Tomi Lahren

Early life

Lahren grew up in Rapid City, South Dakota, in a military family, and attended Central High School. She is of German and Norwegian descent. Lahren graduated from University of Nevada, Las Vegas with a B.A. in broadcast journalism and political science in 2014. She also hosted and associate produced the university's political roundtable show The Scramble. Lahren interned for Republican congresswoman Kristi Noem, serving as the first intern for Noem's Rapid City office.

Career

Hoping to find an internship in political commentary, Lahren applied to One America News Network (OAN), obtained an interview, and was instead offered the opportunity to host her own show. She moved to San Diego, California and began working for OAN. On Point with Tomi Lahren debuted in August 2014.

In July 2015, a video of her commentary concerning the 2015 Chattanooga shootings garnered widespread attention. Before this, Lahren caused a smaller wave of press attention in March 2015 when she appeared at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. Referring to the image of Republicans as "old, rich, white males", she commented on prominent Democrats, saying: "Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden. Old, rich, white, and if the pantsuit fits ... male too?" On August 19, Lahren announced that she had completed her last show with OAN. She moved to Texas, and began a new show with TheBlaze in November 2015. She has become known for ending her program with three-minute segments called "final thoughts" in which she speaks extremely quickly. These segments have become widely popular on social media, but have been variously referred to as "screeds" and "rants".

In January 2016, Lahren endorsed Marco Rubio for president in the Republican Party presidential primary. On November 30, Lahren appeared on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah for a 26-minute interview segment. Many critics compared her appearance with former host Jon Stewart's friendly rivalry with Bill O'Reilly.

On March 17, 2017, Lahren made a guest appearance on The View, where she stated that women should have access to abortion and accused those who held pro-life positions of being hypocrites. TheBlaze, whose owner Glenn Beck is pro-life and openly criticized Lahren for her comments, immediately suspended her with pay, leading Lahren to file a wrongful termination suit. The suit was settled under an agreement in which Lahren kept her Facebook page but removed videos she had made with TheBlaze.

In May 2017, Lahren began working in a communications role at Great America Alliance, an offshoot of Great America PAC, a large pro-Donald Trump super PAC. Great America Alliance is chaired by Newt Gingrich and Rudy Giuliani. Lahren described her role there as a "side gig" and said she would return to television as a commentator. In August 2017, Lahren joined Fox News as a contributor.

Political views

Lahren describes herself as a "constitutional conservative". She has said that she is a commentator, not a journalist, and has said that her shows are not about presenting news neutrally, but about commentary and "mak[ing] the news".

Lahren's commentaries have been described by critics as often racist, a label she disputes. Commentators have lampooned her as "White Power Barbie". She has been described as an "anti-feminist who admires strong women", whose positions on immigration are similar to those of Donald Trump. She has criticized African Americans for various social issues, including drug abuse and unemployment. She has stated that while she does not consider herself a feminist, she believes in women's empowerment, and looks up to various women from both the political left and the political right.

In July 2016, Lahren wrote a tweet comparing the Black Lives Matter movement to the Ku Klux Klan. Tens of thousands of people signed a Change.org petition in response asking for her to be fired from TheBlaze. The petition was unsuccessful. In November 2016, Lahren released a video on the protests against Donald Trump. In August 2016, she released a video criticizing NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who had been protesting racism by kneeling during the playing of the national anthem before football games.

In March 2017, Lahren stated that she was pro-choice, sparking criticism from a number of anti-abortion writers. TheBlaze owner Glenn Beck, among others, noted that Lahren had previously publicly said she was pro-life, in addition to numerous other inconsistencies on other issues. Soon thereafter, Lahren said to Playboy that she has always been pro-abortion rights as a matter of national law but personally anti-abortion.