The Hosts of “Fox and Friends” Are Fearmongering About the Crime Rate in NYC on Primary Day

The hosts of “Fox and Friends” are fearmongering about the crime rate in New York City as its residents head to the polls to choose Mayor Bill de Blasio’s replacement.

“Crime is surging all around the United States,” said co-host Steve Doocy before showing viewers a copy of today’s edition of The New York Post, which urges its readers to vote for retired police officer and current Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams “to save New York.”

Adams is the city’s “best choice for mayor,” Doocy continued, “because the city is under siege. I told you, last week I was driving through Times Square at four o’clock in the morning. I see a couple of guys fist-fighting. They’re going after each other, they’re trying to kill each other, I’m trying to get out of there, there’s a police officer, or security––Times Square security, whatever that is, watching it.”

“Word is avoid Times Square, avoid the subways, especially at night,” said co-host Ainsley Earhardt.

Co-host Brian Kilmeade also chimed in, suggesting that prostitution is
“essentially legal” in New York now that the Manhattan District Attorney’s office says it will no longer prosecute prostitution cases.

You can hear their remarks in the video segment below.

Fox & Friends claims Times Square is too dangerous to be in and warns people to stay away pic.twitter.com/QsOBXHkbPY

— Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) June 22, 2021

Crime has been on the rise in New York, with the most up-to-date statistics showing a higher rate of murders, robberies, and violent assaults. Republican critics have suggested that criminal justice reform is to blame for the uptick in crime, especially gun violence, which began in 2020, though these claims ignore the economic and physical strains of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has disproportionately taken lives in areas that already experience higher rates of crime.