Laura Anne Ingraham (born June 19, 1963) 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 in ...

television host.

Gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).The Ingraham Angle'' on

Fox News Channel 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 ...

since October 2017, and is the editor-in-chief of LifeZette. She formerly hosted the

nationally syndicated Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...

radio show '' The Laura Ingraham Show''. Ingraham worked as a speechwriter in the

Reagan administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over ...

in the late 1980s. Afterwards, she earned a

J.D. degree The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice la ...

and then went on to work as a judicial clerk in the

Second Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate juri ...

in New York and then for

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

Justice Clarence Thomas. She also worked for the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in New York City. Ingraham began her media career in the mid-1990s. Ingraham is known for her support for

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 P ...

, and acted as an informal advisor during his presidency.

Early life and education

Ingraham grew up in

Glastonbury, Connecticut Glastonbury ( ) is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, formally founded in 1693 and first settled in 1636. It was named after Glastonbury in Somerset, England. Glastonbury is on the banks of the Connecticut River, southeast ...

, where she was born to Anne Caroline (née Kozak) and James Frederick Ingraham III. Her maternal grandparents were Polish immigrants and her father was of Irish and English ancestry. She graduated from Glastonbury High School in 1981. In 1985, Ingraham earned a B.A. from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

. She then attended the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

, where she was a notes editor for the ''

Virginia Law Review The ''Virginia Law Review'' is a law review edited and published by students at University of Virginia School of Law. It was established on March 15, 1913, and permanently organized later that year. The stated objective of the ''Virginia Law Revie ...

''. She graduated with a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

in 1991.

Career

In the late 1980s, Ingraham worked as a speechwriter in the Reagan administration for the Domestic Policy Advisor. She also briefly served as editor of ''The Prospect'', the magazine issued by

Concerned Alumni of Princeton The Concerned Alumni of Princeton (CAP) was a group of politically conservative former Princeton University students that existed between 1972 and 1986. CAP was born in 1972 from the ashes of the Alumni Committee to Involve Itself Now (ACTIIN), whi ...

. After

law school A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

, in 1991, she served as a

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

for Judge Ralph K. Winter Jr., of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in New York and subsequently clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice

Clarence Thomas Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to succeed Thurgood Marshall and has served since 1 ...

. She then worked as an attorney at the New York-based law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. In 1995, she appeared on the cover of ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. ...

'' in connection with a story about young conservatives. In 1996, she and Jay P. Lefkowitz organized the first Dark Ages Weekend in response to

Renaissance Weekend Renaissance Weekend is an invite-only American retreat for leaders in business and finance, government, the media, religion, medicine, science, technology, and the arts. Conversations are off-the-record and subject matter ranges widely, tending to ...

Television host

Ingraham has had three stints as a cable television host. She first became a host on

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...

in 1996. In the late 1990s, she became a CBS commentator and hosted the MSNBC program ''Watch It!''. Several years later, on her radio program, Ingraham began campaigning for another cable television show. In 2008, Fox News Channel gave her a three-week trial run for a new show entitled '' Just In''. In October 2017, she became the host of a new Fox News Channel program, '' The Ingraham Angle''.

Radio host

Ingraham launched ''The Laura Ingraham Show'' in April 2001. The show was heard on 306 stations and on

XM Satellite Radio XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM, Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable televisi ...

. It was originally syndicated by

Westwood One Westwood One is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1978. The compan ...

, but moved to

Talk Radio Network Talk Radio Network (TRN) was an independent radio producer and syndicator of news and talk radio programming headquartered in Central Point, Oregon. TRN consists of a number of associated companies, which have launched or re-built some of the U ...

in 2004. In 2012, Ingraham was rated as the No. 5 radio show in America by ''

Talkers Magazine ''Talkers Magazine'' is a trade-industry publication related to talk radio in the United States. Its slogan is "The Bible of Talk Radio and the New Talk Media". In addition to radio, it also covers talk shows on broadcast and cable television, a ...

''. In November 2012, she announced her departure from Talk Radio Network, declining to renew her contract with TRN after nearly a decade of being associated with the network. She was the second major host from TRN's lineup to leave the network that year: TRN's other major program, '' The Savage Nation'', left TRN two months earlier. Her new program, syndicated by Courtside Entertainment Group, began airing on January 2, 2013, and went off the air in December 2018. Ingraham continues to produce podcast material for Courtside's

PodcastOne LiveOne (formerly known as LiveXLive) is a music streaming platform that combines audio and (sometimes live) video available in the US and Canada. Users can access the service on the web through mobile apps on smartphones and over-the-air devic ...

division.

