Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., condemned a far-left podcaster for targeting the widowed Erika Kirk, calling the remarks "gross and dehumanizing."
Fetterman was responding to podcaster Jennifer Welch, who recently labeled Kirk a "grifter" and said she should be "kicked to the curb" for her conservative views. Kirk is the widow of conservative leader Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated in September; the couple has two young children.
"It's gross and dehumanizing to attack a widow with young children after just witnessing his public assassination. It shouldn't be controversial to put our political views aside and extend the grace for a deeply traumatized family to grieve," Fetterman wrote on X on Tuesday.
Fetterman was responding to Welch's Sunday episode of her "I've Had It" podcast, where the left-wing host unloaded on Erika Kirk — calling her a "grifter," mocking her clothing, and claiming her organization "makes women less safe."
Welch also smeared Charlie Kirk, branding the Turning Point USA CEO an "unrepentant racist and homophobe," echoing the same rhetoric many say helped fuel his assassination.
"You are an opportunistic grifter who weaponizes your gender to demean women," Welch ranted, adding that Erika Kirk is "why nobody wants to be a Christian" or a "female hypocrite such as yourself."
Welch accused Erika Kirk of "weaponizing" her faith and gender.
"This woman should be kicked to the curb. She is an absolute grifter just like Donald Trump, and just like her unrepentant racist, homophobic husband was," the podcaster said.
Welch, who has a history of hostility toward Christians and white Americans, even mocked Erika Kirk's appearance, sneering about her "tarantula eyes" and "big bouffant evangelical hair."
Charlie Kirk was murdered at a TPUSA event on Sept. 10. Tyler James Robinson faces aggravated-murder and related charges in the killing, and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
The next pretrial hearing for Robinson is scheduled for Jan. 16 in Utah's Fourth Judicial District Court in Utah County.
Newsmax wires contributed to this report.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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