Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed on Saturday as part of the coordinated U.S.-Israeli military offensive called “Operation Epic Fury.”
As Megyn noted on Monday’s edition of The Megyn Kelly Show, “no normal person is crying he is dead,” which perhaps explains why The New York Times and Washington Post are under fire for their bizarre descriptions of the militant leader.
Both described the 86 year old – who consolidated control of post-revolutionary Iran over his more than three decades in power and was known for harsh and ruthless repression – as “avuncular” while offering oddly humanizing details about his “bushy white beard” and favorite books.
The Absurd Obits
Social media was quick to point out several offenses with The New York Times obituary, beginning with its headline. The piece was titled: “Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Hard-Line Cleric Who Made Iran a Regional Power, Is Dead at 86.”
While the Times did eventually get around to mentioning his regime ordered the death of tens of thousands of protesters who demonstrated against the government as recently as January, any hint of such behavior was noticeably absent from the headline.
It was also absent from this eyebrow-raising description of Khamenei. “With his spectacles, Palestinian kaffiyeh, long robes and silver beard, Ayatollah Khamenei cast himself as a religious scholar as well as a writer and translator of works on Islam. He affected an avuncular and magnanimous aloofness, running the country from a perch above the jousting of daily politics,” the obituary read.
But the Gray Lady wasn’t alone. The Washington Post was similarly fond of the supreme leader’s facial hair and demeanor, describing him as having a “bushy white beard and an easy smile.” Also of note? His love of “Persian poetry” and “classic Western novels.”
“With his bushy white beard and easy smile, Ayatollah Khamenei cut a more avuncular figure in public than his perpetually scowling but much more revered mentor, and he was known to be fond of Persian poetry and classic Western novels, especially Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables. But like the uncompromising Khomeini, he opposed moderates’ efforts to promote political and social reforms domestically and to secure rapprochement with the United States,” the Post wrote in its obituary.
Compare and Contrast
Megyn joked that the grossly inappropriate tidbits were “so sweet” and additive. “I’m so glad I’m getting to know him,” she quipped. “And they describe him as a closet moderate.” The same could not be said, Megyn noted, of WaPo’s obituary for Charlie Kirk.
The headline of the September 10 obit was “Charlie Kirk, fiery voice in conservative politics, killed at 31,” and the piece went on to mischaracterize some of the Turning Point USA founder’s commentary.
“He also frequently generated outcry with provocative statements — saying last year that women in their [thirties] are ‘not at their prime’ for dating and commenting that he thought twice about flying on planes with Black pilots because he questioned whether they had the job because of the airline’s diversity, equity, and inclusion goals,” the Post wrote.
“Not only is that a smear of what Charlie actually said, because he and I discussed it at length right after he said it, but notice a difference in tone there and approach,” Megyn said.
National Review’s Rich Lowry agreed. “Charlie is not cuddly, but the Ayatollah sure was,” he cracked. “These obituaries and disparities of how they write about dictators and how they write about American political figures on the right – who just say things they disagree with… haven’t killed anyone, haven’t blown up… apartment buildings with Americans in them, or embassies with Americans in them – is so disgusting.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Lowry by tuning in to episode 1,263 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Channel (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.