Steve Schmidt blasts Megyn Kelly's rant against Haitian migrants: 'You see the sickness in her'

WASHINGTON, DC: Former GOP strategist Steve Schmidt accused Megyn Kelly of exposing what he described as overt hatred toward Haitian immigrants after her comments defending a Supreme Court ruling on Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

Schmidt's remarks intensified scrutiny of Kelly's response to the court's 6-3 decision allowing the Trump administration to strip TPS from nearly 400,000 Haitian and Syrian immigrants. He argued her rhetoric went beyond support for the ruling and reflected open hostility toward Haitians. 

Steve Schmidt condemns Megyn Kelly's remarks following TPS ruling

Appearing on former CNN host Jim Acosta's show, Schmidt delivered a blistering assessment of Kelly's comments, saying he believed they reflected hatred. 

He argued that Kelly's remarks revealed something more troubling than a policy disagreement.

"It's quite a thing to watch this hate spewing out," Schmidt said. "And it's quite a thing ... this person was the host of presidential debates? And you see the sickness in her."

Acosta also condemned Kelly's comments during the discussion with Schmidt, using unusually strong language to describe her remarks. He called the former Fox News host a "s**tstain on American media" and labeled her comments "monstrous, reprehensible racism."

Megyn Kelly tells Haitian immigrants to 'get out, go home'

Although Kelly expressed general support for the ruling, her sharpest comments focused on Haitian immigrants.

"Go home! Get out. We know our country is better than yours," she said. "That's because we filled it with our work ethic and our culture and our values. You being here only dilutes it for us, those who built it and live it."

The conservative commentator also claimed, "Half of you people — more than half of you — you won't assimilate. We don't want you! We don't care if you're offended."

Kelly further said, "Get out! Go home! Go back to Haiti!" 

“Sorry, I’m thinking about our friends in Ohio who’ve been dealing with these TPS Haitians for years now,” she said.  

“This is the whole cats and dogs thing, like, they don’t want to live like Americans live,” Kelly added. “And this was supposed to be a temporary — It was supposed to be temporary help, and it’s turned into another backdoor way of allowing someone permanent residency here.”

Her comments quickly drew criticism, with Schmidt using them to argue that her response to the court's decision had laid bare what he described as hatred toward Haitian immigrants rather than simply support for an immigration policy.

Meanwhile, Democratic Rep Yassamin Ansari took to X (formerly Twitter) to condemn Kelly's remarks, writing, "This is just vile. Imagine having every privilege and opportunity in the world and choosing to dedicate your platform to spreading hatred about vulnerable people."

"Hope you find whatever humanity you’re missing, Megyn," the Arizona politician added.