Tomi Lahren Biography

Tomi Lahren (born August 11, 1992) is an American conservative political commentator and former television host. She garnered international attention as the host of Tomi on TheBlaze, particularly for her short video segments called "final thoughts", in which she frequently criticized liberal politics. Many of her videos went viral, with The New York Times describing her as a "rising media star". Lahren was suspended from TheBlaze in March 2017 after saying in an interview on The View that she believed women should have legal access to abortion. Shortly thereafter, she began working for Great America Alliance, an advocacy organization that supports Donald Trump, and, in August 2017, she joined Fox News as a contributor. Lahren's commentaries have frequently been described by critics as racist, which she disputes.

Early life

Lahren grew up in Rapid City, South Dakota, in a USMC family, and attended Central High School. She is of German and Norwegian descent. Lahren graduated from University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2014 with a B.A. in broadcast journalism and political science. 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 at Noem's Rapid City office.

Career

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

In July 2015, a video of her commentary on the 2015 Chattanooga shootings garnered widespread attention. On August 19, Lahren announced that she had completed her last show with OANN. She moved to Texas, and began a new show with TheBlaze in November 2015. She became known for ending her program with three-minute segments called "final thoughts", in which she spoke extremely quickly. These segments became widely popular on social media, but have been called "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. Many critics compared her appearance to former host Jon Stewart's friendly rivalry with Bill O'Reilly.

On March 17, 2017, Lahren made a guest appearance on The View in which she said that women should have access to abortion and accused those who held pro-life positions of being hypocrites. TheBlaze's owner, Glenn Beck, who is pro-life, criticized Lahren for her comments and 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 communications at Great America Alliance, an offshoot of Great America PAC, a large pro-Donald Trump super PAC 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 that her shows are not about presenting news neutrally, but about commentary and "mak[ing] the news".

Critics have considered Lahren's commentaries racist; Lahren disagrees. She has been described as an "anti-feminist who admires strong women", with positions on immigration similar to those of Donald Trump. She has criticized African Americans on various social issues, including drug abuse and unemployment. She has said 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 posted 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 said 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 told Playboy that she had always supported abortion rights as a matter of national law but was personally anti-abortion.

Lahren supports fracking and considers climate change a myth.