Tomi Rae Augustus Lahren (; born August 11, 1992) is an American
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
political commentator and television presenter. She hosted ''Tomi'' on
TheBlaze
Blaze Media is an American conservative media company. It was founded in 2018 as a result of a merger between TheBlaze and CRTV LLC. The company's leadership consists of CEO Tyler Cardon and president Gaston Mooney. It is based in Irving, Tex ...
, where she gained attention for her short video segments called "final thoughts", in which she frequently criticized
liberal politics
Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for co ...
. Many of her videos went
viral, with ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' describing her as a "rising media star".
Lahren was suspended from TheBlaze in March 2017 after saying in an interview on ''
The View'' that she believed women should have
legal access to abortion.
Shortly thereafter, she began working for
Great America Alliance, an advocacy organization that supports
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
,
and, in August 2017, she joined
Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
, where she appears as a contributor on several different shows across the Fox News and Fox Business networks, and often appears as a guest co-host on
Outnumbered, and currently hosts a talk show on
Fox Nation
Fox Nation is an American subscription video on demand service. Announced on February 20, 2018, and launching on November 27 of that year, it is a companion to Fox News Channel carrying programming of interest to its audience, including original ...
, ''No Interruption''. In June 2022, she was named host of a new show on OutKick called ''Tomi Lahren Is Fearless''.
Early life and education
Lahren grew up in
Rapid City, South Dakota
Rapid City ( lkt, link=no, Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe; "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western So ...
, and graduated from
Central High School in 2010.
[Hammond, Christy (September 21, 2014)]
Rapid City woman anchors political talk show at 22
''Rapid City Journal
The ''Rapid City Journal'' (formerly the ''Black Hills Journal'' and the ''Rapid City Daily Journal'') is the daily newspaper of Rapid City, South Dakota. As of 2021, it is the largest newspaper in South Dakota by total subscriptions, according ...
''[Soderlin, Barbara (May 7, 2010)]
Teens gear up for first job hunt
''Rapid City Journal'' She is of
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
and
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
*Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
*Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including the ...
descent. Lahren graduated from
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...
in 2014 with a B.A. in broadcast journalism and political science.
She hosted and associate produced the university's political roundtable show ''The Scramble''.
[The Scramble - Episode 315](_blank)
UNLV Journalism and Media Studies, youtube channel Lahren interned for
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Congresswoman
Kristi Noem
Kristi Lynn Noem (; née Arnold; born November 30, 1971) is an American politician serving as the 33rd governor of South Dakota since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, she was the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2019 and a member ...
from South Dakota, serving as the first intern at Noem's Rapid City office.
Career
Hoping to find an internship in political commentary, Lahren applied to
One America News Network
One America News Network (OANN), also known as One America News (OAN), is a far-right, pro-Trump cable news channel founded by Robert Herring Sr. and owned by Herring Networks, Inc., that launched on July 4, 2013. The network is headquartere ...
(OANN), obtained an interview, and was instead offered the opportunity to host her own show. She moved to
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
and began working for OANN. ''On Point with Tomi Lahren'' debuted in August 2014.
[Beattie, James (July 20, 2015)]
Watch: News Anchor Gets Fed Up With Obama, Says What Everyone's Thinking In EPIC Rant
Western Journalism Center The Western Journalism Center (also called the Western Center for Journalism) was founded in 1991 by Joseph Farah and James H. Smith. Based in Sacramento, California. The center produces a conservative newsletter.
Projects
The Center helped fund ...
In July 2015, a video of her commentary on the
2015 Chattanooga shootings
On July 16, 2015, Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez opened fire on two Military base, military installations in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He first committed a drive-by shooting at a Military recruitment, recruiting center, then traveled to a United State ...
garnered widespread attention. On August 19, Lahren announced that she had completed her last show with OANN. She moved to Texas and began a new show with
TheBlaze
Blaze Media is an American conservative media company. It was founded in 2018 as a result of a merger between TheBlaze and CRTV LLC. The company's leadership consists of CEO Tyler Cardon and president Gaston Mooney. It is based in Irving, Tex ...
in November 2015. She became known for ending her program with three-minute segments called "final thoughts", in which she spoke extremely quickly. These segments became widely popular on social media.
