Out State Department spokesperson and former Fox host Tammy Bruce – who is known for her stern and earnest reporting on human-animal hybrids she once claimed Democrats were making – shouted down a CNN host who asked her a basic question about what the State Department is working on, saying that she’s not a “gossipper.”
Bruce was recently on CNN and the interview became surreal as host Kasie Hunt asked the former Fox host about what her boss, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is working on. It’s a pretty standard question for a department spokesperson since presidential administrations generally believe that the American people have a right to know what high-ranking officials are working on, but Bruce became offended at the idea of being asked to “gossip” about her boss.
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“I got the vaccine!” Tammy Bruce exclaimed. “In certain ways, it’s like, ‘If I could give it back!’ at this point, you know?”
“Has Marco Rubio spoken recently with Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador?” Hunt asked Bruce.
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“Well, I’m not going to speak up to which world leaders the secretary speaks to. He speaks to multiple world leaders,” Bruce said very seriously.
“Is he still working on the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia?” Hunt asked three times as Bruce talked over her.
“I’m not gonna speak to his work, I’m not gonna speak to the nature of the work that he does every day in its details,” Bruce responded.
“You’re the spokeswoman for the State Department!” Hunt responded incredulously. “I mean, with all due respect, like…?”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean that- Just a minute, that doesn’t mean I’m the gossipper for the State Department,” Bruce argued.
“I’m not asking you to gossip!” Hunt said, apparently not understanding why Bruce couldn’t just answer the question.
“I’m telling you the nature of what it is that I can speak to, and it does not include the day-to-day operations or choices the secretary of state makes, that’s not gonna happen,” she concluded.
HUNT: Is Rubio still working on the Abrego Garcia case? TAMMY BRUCE: I'm not going to speak to his work in detail HUNT: You're the spokesperson for the State Department!
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) May 5, 2025 at 10:52 PM
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Bruce is one of at least 19 Fox contributors tapped by the president to be a part of his administration, and one of dozens of television personalities without any experience in political work who found themselves in a position of power.
Bruce is one of the only out LGBTQ+ personalities on Fox News, something she has used to attack other LGBTQ+ people in the past.
For example, in 2023, she joined in the rightwing bashing of Pride in a Fox segment about a drag queen who participated in a marketing campaign for The North Face, the outdoor gear company. That year, conservatives freaked out over the Pride gear, LGBTQ+ advertising, and influencer partnerships of numerous corporations, including The North Face, Bud Light, and Target.
Bruce said that “most of the audience knows I’m a gay woman,” but there has been a “kind of push for something, for everyone to be a victim or for some kind of new dynamic,” claiming that Pride campaigns “really do damage to the gay and lesbian community” and were “embarrassing.”
“And it’s not about homophobia, it’s about everything being politicized,” she said.
In 2021, Bruce raged at President Joe Biden for saying that men and women are equal.
“Alright, you noticed how he added ‘women and men are created equal,’ not just ‘men,’” Bruce said sternly. “It matters, right? That’s not what the Founders wrote.”
“Apparently, the sacred words of our Founders weren’t inclusive enough for Sleepy Joe, so he corrected them.”
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