Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner apologized Wednesday after she broke down in tears during live coverage of the school shooting that took place one day earlier in Uvalde, Texas.
Faulkner and her co-hosts were discussing the aftermath of the tragedy on the network’s midday panel show “Outnumbered,” when something co-host Kayleigh McEnany said brought her to tears.
"It was breaking my heart that people felt so hopeless," @HARRISFAULKNER fights back tears, explaining why she chose to share Matt. 19:14.
"But Jesus said, let the little children come to me and do not hinder them for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." pic.twitter.com/Idea6pwccO— Virginia Kruta (@VAKruta) May 25, 2022
After listing off the names of several of the 19 students who had lost their lives, McEnany said she was reminded of a Bible verse that Faulkner had shared the night before.
“Last night, you posted a Bible verse that I think said it all. That said everything that needs to be said,” McEnany began, reading, “Matthew 19:14, ‘But Jesus said, let the little children come to me and do not hinder them for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'”
Lifting up a verse 🙏🏼 for the loved ones grieving in Uvalde, Texas on this first torturous night. #UvaldeMassacre #RobbElementary
Matthew 19:14
But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”— HARRISFAULKNER (@HARRISFAULKNER) May 24, 2022
“They were sitting at their desks, but 20 minutes from now yesterday, they entered heaven,” McEnany added.
“I have not heard my words read back. That’s all I have,” Faulkner replied, clearly struggling under the weight of the emotion of the moment. “I was looking at what was on social media and it was breaking my heart that people felt so hopeless. So I tweeted that. Just maybe somebody might see it.”
Co-host Emily Compagno weighed in then, echoing the heartbreak that her co-hosts had voiced — and while she spoke, Faulkner continued to wipe away tears.
“I keep thinking of those families who had missing children for so long and had to wait for that inevitable news that their child had gone to heaven,” Compagno said. “I can’t imagine what that pain was like.”
She went on to note that she lived near a school and often saw children coming and going with a parent or a grandparent. “I looked at all of them today and saw the expressions on the parents’ faces and I can’t imagine what that feeling is like in this moment today for millions of Americans who are carrying the burden and the tragedy and the pain in empathy and sympathy for the community of uvalde there and thinking to themselves, but what if this is the last time? How is this supposed to be the final good-bye for my 7-year-old, for my 11-year-old?”
“My heart just breaks and my deepest prayers for all of those families there in Uvalde, for all of them,” Compagno concluded.
“I apologize for breaking down,” Faulkner said once Compagno had finished her comment, and then turned to co-host Trace Gallagher. “I was on the air, Trace, I think we were on the air together in some fashion on the day of Sandy Hook. And I said 26 dead on that day. Never again. Look at where we are.”