In January 2016, Lahren endorsed
Marco Rubio
Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the senior United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Speaker of the Florida Hous ...
for president in the
Republican Party presidential primary. On November 30, Lahren appeared on ''
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...
'' for a 26-minute interview. Many critics compared her appearance to former host
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host. He hosted ''The Daily Show'', a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts ''Th ...
's friendly rivalry with
Bill O'Reilly.
On March 17, 2017, Lahren made a guest appearance on ''
The View'' in which she said that women should have access to
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
and that she would be a hypocrite if she supported both "
limited government
In political philosophy, limited government is the concept of a government limited in power. It is a key concept in the history of liberalism.Amy Gutmann, "How Limited Is Liberal Government" in Liberalism Without Illusions: Essays on Liberal Theo ...
and also government restrictions on abortion".
TheBlaze's owner,
Glenn Beck
Glenn Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative political commentator, radio host, entrepreneur, and television producer. He is the CEO, founder, and owner of Mercury Radio Arts, the parent company of his television and rad ...
, who is
anti-abortion
Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...
, criticized Lahren for her comments and suspended her with pay,
leading Lahren to file a
wrongful termination
In law, wrongful dismissal, also called wrongful termination or wrongful discharge, is a situation in which an employee's contract of employment has been terminated by the employer, where the termination breaches one or more terms of the contra ...
suit.
The suit was settled under an agreement in which Lahren kept her
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
page but removed videos she had made with TheBlaze.
In May 2017, Lahren began working in communications at Great America Alliance, an offshoot of
Great America PAC, a large pro-
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
super PAC chaired by
Newt Gingrich
Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U ...
and
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...
. Lahren described her role there as a "side gig" and said she would return to television as a commentator.
In August 2017, Lahren joined
Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
as a contributor.
Political views
![Tomi Lahren (44210703612)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Tomi_Lahren_%2844210703612%29.jpg)
Lahren describes herself as a "constitutional conservative". She has said that she is a commentator, not a journalist,
and that her shows are not about presenting news neutrally, but about commentary and "mak
ngthe news".
''
The Daily Beast
''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008.
It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...
'' described her as a "right-wing provocateur" in 2018.
Lahren has been described as an "anti-feminist who admires strong women."
Lahren has said that while she does not consider herself a feminist, she believes in women's empowerment and looks up to various women from both the political left and the political right.
In March 2017, Lahren said she was
pro-abortion rights, sparking criticism from a number of
anti-abortion
Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...
writers. TheBlaze owner Glenn Beck, among others, noted that Lahren had previously publicly said she was anti-abortion, in addition to numerous other inconsistencies on other issues.
Soon thereafter, Lahren told ''
Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.
K ...
'' that she had always supported abortion rights as a matter of national law but was personally against abortion.
While in college, Lahren wrote a feature for the ''
Las Vegas Review-Journal
The ''Las Vegas Review-Journal'' is a daily subscription newspaper published in Las Vegas, Nevada, since 1909. It is the largest circulating daily newspaper in Nevada and one of two daily newspapers in the Las Vegas area.
The ''Review-Journal'' ...
'' about a classmate who had turned to stripping to support herself.
Lahren is also in favor of
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...
. In June 2020, she supported Supreme Court justice
Neil Gorsuch
Neil McGill Gorsuch ( ; born August 29, 1967) is an American lawyer and judge who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on January 31, 2017, and has served since ...
's vote and majority opinion in the combined cases of ''
Bostock v. Clayton County
''Bostock v. Clayton County'', , is a landmark United States Supreme Court civil rights case in which the Court held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees against discrimination because they are gay or transgender.
T ...
'', ''
Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda'', and ''
R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission'', ruling that businesses cannot fire LGBTQ people for their sexuality or gender identity. Lahren stated, "You can be Christian, conservative, and a proud Trump supporter and believe people should not be fired for who they love. Conservative doesn't come in one flavor, one race, one religion, one gender or one sexuality ... and I won't sit by quietly and allow certain self-righteous and self-appointed and anointed conservative thought policemen make that decree."
Some of Lahren's commentaries on race issues have been described by critics as racist or race-baiting, which she disputes.
In July 2016, Lahren posted a tweet comparing the
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
movement to the
Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
.
