The first time I saw one of Greg Kelly’s tweets, I thought the account was a convincing parody of the conservative Newsmax anchor. Here’s a recent example: “For a Tough Guy Cop, DIRTY HARRY dressed a bit like a ‘Dweeb’ — the Tie under the Sweater thing NEVER WORKS. (Ned Flanders is the only other actor besides Clint Eastwood to do it).” But Kelly’s tweets are the real deal, even if he’s likely to claim there’s an ironic detachment to them (how else to explain “no MCFISH on the menu”?) in the name owning the libs. Here’s another one: “SMOKING WEED (aka GRASS) is NOT a good idea. I’ve tried it (back in the day) and it was WORSE than anything that happened to HUNTER BIDEN. I ‘toked up’ with some buddies in Kentucky and woke up 4 days later in Nairobi, Kenya. With no idea what happened. DON’T DO DRUGS.” Sure, Greg.
Over the weekend, Kelly took some time off from tweeting about Sex and the City to praise former-president Bill Clinton for being white.
In a statement, Newsmax says it understands Greg Kelly’s tweets to be a sarcastic attempt to “indicate his opposition to racism.” But adds:
“We at Newsmax never countenance the posting of racist views or views ⁰that appeal to racists. We are currently reviewing the matter.” pic.twitter.com/xz9YNFDpWk
— Jeremy Barr (@jeremymbarr) June 13, 2021
“So that’s the USS America aircraft carrier that I’m ‘fixin’ to land on. Just knowing that President Clinton, who was in office at the time, was a Caucasian male made it ‘all worthwhile’ — ask any white male officer who served under him. So appreciative of his Race were we,” the far-right host tweeted. He also wrote that having a white secretary of defense (William Cohen) made a “big difference” in “morale.” Both tweets have since been delated and Kelly is under review by the far-right “news” network. Via Mediaite:
Savvy followers of Kelly’s performance art style Twitter feed know that it was almost certainly an attempt at ironically detached humor, albeit a failed one. In a statement to Mediaite, Newsmax confirms that the original tweets were an effort to call out racism. “We understand a series of tweets were posted by Mr. Kelly today that, in their totality, indicated his opposition to racism,” the conservative network stated. “We at Newsmax never countenance the posting of racist views or views that appeal to racists. We are currently reviewing the matter.”
He followed the now-deleted tweets with this one, which is still up:
Now the TRUTH: being a MARINE had nothing to do with RACE. It didn’t matter. It wasn’t “a thing”—the EXPERIENCE brought us together, no matter what we were. The late Mayor David Dinkens, a WWII Marine, and hence, my brother. Below in 1991, and officiating my wedding in 2017 pic.twitter.com/i0aNr12yNX
— Greg Kelly (@gregkellyusa) June 13, 2021
The tweets may be gone, but Twitters users haven’t forgotten them:
https://twitter.com/travisakers/status/1404270996379607042
For those who always suspected Newsmax was racist, here’s the top anchor providing proof.👇
Of course,when called out, Greg Kelly pulled a tRump and said he was just joking and he wasn’t celebrating his whiteness. Sounds like defensive racism. https://t.co/Sw07XciIH5— Fred is FED UP! (@FZirm) June 14, 2021
Holy crap. Greg Kelly, tell us what you’re really thinking. https://t.co/tHtPCGpJgE
— Grant Stern (@grantstern) June 14, 2021
If it's performance art. it's vapidly inept performance art.
But it's classic racism. https://t.co/eL2FK8t9E3
— EC 1,159,013 (@CElriince) June 14, 2021
https://twitter.com/CMCRET/status/1404274874365976579
Hey Greg, from one white person to another, it's never a good idea to pull the "I have a black friend" card, after your previous & now deleted tweet.
Oh, and FYI, you can delete a tweet, but the internet is FOREVER.
And just so you know, I heard the dog whistle in this tweet.⤵️ https://t.co/kJ1XIs8AxE pic.twitter.com/tU1y76skwq
— Just a 👷♀️ in the 🌍. (@bruntofitall) June 14, 2021
Greg Kelly took off the hood.
And yes it’s a real tweet. He deleted it but it’s still in Google Cache https://t.co/U7PIKBJEef pic.twitter.com/YSzxrXBues
— chris evans (@chris_notcapn) June 14, 2021
If "I'm not racist, I have a Black friend " was a person, smh https://t.co/czeucf7qNR
— Trent Demond (@TreDemBar) June 14, 2021
https://twitter.com/ImpeachBDevos/status/1404417235142197253
Too late, Greg. Google captures racists. https://t.co/clBXuDybTc pic.twitter.com/USSnfVulan
— The Original Woke White Kid 💖💜💙 (@HuskyBobbyH) June 14, 2021
Has Kelly learned anything from this mess? Of course not.
I’m watching a lot of “regular TV”—There are no WHITE MEN in any commercials. Apparently, overnight, we’ve lost our interest in CARS, FINANCE, PERSONAL HYGIENE, FURNITURE, PETS, VACATIONS, SOFT DRINKS, INSURANCE, PHARMACEUTICALS, HOME REPAIR, EXERCISE, AMUSEMENT PARKS, HOTELS, CL
— Greg Kelly (@gregkellyusa) June 13, 2021
(Via Mediaite)