Fox News is declaring war with GQ over a profane column aimed at Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson.
The column, written by Drew Magary, didn’t mince words in the headline: “F— Ben Carson.” From there, Magary assailed Carson for his recent comments on guns and mass shootings. And Magary, who also serves as a columnist for the website Deadspin, wrote that controversial remarks from Republican candidates Carson, Donald Trump and Bobby Jindal provide evidence of what those candidates think of voters.
“You are now bearing witness to an arms race of stupid, because stupid is in such high demand from the GOP base at the present moment,” Magary wrote. “Stupid is what gets you attention, and attention is what gets you better polling numbers.”
He added: “Some of these guys have done a cynical bit of calculus and are betting that the Stupid Vote constitutes the majority of the American electorate. And maybe they’re right, but that’s not exactly the most encouraging view to have of the people you wish to serve.”
The column is Magary’s typical fare. On Deadspin and in GQ, he offers up humorous takes on sports, politics and culture that often veer into vulgar territory.
But Magary’s column on Carson has been met with outrage on the right, particularly Fox News. Since the piece was published on Thursday, the cable news channel has devoted several segments to attacking Magary and GQ.
In an interview on Thursday, Carson’s campaign manager Barry Bennett said the candidate “was a little sickened” by the column.
“I think we all are,” replied Fox anchor Sandra Smith.
Fox has kept up the outrage on Friday. “Fox & Friends” co-host Brian Kilmeade said Magary’s column had brought the mainstream media to “a new racist low.” Fox News anchor Gregg Jarrett said he was “confound[ed]” that GQ included the F-word in the headline. Tucker Carlson, a Fox News analyst, said that “magazines like GQ are obviously going away,” and that Magary’s column was simply a ploy for attention.
It’s not unusual for Fox News to go after the “liberal media” in defense of a Republicans and conservatives. And Carson is clearly a favorite of Rupert Murdoch, the billionaire media mogul who owns Fox News. As Carson has ascended in the polls over the last few months, he has also seen an uptick in his Fox News appearances.
Murdoch raised racial hackles himself earlier this week by tweeting that Carson would be a “real black president,” an apparent dig at President Obama’s ethnicity. Murdoch later apologized and Carson called the tweet “much ado about nothing.”
Magary is taking the negative feedback in stride. On Thursday, he tweeted about getting name-checked by Fox, joking that his mentions were “chock full of VOLCANIC take-age right now.”
When reached for comment, Magary told CNNMoney, “I think for now I’m gonna let the post speak for itself.”
He had a bit more to say on Friday afternoon. In a post published on GQ, Magary offered a “welcome” to the angry Fox News viewers who came to the website in response to his column.
“Suffice it to say, a great many of you were very angry to see the word F— on the Internet and have come here to tell us to #sticktoshoes. Happens to us all the time,” Magary wrote. “GQ is not against you, Fox viewers. Far from it,” Magary wrote. “We’ve been to Trump rallies. We’ve hung out with Kid Rock. We’ve named President Obama one of the least influential men in the world…TWICE! We have fired guns while intoxicated. You and we…we are not so different, amigo.”