Tens of thousands of people signed a
Change.org
Change.org is a worldwide nonprofit petition website, based in California, US, operated by the San Francisco-based company of the same name, which has over 400 million users and offers the public the ability to promote the petitions they care abo ...
petition in response asking for her to be fired from ''TheBlaze''. The petition was unsuccessful. In August 2016, she released a video criticizing
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
Colin Kaepernick
Colin Rand Kaepernick ( ; born November 3, 1987) is an American civil rights activist and football quarterback who is a free agent. He played six seasons for the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL). In 2016, he knelt dur ...
, who had been protesting
police brutality
Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...
by
kneeling during the playing of the national anthem before football games.
In August 2018, at a political rally for
Kelli Ward
Kelli Ward (''née'' Kaznoski; born January 25, 1969) is an American osteopathic physician and politician who has served as the chair of the Arizona Republican Party since 2019. She served in the Arizona State Senate from 2013 to 2015.
She chal ...
, Lahren warned against voters electing 'RINOs' (
Republicans in name only) into Congress; the term was applied to Senators
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
and
Jeff Flake
Jeffry Lane Flake (born December 31, 1962) is an American politician and diplomat who is the current U.S Ambassador to Turkey. A member of the Republican Party, Flake served in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013 and ...
. Lahren was criticized as cruel and disrespectful as McCain was in very poor health; that day he discontinued medical treatment for brain cancer, and he died the next day. Many people have criticized Lahren for her behavior including former Fox News anchor
Greta Van Susteren
Greta Conway Van Susteren (born June 11, 1954) is an American commentator, lawyer, and television news anchor for Newsmax TV. She was previously on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. She hosted Fox News's ''On the Record w/ Greta Van Susteren'' for 14 y ...
.
In November 2018, Lahren said that the "highlight" of her Thanksgiving had been watching
United States Border Patrol
The United States Border Patrol (USBP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the United States' U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Customs and Border Protection and is responsible for securing ...
fire
teargas
Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ad ...
at migrants trying to illegally cross over the Mexico–United States border.
In December 2018, she ran a Fox Nation segment focusing on how members of a
Central American migrant caravan that had been stopped in Mexico that year were carrying diseases; she listed several unconfirmed cases of
HIV/AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...
and
chickenpox
Chickenpox, also known as varicella, is a highly contagious disease caused by the initial infection with varicella zoster virus (VZV). The disease results in a characteristic skin rash that forms small, itchy blisters, which eventually scab ...
to support the claim.
That same month, she urged President Trump to shut down the government to force Congress to fund the construction of a wall on the Mexico–United States border.
Personal life
In June 2019, Lahren announced on
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
that she was engaged to her boyfriend, Brandon Fricke. Their engagement was called off in 2020. In early 2021, Lahren was linked to fellow Fox broadcaster and former
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
catcher
J.P. Arencibia
Jonathan Paul Arencibia (born January 5, 1986) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball catcher. He is currently serving as the bench coach for the Syracuse Mets. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Texas ...
. Both Lahren and Arencibia have repeatedly confirmed the relationship from their Instagram accounts as of August 2021. On September 25, 2021, Lahren confirmed that she was engaged on an episode of ''
Justice with Judge Jeanine
''Justice with Judge Jeanine'' was a Fox News legal and current events program hosted by former district attorney and judge Jeanine Pirro.
The show aired live on Saturdays at 9 pm Eastern Time. The show presents Pirro's legal insights on the ...
''. They were married October 21, 2022.
In April 2020, Lahren moved from
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
to
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
.
Lahren is an avid runner, and has a tattoo of South Dakota's state flower (the ''
pulsatilla
The genus ''Pulsatilla'' contains about 40 species of herbaceous perennial plants native to meadows and prairies of North America, Europe, and Asia. Derived from the Hebrew word for Passover, "pasakh", the common name pasque flower refers to the ...
'') on the back of her neck.
References
External links
Fox News Insider: "Tomi Lahren's Final Thoughts"*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lahren, Tomi
1992 births
Living people
21st-century American women
American people of German descent
American people of Norwegian descent
American political commentators
American social commentators
American television talk show hosts
Anti-immigration politics in the United States
Blaze Media people
Female critics of feminism
Fox News people
American LGBT rights activists
People from Rapid City, South Dakota
South Dakota Republicans
University of Nevada, Las Vegas alumni