Fox News host Howard Kurtz blasted the U.S. Secret Service after Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) was forced to the ground and handcuffed at Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s press conference last week.
During Sunday’s Media Buzz program on Fox News, Kurtz condemned the violent action against Padilla.
“Clay, let’s stipulate that what Alex Padilla did was a low-class stunt,” Kurtz told right-wing pundit Clay Travis. “But doesn’t the footage, which has been replayed now more times than the Zapruder film, show a severe overreaction by Secret Service?”
“No,” Travis replied. “I don’t think so. And I think in the context of what we just saw happen in Minnesota, if you are a grown man and you are advancing on a woman, I think it’s what we would expect for someone to do here.”
“I also think this is why Democrats have trouble connecting with men,” he continued. “In particular, men who watch that, I’m telling you, do not see a strong Democrat [sic] party. They look at it and say, you’re storming a woman who is doing a press conference.”
“I would just disagree because DHS said he didn’t identify himself,” Kurtz countered. “And we saw him saying, I’m Senator Alex Padilla, but look, he didn’t just wander in off the street. He was escorted in by the FBI.”
“And most of the media, which have been running this footage around the clock, say, pushing a United States senator to the ground and handcuffing him, is a big embarrassment,” the host added.
