Ingraham compares Greta Thunberg, youth climate activists to ‘Children of the Corn’

Fox News host Laura Ingraham compared Greta Thunberg and other youth climate activists with Stephen King’s “Children of the Corn” on Monday night. 

Ingraham drew a parallel between the 16-year-old Swedish activist and other young people leading a movement to combat climate change with the fictional cult depicted in King’s well-known 1977 short story of murderous children who live in cornfields in rural Nebraska.

{mosads}“The adults who’ve brainwashed these kids should be brought up on charges of child abuse,” Ingraham said, displaying a graphic including Thunberg’s face with the words “The Climatology Cult.”

Ingraham then cut to a clip of Thunberg giving an emotional speech at the United Nations climate change summit in which she offered a fierce rebuke of inaction from world leaders.

“We will not let you get away with this. Right here, right now is where we draw the line. The world is waking up. And change is coming, whether you like it or not,” a visibly upset Thunberg said during her speech. 

Ingraham asked if anyone else found Thunberg’s speech “chilling.”

Here is Laura Ingraham comparing Greta Thunberg to Children of the Corn and saying, “I can’t wait for Stephen King’s sequel, Children of the Climate.” pic.twitter.com/yyPYkeRIMY

— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) September 24, 2019

The Fox News host then played a clip from the movie adaptation of King’s work, showing the child cult leader giving a speech to his followers walking among the cornstalks.

“A time of tribulation has come! A test is at hand, the final test,” the character says in the film.

Ingraham then ended the segment saying she couldn’t wait for King’s sequel — “Children of the Climate.”

Her comments were quickly condemned by social media users, with many using the hashtag “#FireLauraIngraham” and calling for a boycott of her show. 

I’m comparing Laura Ingraham to Pennywise from “It”: an evil clown who tries to attack children from her home in the gutter https://t.co/UY3LvRpOQZ

— Adam Proteau (@Proteautype) September 24, 2019

Donald Trump and his cronies including Laura Ingraham, are bullying a 16 year old girl who’s is up for a Nobel peace prize.

I wanted to thank Melanie on her #BeBest fight against bullying. We all see that’s working well. pic.twitter.com/96eA2g2CJz

— Jerry Avenaim (@avenaim) September 24, 2019

Here are Laura Ingraham’s leading advertisers:@TheZebraCo@safelite@SamuelAdamsBeer@Takl_app@Voya@rohtoeyedrops @Nutrisystem@BeachesResorts@SandalsResorts@LifeLock @ZeroWaterFilter@USAA

— jordan (@JordanUhl) September 24, 2019

But Ingraham’s most notable critic appeared to be her brother. 

Curtis Ingraham has spoken out against his sister in the past. The Washington Post reported that he has called her “a monster,” “a Nazi sympathizer” and a “racist.” 

But on Monday night, he said he can “no longer apologize for a sibling who I no longer recognize.”

“Clearly my sister’s paycheck is more important than the world her three adopted kids will inherit,” Curtis Ingraham wrote in a tweet that garnered more than 145,000 likes as on Tuesday afternoon. “I can no longer apologize for a sibling who I no longer recognize. I can and will continue to call out the monstrous behavior and the bully commentary born out of anger.”

Clearly my sister’s paycheck is more important than the world her three adopted kids will inherit. I can no longer apologize for a sibling who I no longer recognize. I can and will continue to call out the monstrous behavior and the bully commentary born out of anger. https://t.co/afrSuraQqt

— Curtis Ingraham (@CurtisIngraham1) September 24, 2019

Curtis Ingraham, a teacher who lives in Northern California, told the Daily Beast last year that he and his younger sister were “very close” at one time, but said their relationship has grown apart because of their political differences and her stance on the LGBT community. Curtis Ingraham is openly gay.

The Hill has reached out to Fox News for comment. 

The network apologized for remarks a Fox News guest made about Thunberg on Monday night. 

Michael Knowles, conservative pundit and podcast host for the Daily Wire, dismissed the “climate hysteria movement” and said it is not rooted in science.

“If it were about science, it would be led by scientists rather than by politicians and a mentally ill Swedish child who is being exploited by her parents and by the international left,” Knowles said about Thunberg.

Knowles faced an immediate rebuke from liberal radio host Christopher Hahn, who tore into Knowles for “attacking a child.”

“You are despicable for talking about her like that. You should apologize on national television right now,” Hahn said during a segment on “The Story with Martha MacCallum.”

Fox News issued a statement calling Knowles’s comments “disgraceful,” adding there are no plans to further book the pundit. 

“We apologize to Greta Thunberg and to our viewers,” a spokesperson for the network told The Hill in a statement.

President Trump also appeared to mock her after she spoke at the United Nations climate summit. 

However, Thunberg seized on the apparent trolling and updated her Twitter bio to include the language featured in Trump’s tweet about her. 

The 16-year-old’s social media account now describes her as “A very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future.”