LifeZette

LifeZette is a conservative American website founded in 2015 by Ingraham and businessman Peter Anthony. In January 2018, Ingraham confirmed that she had sold the majority stake in LifeZette to The Katz Group, owned by Canadian billionaire

Daryl Katz Daryl Allan Katz (born May 31, 1961) is a Canadian billionaire businessman and philanthropist. Katz is founder and chairman of the Katz Group of Companies, one of Canada's largest privately-owned enterprises, with pharmacy, sports & entertainmen ...

Books

* ''The Hillary Trap: Looking for Power in All the Wrong Places'', first published June 2000 and updated in 2005, accuses

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

of being a faux

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

whose " liberal feminism has created a culture that rewards dependency, encourages fragmentation, undermines families, and celebrates victimhood". * '' Shut Up & Sing: How Elites from Hollywood, Politics, and the UN Are Subverting America'', published October 25, 2003, decries liberal elites in politics, the media, academia, arts and entertainment, business, and international organizations, and praises Middle Americans as "the kind of people who are the lifeblood of healthy democratic societies". * '' Power to the People'', a ''

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 ...

'' number one best seller, published September 11, 2007, focuses on what Ingraham calls the "pornification" of America and stresses the importance of popular participation in culture, promoting conservative values in family life, education and patriotism. * '' The Obama Diaries'', a ''New York Times'' number one best seller, published July 13, 2010, is a fictional collection of diary entries purportedly made by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

, which Ingraham uses satirically to criticize Obama, his family, and his administration. * ''Of Thee I Zing'', a ''New York Times'' best seller, published July 12, 2011, is a collection of humorous anecdotes meant to point out the decline of American culture, from muffin tops to body shots. * ''Billionaire at the Barricades'', published 2017, explains the 2016 election victory of

as the continuation of a populist revolution, initiated by

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

, with

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

support.

Political views

In 2017, Ingraham was described by ''

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 ...

'' as an "ardent

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

". Ingraham has been described as "no stranger to generating controversy" by ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' and as a "name-brand provocateur" by ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...

''. ''

Business Insider ''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German publ ...

'' has referred to Ingraham's on-air style as "wad nginto debates on racism and gun violence". Ingraham has said that her influences include

Robert Bork Robert Heron Bork (March 1, 1927 – December 19, 2012) was an American jurist who served as the solicitor general of the United States from 1973 to 1977. A professor at Yale Law School by occupation, he later served as a judge on the U.S. Cour ...

and

Pat Buchanan Patrick Joseph Buchanan (; born November 2, 1938) is an American paleoconservative political commentator, columnist, politician, and broadcaster. Buchanan was an assistant and special consultant to U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, ...

Homosexuality

In her senior year at

, during her tenure as editor-in-chief of independent campus newspaper ''

The Dartmouth Review ''The Dartmouth Review'' is a conservative newspaper at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Founded in 1980 by a number of staffers from the College's daily newspaper, ''The Dartmouth,'' the paper is most famous for havi ...

'', Ingraham wrote several controversial articles. She sent a reporter undercover in 1984 to a campus Gay Students Association meeting, and later received criticism when, despite an oath of confidentiality being read to participants, Ingraham published a transcript of the meeting and included the names of the attendees, describing them as "cheerleaders for latent campus sodomites". Ingraham argued that confidentiality did not apply because the meeting had been advertised, and defended the

outing Outing is the act of disclosing an LGBT person's sexual orientation or gender identity without that person's consent. It is often done for political reasons, either to instrumentalize homophobia in order to discredit political opponents or to com ...

of the gay students as a "freedom of the press issue". Jeffrey Hart, the faculty adviser for ''The Dartmouth Review'', described Ingraham as having "the most extreme anti-homosexual views imaginable", and said "she went so far as to avoid a local eatery where she feared the waiters were homosexual". In 1997, Ingraham wrote an essay in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'' in which she stated that she had changed her views on homosexuality after witnessing "the dignity, fidelity, and courage" with which her gay brother, Curtis, and his partner coped with the latter being diagnosed with

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 ma ...

