Pro-Donald Trump Radio Host Bill Handel Calls Frederica Wilson ‘Cheap, Sleazy Whore’ — Twitter Wants Him Fired
Bill Handel, a conservative talk radio host in Los Angeles who has been supportive of Donald Trump, sparked outrage and calls for his firing on Friday when he called Florida congressional representative Frederica Wilson “a cheap, sleazy Democrat whore on his morning program broadcast on the popular Los Angeles talk station KFI. Wilson has been the target of attacks from Trump supporters and from Trump himself since she revealed insensitive comments made by Trump in his phone call to grieving war widow Myeshia Johnson on October 17.
Johnson’s husband, Army Sergeant La David Johnson, was one of four American troops killed in an ISIS ambush in the West African country of Niger on October 4, under conditions that have not yet been explained by the Pentagon or the Trump administration. Wilson on Tuesday revealed that Trump told Myeshia Johnson that her husband “knew what he signed up for, but when it happens, it hurts anyway.”
Handel unleashed his insults toward Wilson in a Friday morning exchange with political consultant John Thomas, telling Thomas on the KFI airwaves, “I’m far more upset with her because that is a cheap affectation — she’s a cheap sleazy Democrat whore is what she is. Okay, no excuse me, I’m being too generous to her.”
When Thomas responded that he preferred the word “politician” rather than “whore,” Handel emphasized that his choice of wording was intentional.
“I would add the word whore,” the 66-year-old Handel declared. “There are a few other words I could throw in there but I want to stay working here.”
KFI is an affiliate of the iHeart Radio network. Listen to Handel make his remarks about Wilson on KFI in the audio file embedded below.
While reports of Handel’s remarks were not widely publicized over the weekend, on Monday writer and political commentator Jasmyne Cannick published an article detailing Handel’s remarks, and followed up with a series of postings on her Twitter account.
Dozens of Twitter users responded to Cannick, many calling for Handel to be fired by KFI.
.@KFIAM640 L.A. morning host @billhandelshow calls black congresswoman @RepWilson a whore. Any comment @iheartmedia? https://t.co/EqcPk3dSjb
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) October 23, 2017
Hi, @KFIAM640. Are there consequences on your station for a host calling a sitting Congresswoman a whore? https://t.co/96CJ9Mk6Ok
— Sleeping Giants (@slpng_giants) October 23, 2017
@billhandelshow In what world is it OK to refer to a US Congresswoman as a whore? Tell that to your Mother. I dare you.
— Uriel Dana (@uridev) October 23, 2017
B Handel is totally wrong & a racist. Handel don’t call women out of their name, when u have a wife & two daughters. Handel need to be fired
— jacqueline l pearson (@jacquelinelpear) October 23, 2017
Wow, if I said that about someone on my job I would be fired immediately.
— Debra Simpson (@DebraJo1953) October 23, 2017
I don’t shock easily… And I am shocked. Bill Handel needs to come off the air.
— Mel S. Pumpkins (@mellian1) October 23, 2017
Handel on Monday attempted to explain his comments by stating that he intended to use the term “media whore” to refer to Wilson, and listed other public figures whom, Handel said, he had referred to as “whores,” including President Bill Clinton and feminist attorney Gloria Allred. Listen to Handel’s explanation of his remarks about Wilson by visiting this link.
But Handel has been far from alone in leveling angry, name-calling attacks and even violent threats against Wilson. On Friday, before Handel’s comments were widely publicized, Wilson said that she had alerted the United States Capitol Police as well as local Miami-area police to the influx of threats against her.
One threat posted on a Facebook account attributed to a person named Tom Keevers called for Wilson to be hanged by a lynch mob, stating, “Need ten good men to help carry out a lynching. Must have own horse and saddle. Rope will be provided.” According to media reports, Keevers was identified as former police officer in Chicago.
Wilson, who is African-American, represents the 24th Congressional District in southeastern Florida, a heavily Democratic district where African-American residents comprise the majority of the population.
Trump himself has repeatedly attacked Wilson on his Twitter account, calling her “wacky.” When on Monday, Myeshia Johnson appeared on the ABC Good Morning America program, where she confirmed Wilson’s account of Trump’s phone call — and added that she was especially hurt when it became clear to her that Trump did not know her slain husband’s name, a detail that Wilson had also previously revealed — Trump posted a statement on his Twitter account suggesting that Johnson was not telling the truth, saying “I had a very respectful conversation with the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, and spoke his name from beginning, without hesitation!
[Featured Image by MediaPunch/AP Images]
