Who is Ann Coulter?
Ann Coulter, a conservative media personality, has gained notoriety for her unabashed Islamophobia.
Coulter has contributed to major media outlets such as Fox News and CNN. She also maintains associations with VDARE, an outlet known for promoting white nationalist and antisemitic narratives. Her influence extends to the social media platforms, where she boasts over 2 million followers on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Anti-Muslim Activities
Ann Coulter has fueled animosity and bigotry against the American Muslim community. She has referred to Muslims as “ragheads,” “jihad monkeys,” and “camel jockeys.” In a disturbing response to the idea of Muslims being banned from air travel, Coulter suggested they “could use flying carpets.”
Of Muslim nations Coulter has suggested that: “We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity.” Her remarks got her fired from the National Review. Coulter doubled down years later, saying: “I am often asked if I still think we should invade their countries, kill their leaders, and convert them to Christianity. The answer is: Now more than ever!”
Coulter earned notoriety as a fervent advocate for former President Trump’s Muslim ban, euphorically hailing it as the “best birthday gift ever.” Her Twitter account became a platform for statements like “Don’t want terrorism in US? Stop importing Muslims!”
In 2016, Coulter degraded Muslim immigrants, likening government immigration policies to allowing “dumping rats in our houses.” In an interview with BBC Radio in 2017, Ann Coulter declared that Muslim immigration was of grave danger to the Western world, proclaiming: “The issue is all these Middle Easterners and Muslims being brought in. To pretend there’s no difference between a 10th-generation Dutch person and a migrant or the child of a migrant is preposterous.”
Coulter made derogatory remarks about Gold Star father Khizr Khan as a “snarling Muslim.” She later said: “what he should’ve been doing was waving Sharia law and telling Americans to read it instead of telling Trump to read the Constitution because we’re all going to be living under Sharia law if this guy has his way.”
In 2022, she showed no restraint in telling soccer players challenging hijab bans to “Live in a Muslim country.”
Ann Coulter has endorsed the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory on multiple occasions and is often recognized as one of the most prominent media figures promoting the idea. On a blog post, she wrote about the changing demographics in the United States as: “One may assume the new majority will not be such compassionate overlords as the white majority has been. If this sort of drastic change were legally imposed on any group other than white Americans, it would be called genocide.”
Coulter is known to rub shoulders and contribute to the activities of known extremist and white supremacist groups. In November of 2016, she spoke at a “Writers Workshop” for the white nationalist publishing company The Social Contract Press, where she ranted about how the 1965 Immigration Act caused the United States to “[start] dumping hijabs and burkas and child rapists and Medicare-fraudsters on the country.” In December of that same year, she attended a Christmas Party hosted by VDARE, whose notable contributors include racists and holocaust deniers such as Jared Taylor and Kevin MacDonald.
Influence
Ann Coulter’s influence on the political landscape and public discourse in the United States is extensive. Despite her divisive rhetoric and openly racist and anti-Muslim statements, Coulter has achieved New York Times best-selling status with multiple books, demonstrating the reach of her influence.
David Frum, a former speechwriter for George W. Bush and current contributor to The Atlantic, is on the record as saying, “Perhaps no single writer has had such an immediate impact on a presidential election since Harriet Beecher Stowe.”
Coulter has criticized former President Trump yet observers have noted Coulter’s seeming influence on former President Donald Trump. Coulter was one of only 45 people who Trump followed on X (formerly known as Twitter). In one instance, President Trump shared two Islamophobic tweets posted by British far-right politician Jayda Fransen, which was shared to him by Coulter. As of 2023, Trump has removed Coulter from his X feed after she made critical statements about the former president.