; Curtis's partner ultimately died of the disease. Curtis, on the other hand, has called his sister "a monster" and said she was influenced by their father, whom he described as a

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

sympathizer as well as an abusive

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...

. Ingraham has stated that she supports

civil unions A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...

between same-sex partners, but believes marriage "is between a man and a woman".

Immigration and race

Ingraham is a frequent critic of immigration and has expressed anti-immigration views. She opposed the proposed bipartisan 2013 US Senate comprehensive immigration reform plan. In 2014, Ingraham said that allowing more immigrant workers to come to the United States would be "obscene to the American experience". In 2014, she denounced House Majority Leader

Eric Cantor Eric Ivan Cantor (born June 6, 1963) is an American lawyer and former politician who represented Virginia's 7th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2014. A Republican, Cantor served as House Minori ...

after he expressed support for the

DREAM Act The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, known as the DREAM Act, is a United States legislative proposal to grant temporary conditional residency, with the right to work, to illegal immigrants who entered the United States a ...

and a GOP bill to grant a pathway to citizenship for young immigrants. At the time, Cantor faced a primary challenge from Dave Brat, which he would go on to lose. According to ''The New York Times'', "Few people did more than Ms. Ingraham to propel Mr. Brat ... from obscurity to national conservative hero." Ingraham said the race would go "down as one of the most significant repudiations of establishment immigration reform that I've seen in my 20 years of doing politics", and that due to the outcome of the race, "immigration reform is DOA". That same year, Ingraham harshly criticized Republican congresswoman Renee Elmers for expressing support for a comprehensive immigration bill which included a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants who were in the country at the time. In an interview with Elmers, Ingraham accused Elmers of supporting amnesty and using liberal talking points, and said her arguments were "infuriating to my listeners". In September 2014, Ingraham claimed that then-President

sent assistance to Africa during the

2014 Ebola outbreak Fourteen or 14 may refer to: * 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 * one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014 Music * 14th (band), a British electronic music duo * ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013 *''14'', an unrele ...

and exposed Americans to the virus because of his guilt over "colonialism". In September 2017, amid reports that Trump was considering an agreement with Democrats on amnesty for approximately 800,000 DREAMers, Ingraham criticized Trump, tweeting "When does American working class w/out real wage increase in 15yrs & who send their kids to overcrowded public schools get amnesty?" In July 2018, Ingraham harshly criticized Republican congressman

Kevin Yoder Kevin Wayne Yoder (born January 8, 1976) is an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, Yoder was the Kansas State Representative for the 20th dis ...

after he expressed support for a Democratic bill that rolled back Attorney General Jeff Sessions' order that immigration judges not be allowed to grant asylum to

asylum seeker An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and m ...

s fleeing

domestic abuse Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for '' intimate partne ...

gang violence A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collective ...

in their home country. She called on the congressman "to stop selling out the Trump agenda". In February 2018, Ingraham said NBA players

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest p ...

and

Kevin Durant Kevin Wayne Durant ( ; born September 29, 1988), also known by his initials KD, is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball f ...

should " shut up and dribble" after James called comments by Trump "laughable and scary". When her statement was criticized, Ingraham said there was "no racial intent in my remarks" and cited her 2003 book ''Shut Up & Sing'' and other intstances when she had said performers should "shut up" about politics. In 2020, when

Drew Brees Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees i ...

, a white athlete, criticized protesters who kneeled during the U.S. national anthem, Ingraham was criticized for supporting his statements, which she had not done in the earlier case with the African-American athletes. Ingraham defended the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance" family separation policy for children of illegal immigrants, and in a June 18, 2018, broadcast compared the children's facilities to "summer camps" that "resemble boarding schools". She further described criticism of the policy as "faux liberal outrage". Ingraham had referred to the border crossings as "slow-rolling invasion of the United States". School shooting survivor and activist David Hogg, who had led a previous campaign to pressure advertisers to leave ''The'' ''Ingraham Angle'', called for a second boycott, but advertisers interviewed by ''The Hollywood Reporter'' on June 19 did not plan to leave the show. Ingraham objects to the changing racial

demographics of The United States The United States had an official estimated resident population of 333,287,557 on July 1, 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This figure includes the 50 states and the District of Columbia but excludes the population of five unincorpo ...

