Michelle Obama, Fox News, and baby mamas
Fox News was either racist or merely clueless when it labeled Michelle Obama as Barack Obama's "baby mama," said Joan Walsh in Salon. This is another case of "manufactured outrage" on the campaign trail, said James Joyner in the blog O
What happened
Fox News came under fire from liberal bloggers Thursday after the cable channel displayed text under an image of Michelle Obama identifying her as Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s “baby mama.” (The New York Times’ The Opinionator blog) Fox said the producer who chose the wording used "poor judgment." (Politico) Earlier, Fox News’ E.D. Hill was forced to apologize after saying that a fist-bump between Barack and Michelle Obama might have been a “terrorist fist jab.” (Chicago Tribune’s The Swamp blog)
What the commentators said
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“Where do you even start” when criticizing Fox's “baby mama” slur? said Joan Walsh in Salon. Do you explain that "baby mama" is an African-American slang term “for the unmarried mother of a man's child, and not his wife, or even a girlfriend?" Is Fox "racist, or just clueless?”
There’s no reason to go “apoplectic,” said James Joyner in the blog Outside the Beltway. Mrs. Obama herself has referred to her husband as her “baby’s daddy,” and the term is now commonly used in the media to refer to white celebrities, such as Tom Cruise and Justin Timberlake. This is just another example of “manufactured outrage.”
Get used to it, said Sam Schechner and Rebecca Dana in The Wall Street Journal. "In a campaign that includes the first viable African-American presidential candidate, the lines of appropriate speech have become fuzzy." And a "broad network of self-appointed watchdogs" is ready to pounce every time the media step out of line.
Nothing will stop the coming summer of attacks on Michelle Obama, said Maureen Dowd in The New York Times. Now that Hillary Clinton is out of the race, Republicans “can turn their full attention to demonizing” the woman at the side of the Democrats’ presumptive nominee. There are “creepy” Web sites dedicated to painting Mrs. Obama as “an angry black woman.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
And there you have the Democrats’ defense, said commentator Michelle Malkin in her blog. Michelle Obama isn’t getting half the grief that Laura Bush does, yet liberals want the world to think “we are all somehow colluding in unfair and ‘brutal’ attacks on Barack Obama’s wife because we express profound disagreement with her public statements and policy pronouncements on the campaign trail.”
-
Today's political cartoons - April 3, 2025
Cartoons Thursday's cartoons - a bull market, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Discover the wild beauty of Iceland's untamed landscapes
The Week Recommends From ice climbing and backcountry skiing to dining inside a lava cliff, there is plenty to do
By William Leigh Published
-
Trump tariffs: five scenarios for the world's economy
The Explainer A US recession? A trade war with China? How 'Liberation Day' could realign the globe
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?
In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
By The Week Staff Published
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?
Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?
Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Democrats vs. Republicans: who are the billionaires backing?
The Explainer Younger tech titans join 'boys' club throwing money and support' behind President Trump, while older plutocrats quietly rebuke new administration
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
US election: where things stand with one week to go
The Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Trump okay?
Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The life and times of Kamala Harris
The Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
By The Week UK Published
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published