Fox hosts Gutfeld, Tarlov tangle over assassinated Minnesota lawmaker

Fox News hosts Greg Gutfeld and Jessica Tarlov argued Monday over the rise of political violence in the U.S. and calls to turn the temperature down from leaders on both sides of the aisle.

“What is interesting here is, why is only this happening on the left and not the right?” Gutfeld asked on "The Five" on Monday. “That’s all we need to know.”

Jessica Tarlov, a more liberal pundit on the daytime table talk program, quickly shot back, saying "What about Melissa Hortman?" referring to the Minnesota state lawmaker who was assassinated earlier this year.

Gutfeld responded, "You wanna talk about Melissa Hortman? Did you know her name before it happened? None of us did."

He added, "None of us were spending every single day talking about Mrs. Hortman. I never heard of her until after she died."

"So, it doesn't matter?" Tarlov exclaimed.

"Don’t play that bulls‑‑‑ with me," Gutfeld screamed. "You know what I’m talking. ... What I’m saying is there was no demonization, amplification about that woman before she died. It was a specific crime against her by somebody who knew her."

Authorities have not alleged Vance Boelter, the man accused of killing Hortman and her husband, personally knew the lawmaker.

The exchange was first highlighted by Mediaite, coming days after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

President Trump and conservatives have pointed to Kirk's killing as what they say is a growing trend of political violence on the left, while Democrats have accused conservatives of violent rhetoric.

Later in the program, Gutfeld and Tarlov reconciled.

“I am not mad at Greg, but I want to be on the record that what happened to Charlie Kirk was appalling and unacceptable and it is just an incredibly tense, scary time for all of us," Tarlov said. "And that’s what I was trying to say about broad brush language before Greg spoke for about 11 minutes.”

Gutfeld said he “didn't mean to scream at you, Jessica, it's just that this is a very personal thing and's personal and connective thing. 

"We all feel this and it's not a normal story."

Updated: 11:18 a.m.