. In August 2018, in what ''

'' labeled an expression of "white anxiety", she stated "some parts of the country it does seem like the America we know and love doesn't exist anymore. Massive demographic changes have been foisted upon the American people. And they're changes that none of us ever voted for, and most of us don't like... much of this is related to both illegal and, in some cases, legal immigration that, of course, progressives love." Various commentators criticized Ingraham's comments, with ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'' claiming she was alluding to the U.S. becoming "less and less white with every passing year". Many outlets argued that it echoed white nationalist rhetoric or that itself constituted a "white nationalist rant". Ingraham's comments were endorsed by

David Duke David Ernest Duke (born July 1, 1950) is an American white supremacist, antisemitic conspiracy theorist, far-right politician, convicted felon, and former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. From 1989 to 1992, he was a membe ...

. In response, Ingraham called Duke a "racist freak whose name I won't even mention". Some mainstream media described Ingraham's views as advocating the

white genocide conspiracy theory The white genocide, white extinction, or white replacement conspiracy theory is a white supremacist conspiracy theory which states that there is a deliberate plot, often blamed on Jews, to promote miscegenation, interracial marriage, mass no ...

. In her August 9, 2018 ''Ingraham Angle'' monolog, Ingraham stated she was not talking about "race or ethnicity" and went on to say, "There is something slipping away in this country and it's not about race or ethnicity. It's what was once a common understanding by both parties that American citizenship is a privilege, and one that at a minimum requires respect for the rule of law and loyalty to our constitution." In October 2018, Ingraham urged her audience to vote Republican in the upcoming midterm elections, saying that Democrats "want to replace you, the American voters, with newly amnestied citizens and an ever-increasing number of chain migrants." In May 2019, Ingraham showed a graphic on her show of "prominent voices censored on social media", which included "people who believe in border enforcement, people who believe in national sovereignty." Among those listed was Paul Nehlen, known for making numerous anti-Semitic remarks, who was banned from

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

after making racist remarks about

Meghan Markle Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (; born Rachel Meghan Markle; August 4, 1981) is an American member of the British royal family and former actress. She is the wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son of King Charles III. Meghan was ...

, the wife of

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger son of Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. He is fifth in the line of succ ...

. In June 2019, she spread unsubstantiated claims that asylum seekers to the United States may carry the Ebola virus.

Economics

Ingraham has supported

deregulation Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...

and has spoken against lawsuits. In 2021 Ingraham suggested getting rid of unemployment benefits for people capable of work, asking a guest, "What if we just cut off the unemployment? Hunger is a pretty powerful thing." In September 2022, Ingraham criticized the Biden administration's student loan forgiveness program, stating that her mother worked as a waitress until she was 73 to help pay for Ingraham's loans. The statement was ridiculed by critics who noted that Ingraham had held high-salary jobs since the 1980s and should've been able to pay off her loans herself rather than depend on her mother during that time period.

Foreign policy

Ingraham advocated for the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including ...

. However, during the

2016 Republican Party presidential primaries Presidential primaries and caucuses of the Republican Party took place within all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories between February 1 and June 7, 2016. These elections selected the 2,472 delegates that were se ...

, she said she considered the Iraq war a mistake, and criticized "

Bushism Bushisms are unconventional statements, phrases, pronunciations, possible Freudian slips, malapropisms, as well as semantic or linguistic errors in the public speaking of former President of the United States George W. Bush. The term ''Bushism' ...

" as Trump ran against

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush ...

. In August 2019, Ingraham condemned China's "brutal violation of basic human rights" and China's

Xinjiang re-education camps The Xinjiang internment camps, officially called vocational education and training centers ( zh, 职业技能教育培训中心, Zhíyè jìnéng jiàoyù péixùn zhōngxīn) by the government of China, are internment camps operated by ...

for Muslim ethnic minority groups. Ingraham is a supporter of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, which she called "one of our closest allies". She criticized

Ilhan Omar Ilhan Abdullahi Omar (born October 4, 1982) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2019. She is a member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party. Before her election to Congress, Omar served in the Minnesot ...

's description of Israel as an apartheid regime.

Donald Trump

Ingraham is known for her strong support for

. During his presidency, she acted as an informal advisor to the administration, flouting journalistic ethical norms. In 2016 after Trump became the Republican nominee Ingraham expressed support for Trump during her speech at the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in ...

