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Who Is Ann Kirkpatrick? Fox & Friends books wrong guest, and it didn’t go well – Metro US

Who Is Ann Kirkpatrick? Fox & Friends books wrong guest, and it didn’t go well

Fox & Friends First accidentally interviewed the wrong woman on Monday. Photo: Screenshot

It was an awkward Monday morning at Fox News Channel after show hosts who intended to interview Ann Kirkpatrick ended up getting an anti-Trump lecture from the wrong guest. 

“Yeah, OK, who is this?” asked Fox & Friends First host Rob Schmitt, apparently baffled after introducing Ann Kirkpatrick only to learn a different woman, a Democratic Massachusetts state senator, was launching into a criticism of the Trump administration’s policy on immigration. That’s because Kirkpatrick didn’t show up to the segment  instead, Barbara L’Italien was mistakenly booked on the show. It didn’t go well from there.

“I’m actually Barbara L’Italien…”She was quickly cut off, but not before she got a few words in.  

“Good morning. I’m actually here to speak directly to Donald Trump,” said L’Italien. “I feel that what’s happening at the border is wrong. I’m a mother of four and I believe that separating kids from their parents is illegal and inhumane. I’m actually Barbara L’Italien. I’m a state senator representing a large immigrant community. I’m running for Congress in Massachusetts. I keep thinking about what we’re putting parents through, imagining how terrifying that must be for those families, imagining how it would feel not knowing if I’d ever see my kids again. We have to stop abducting children and ripping them from their parents’ arms, stop putting kids in cages, and stop making 3-year-old defend themselves in court.”

So who is Ann Kirkpatrick, and will she ever go on Fox & Friends?

So, this is actually Ann Kirkpatrick.

Fox & Friends cut to a commercial break. When the show resumed, hosts Schmitt and Jillian Mele explained the unfortunate situation to viewers. “We were told Ann Kirkpatrick was going to be on the show. As you saw, somebody else stepped in front of the camera. We are working to figure out how that happened.”

Like L’Italien, Ann Kirkpatrick is also a Democrat. However, Kirkpatrick serves as a U.S. representative in Arizona’s 1st congressional district. Her Twitter biography says she is a “Proud lifelong Arizonan, former prosecutor & congresswoman, independent voice for working Arizona families, mother, & candidate for Congress in #AZ02.”

After the Fox & Friends debacle, Kirkpatrick took to Twitter to clear up her position on Trump’s policies on ICE and immigration reform, saying she was “disgusted” at the policies aimed at immigrant families. This obviously isn’t too far off from L’Italien’s stance. Kirkpatrick’s full statement is as follows: 

It’s not clear if Kirkpatrick will again be invited, or accept an invitation to appear, on the show, but producers chalked the snafu up to a miscommunication during the booking process.

“This morning we invited Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick to appear on Fox & Friends First through her press contact on file, Joe Katz, who accepted the invitation on Kirkpatrick’s behalf. Katz followed with an email confirming the segment, which also included background information and a campaign logo for Ann Kirkpatrick. During the actual segment, Barbara L’Italien appeared on camera instead of Kirkpatrick. Despite speaking to producers prior to the interview, L’Italien did not identify herself as anything other than Kirkpatrick until she was live on air, at which point we ended the interview.”

The full video can be seen here: