Tomi Lahren apologizes for ‘way remarks came out’ on border, Second Amendment

Fox Nation host Tomi Lahren apologized Friday after Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro blasted the conservative commentator for her comments suggesting that Americans would have to shoot immigrants coming across the border to “protect” themselves.

“Not what I meant & I apologize for the way it came out. I simply mean without a secure border we don’t know who is coming into our nation & those who wish to do us harm will exploit it. I’m NOT advocating for violence against any person, regardless of race or immigration status,” Lahren wrote, retweeting a post from Castro calling her comments on Fox Business’s “Varney & Co.” “disgusting” and “anti-immigrant.”

Disgusting, anti-immigrant rhetoric from @TomiLahren in the wake of El Paso.

pic.twitter.com/ywAu45uQT8

— Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) September 13, 2019

Not what I meant & I apologize for the way it came out. I simply mean without a secure border we don’t know who is coming into our nation & those who wish to do us harm will exploit it. I’m NOT advocating for violence against any person, regardless of race or immigration status. https://t.co/JJjkfplFmk

— Tomi Lahren (@TomiLahren) September 13, 2019

Lahren appeared on the show Friday morning, the day after a Democratic presidential debate in which gun violence was one of several hot topics, and discussed the Second Amendment with host Stuart Varney, who said one of the things he likes about America is that its citizens can be armed.

{mosads}“You can’t depend on the government to protect you at all times,” Lahren agreed. “That’s what so many Americans forget is they put their safety and security in the hands of the government. The government is going to fail you.”

“If [Democrats] want to open our borders, you better be sure that people in Texas, people in South Dakota, the people in the middle of this country, we’re going to be armed and ready because we have to have a means to defend ourselves from who knows who’s coming in. That’s the thing — we don’t know, and we have to be able to protect ourselves,” she continued.

On Thursday evening, the 10 top-polling Democratic 2020 presidential candidates met for a primary debate in Houston, where discussions of gun reform were given significant air time. 

Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, whose hometown of El Paso was struck by a mass shooting last month that left 22 dead, made waves when he gave an impassioned defense of his weapons buy-back proposal. 

“Hell yes we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47. We’re not going to allow it to be used against our fellow Americans anymore,” O’Rourke said.