. In June 2019, Ingraham mocked reports that Trump had delayed his participation in

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

commemoration activities to sit for an interview with her, strongly dismissing them as "patently false—fake news", despite video of the interview showing Trump saying, "These people are so amazing, and what they don't realize is that I'm holding them up because of this interview, but that's because it's you." Following the attack on the United States Capitol by Trump supporters on January 6, 2021, Ingraham was among those who advanced the conspiracy theory that people associated with antifa were responsible. During the attack, she had texted Trump's Chief of Staff,

Mark Meadows Mark Randall Meadows (born July 28, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 29th White House chief of staff from 2020 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 11th c ...

, "Mark, the president needs to tell people in the Capitol to go home. This is hurting all of us. He is destroying his legacy." But she downplayed Trump supporter involvement that evening on ''Ingraham Angle'', stating, "They were likely not all Trump supporters. I have never seen Trump rally attendees wearing helmets, black helmets, brown helmets, black backpacks — the uniforms you saw in some of these crowd shots." She later ridiculed four members of the Capitol Police and D.C. Police who had responded to the insurrection, after they testified to House lawmakers on July 27, 2021. In 2022, Ingraham criticized the Justice Department and FBI for the search of Mar-a-Lago over Trump's handling of classified information, but suggested that Republican voters might "turn the page" and back another 2024 presidential candidate "if we can get someone who has all Trump’s policies, who’s not Trump".

COVID-19 pandemic

During the coronavirus pandemic, Ingraham repeatedly pushed for the unproven drug hydroxychloroquine as treatment for

coronavirus disease 2019 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

(COVID-19). She characterized it as a miracle drug and booked guests on her show to promote the drug. She mocked

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georg ...

director

Robert R. Redfield Robert Ray Redfield Jr. (born July 10, 1951) is an American virologist who served as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry from 2018 to 202 ...

after he cautioned against the drug. After a study was released which tested the drug on 368 Veterans Affairs patients and showed that the drug was associated with an increased risk of death, she attacked the study as "shoddy", "shockingly irresponsible" and "agenda-driven". She questioned whether attempts to "disprove effectiveness" of the drug was "triggered by pure hatred of Trump? Of Fox? Of me?" On June 15, 2020, the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

revoked the Emergency Approval of hydroxychloroquine (and

chloroquine Chloroquine is a medication primarily used to prevent and treat malaria in areas where malaria remains sensitive to its effects. Certain types of malaria, resistant strains, and complicated cases typically require different or additional medi ...

). FDA said that a review of some studies showed that the drugs' potential benefits in treating COVID-19 did not outweigh the risks. In May 2020, Ingraham criticized requirements that people wear face masks in public as a way to halt the spread of the coronavirus. She gave airtime to

Harmeet Dhillon Harmeet Kaur Dhillon (born 1969) is an American lawyer and Republican Party official. She is the former vice chairwoman of the California Republican Party, and a National Committeewoman of the Republican National Committee for California. She is t ...

, a Republican operative who filed lawsuits against

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

to stop the implementation of stay-at-home orders intended to halt the spread of the coronavirus. She praised her as "leading the charge to keep Gavin Newsom's power grabs in check." In October 2020, Ingraham and her guest

Victor Davis Hanson Victor Davis Hanson (born September 5, 1953) is an American commentator, classicist, and military historian. He has been a commentator on modern and ancient warfare and contemporary politics for ''The New York Times'', ''Wall Street Journal'', ...

spread misinformation about New Zealand's response to the pandemic on her show. Referring to a "terrifying new response" which was months old, she called New Zealand's managed isolation facilities "camps" when they are in fact lavish hotels. Ingraham was an early media proponent of the anti-parasite drug

ivermectin Ivermectin (, '' EYE-vər-MEK-tin'') is an antiparasitic drug. After its discovery in 1975, its first uses were in veterinary medicine to prevent and treat heartworm and acariasis. Approved for human use in 1987, today it is used to treat i ...

as a treatment for COVID-19 (a use not recommended by the FDA), and promoted a

conspiracy theory A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...

that doctors and officials "vilify and dismiss and demean, and, frankly, lie about it, the effectiveness of these drugs".

Gun issues

Ingraham warned Trump not to support

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with onl ...

; after comments he made in the wake of the

Stoneman Douglas High School shooting On February 14, 2018, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Miami suburban town of Parkland, Florida, murdering 17 people and injuring 17 others. Cruz, a former student at ...

