Hours before New York City voters elected Zohran Mamdani as their next mayor, right-wing pundit and MAGA podcast superstar Megyn Kelly stated Muslims like New York City's mayor-elect shouldn't hold office in the U.S. Kelly said Mamdani, a U.S. citizen born in Uganda, is "not American" and that Muslims should not be allowed to hold a public office in America because she said that “the tenets of Islam are not consistent with Western civilization.” I will get to that in a minute.
First, one has to wonder if Megyn Kelly had ever met a Muslim in her home state or if her parents are closely related. Either way, this hatemonger thinks that she will not be held accountable for her bigoted and insulting comments about Muslims. Miss Kelly sounded like Archie Bunder with a law degree. She is the one who is un-American and just plain sick.
American citizens regardless of origin are entitled to run for elected offices as long as they qualify by law. It is up to voters to decide whether they should serve or not. Kelly is basically saying she doesn't like his politics therefore he shouldn't be eligible.
Megyn Kelly, who holds a law degree, needs to brush up on the U.S. constitutions, especially Article 6, clause 3, which requires all public officials to be bound by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution; but no "religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."
We've had foreign-born citizens holding office for over a century. But now, suddenly, this is an issue? There's a saying in America. Whenever a new minority accomplishes something, white people like "Hotshot" Kelly want to change the rules.
I could also point out that Islam would qualify as a "Western Religion" since it comes from the same area as Judaism and Christianity.
Muslims and other non-Trumpers are more American than Kelly and her MAGA clowns, but we all are still Americans. There were also some Muslims that helped us win our Revolution. Obviously, MAGA only knows about the extremists, not the regular everyday Muslims who are part of the fabric that make America great.
Does Kelly also think American Presidents shouldn't accept gifts of airplanes from Muslims or that American Presidents shouldn't let Qatari air force pilots be trained at an unused Airforce base in Utah?
Kelly should get over it. Arnold Schwarzenegger got elected as California governor and he wasn't born in the U.S. and so was Israel-first Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas who was born in Canada. Kelly never had a fit about them being elected. I wonder if Kelly is even aware that seven of America's founding fathers were born outside the United States. So, were they wrong for coming here?
Megyn Kelly is dead wrong. Muslims in America are qualified to hold public office, and naturalized citizens are still American citizens. If Kelly does not like or trust Mamdani and thinks he is dangerous and will not vote for him, that's her right to do so. Nevertheless, as a citizen, he still has the same constitutional rights as all of us do. As a lawyer, Megyn Kelly ought to know this.
Megyn Kelly doesn’t think Muslims should hold office in America. There's a word for that! Her remarks about Muslims add insult, subtract pleasure, multiply ignorance, and divide attention.
Meanwhile, Kelly should know that some of us don't think someone who has been accused of 30+ felonies should even be able to run for president either. But Kelly and her MAGA clan do not care about the Constitution. The Constitution to them is a giant waste of time and a hindrance to their bigoted agenda.
The truth is, neither Megyn Kelly nor MAGA care about the sacrifices and contributions of the brave Arabs and Muslim Americans for the safety and welfare of their country, the United States. They are bigots who use fearmongering, hatred, and racial prejudice to further their careers.
Mahmoud El-Youseph is a Palestinian freelance writer and retired U.S. Air Force veteran. He writes on U.S. foreign policy, Middle East affairs, and justice. Email: elyousseph6@yahoo.com
