On December 19, TBS aired the “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” Christmas special, titled, “Christmas on I.C.E.”
At the end of the half-hour seasonal spectacular, Bee left her audience with the following thoughts:
You know, in a lot of Christmas specials, this would be the time when I would learn the true meaning of Christmas but I already know it. Here it is – on Christmas, we celebrate the birth of a man whose message was one of radical kindness; a man who said whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me. If you’re not doing your best to show compassion for the poor, the weak, the sick, and yes, the immigrants, then you are doing Christmas wrong.
Bee concluded: “I don’t care what the hell is on your Starbucks cup. Anyway, Jesus loves me and he hates Fox News. Bye!”
Baked into Bee’s statement are a series of assumptions.
Among progressives, “radical kindness” often means a great many things. “Compassion for the poor, the weak, the sick” means creating a government-run health care system, and throwing more money at social safety net programs.
In September 2018, Bee focused her sights on “Universal Healthcare, B****es!” During a nearly 10-minute segment on her show, Bee discussed her desire to see a universal health care system implemented in the United States, and allegedly debunked the three most well-tread arguments against such a program.
“Fox can yell at us that single-payer health care is too expensive all they want, but it just doesn’t make sense. The U.S. currently spends nearly $3.5 trillion every year on health care,” Bee said.
According to multiple estimates, the cost of a single-payer health care system like the one being proposed by 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) would be approximately $32 to $34 trillion over ten years.
In an October article in The Atlantic, Senior Editor Ronald Brownstein writes:
The Urban Institute, a center-left think tank highly respected among Democrats, is projecting that a plan similar to what Warren and Senator Bernie Sanders are pushing would require $34 trillion in additional federal spending over its first decade in operation. That’s more than the federal government’s total cost over the coming decade for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid combined, according to the most recent Congressional Budget Office projections.
For many progressives, “radical kindness” also means looking the other way on illegal immigration.
In May 2018, Bee spoke about abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), stating in part:
Abolishing ICE shouldn’t be controversial – despite what Fox News would have you believe, it doesn’t mean we let immigrants who commit actual crimes go free. We already have mechanisms to prosecute them through something called “the law.”
Bee also cited a clip in which former President Ronald Reagan advocated for “amnesty.”
The late night host’s conclusion is at least partially correct. Scripture indicates that Jesus does love Samantha Bee because he loves all of his good creation. Though it’s unclear if he would “hate” Fox News, he might dislike Bee calling Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) a “fish-faced, horses*** salesman,” or calling Ivanka Trump a “feckless c***.”