, Ingraham said in a February 2018 tweet that "If the President @realDonaldTrump dives on the 2nd mendment he won’t have to worry abt who runs his 2020 campaign." In March 2018, Ingraham's show was boycotted by 27 sponsors after she ridiculed David Hogg, a 17-year-old student survivor of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, for supposedly complaining about being rejected by four colleges. In response, Hogg posted a list of Ingraham's advertisers and called for a boycott, accusing her of

cyberbullying Cyberbullying or cyberharassment is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. Cyberbullying and cyberharassment are also known as online bullying. It has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers, as the digital ...

. After several advertisers left the show Ingraham apologized, which Hogg dismissed as insincere. Advertising time during the show dropped by as much as 52 percent.Sarah Ellison, April 8, 2018, ''Washington Post''
Laura Ingraham returns to air amid a boycott drama. It's the new normal for Fox News.
, Retrieved April 9, 2018, "... Ingraham's slap at David Hogg, ... a wire that even the controversy-hardened Fox did not welcome...." After Ingraham returned from a vacation following the boycott, her program earned its best ratings ever, spiking 25% in total viewers and saw an increase of 36% in the key 25–54 age group demographic. As of October 2018, companies were continuing to shun Ingraham's show despite the increased ratings.

Conspiracy theories

Ingraham has promoted

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...

about topics such as the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

and the

January 6 United States Capitol attack On January 6, 2021, following the defeat of then- U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, a mob of his supporters attacked the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The mob was seeking to keep Trump in p ...

. Ingraham has promoted the Great Replacement theory and stated that Democrats “want to replace you, the American voters, with newly amnestied citizens and an ever-increasing number of chain migrants". Ingraham also hosted Republicans

Jim Banks James Edward Banks (born July 16, 1979) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2017. A Republican, he previously served as a member of the Indiana Senate from 2010 to 2016. Early life and career Banks was bo ...

, Stephen Miller, and

Jim Jordan James Daniel Jordan (born February 17, 1964) is an American politician currently serving in his ninth term in the U.S. House of Representatives as the representative for since 2007. A member of the Republican Party, he is a two-tim ...

who also endorsed the theory. During an appearance on ''

Fox & Friends ''Fox & Friends'' is an American daily morning news and talk program that airs on Fox News. It premiered on February 1, 1998, and is currently hosted by Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade on weekdays. Will Cain, Rachel Campos- ...

'' Ingraham promoted the conspiracy theory that the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well ...

was involved in the murder of

Seth Rich Seth,; el, Σήθ ''Sḗth''; ; "placed", "appointed") in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Mandaeism, and Sethianism, was the third son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, their only other child mentioned by name in the Hebrew Bible. Ac ...

Personal life

Ingraham attended a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...

church until the age of twelve, later converting to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. She studied Spanish and Russian. Ingraham has dated George Conway and

Dinesh D'Souza Dinesh Joseph D'Souza (; born April 25, 1961) is an Indian-American right-wing political commentator, author, filmmaker, and conspiracy theorist. He has written over a dozen books, several of them ''New York Times'' best-sellers. In 2012, D' ...

, fellow conservatives. In April 2005, Ingraham announced that she had undergone treatment for

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...

. She is a single parent of three children: a girl, Maria, from

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by Hon ...

adopted in 2008, a boy, Michael Dmitri, from Russia adopted in 2009, and a second boy, Nikolai Peter, adopted from Russia in 2011.

References

External links

* * * *
Fact-checking
at

PolitiFact PolitiFact.com is an American nonprofit project operated by the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, with offices there and in Washington, D.C. It began in 2007 as a project of the ''Tampa Bay Times'' (then the ''St. Petersburg Times ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ingraham, Laura 1963 births Living people 21st-century American journalists American conservative talk radio hosts American nationalists American people of English descent American people of Irish descent American people of Polish descent American political commentators American political writers American women lawyers Catholics from Connecticut Connecticut Republicans Converts to Roman Catholicism from Baptist denominations Dartmouth College alumni Female critics of feminism Fox News people Great Replacement conspiracy theorists Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States Lawyers from New York City People from Glastonbury, Connecticut Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom people University of Virginia School of Law alumni American women radio presenters Writers from Connecticut 21st-century American women