Fox News '3 Mexican Countries' flub draws mockery, a little payback from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

(Image credit: Screenshot/Fox News via CNN)

published 1 April 2019

On Sunday morning's Fox & Friends, co-hosts Pete Hegseth and Ed Henry poked fun at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) for saying Friday that Congress passed the 22nd Amendment to prevent President Franklin Roosevelt from seeking a fifth term — in fact, Congress approved it two years after FDR's death, in response to his truncated four-term presidency. But then Fox & Friends posted a chyron saying President Trump was seeking to cut off aid to "3 Mexican Countries," not three Central American nations, and Ocasio-Cortez got the last laugh.

Henry apologized after what he called the "inaccurate graphic onscreen" went viral, saying "we apologize for the error — it never should've happened." But Ocasio-Cortez wasn't the only person mocking Fox News. A common critique was that the mistake apparently reflected how Fox News views Latin Americans — all the same — and there were also gibes that the network might want to hire a more diverse staff and concerns about Fox News' quality control. At CNN, media critic Brian Stelter was momentarily speechless, but tied it to larger concerns about the strange coziness between Fox News and Trump.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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