Gutfeld: There’s Always a ‘But’ On Free Speech

Fox News Channel host Greg Gutfeld argued that journalists who didn’t see the point of the Mohammed Art Contest were “the real cartoon” and that “there’s always that ‘but'” when it comes to free speech on Monday’s broadcast of “The Five.”

Gutfeld began by stating the attack in Garland was “a contrast to Charlie Hebdo, whose editors died helplessly before their heathens. Terrorists in Texas, however, found a far deadlier lead than what’s inside your basic pencil.”

He then turned to a tweet by New York Times Foreign Correspondent Rukmini Callimachi that wondered “free speech aside, why would anyone do something as provocative as hosting a ‘Muhammad drawing contest’?” Gutfeld responded, “the answer’s in the question, and you’d expect a reporter whose beat is Islamic extremism would get it. The First Amendment means zilch if it only protects ‘hello’ and ‘have a nice day.’ Protecting safe speech is like protecting an empty safe. And also, when you begin your take on free speech with, ‘free speech aside,’ you kind of lose the point.”

Gutfeld then played a clip of CNN’s John Vause wondering if questions were “being asked” about whether the event’s organizers were “asking for some kind of attack” “there’s always that ‘but.’ This is where we are. Remember, the attacks on our Libyan outpost were blamed on a film by our own government, including Hillary. Meanwhile, six writers dropped out of the PEN American Center Gala, protesting a freedom of expression award that was going to be given to Charlie Hebdo. So brave, these creeps, who got rich off of freedom of speech, now think they can decide what speech is…if you’re a journalist and don’t get the contest, then it’s you who is the real cartoon.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett