however, he had emulated his enemies, arousing outrage over a journalist's old tweets. The episode demonstrates not just his own hypocrisy but also why campaigns against unwelcome speech should always be resisted.
"I will hold the line," Mace said repeatedly, casting herself as a warrior against what she called "the gender cult," undocumented immigrants, and public colleges that acknowledge the existence of more than two genders.
