CBS host goes viral for claim ‘free speech was weaponized’ by Nazis

CBS host Margaret Brennan made what many called an “incredibly dumb” and “deeply ignorant” statement claiming Nazi Germany “weaponized free speech” during her show on Sunday.

The “Face the Nation” host clashed with Secretary of State Marco Rubio over Vice President JD Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference in Germany last week. After Vance criticized European allies for adopting a “soviet”-style approach to censorship, Brennan implied free speech likely led to the Holocaust.

“Well, he was standing in a country where free speech was weaponized to conduct a genocide,” Brennan replied. “He met with the head of a political party that has far-right views and some historic ties to extreme groups. The context of that was changing the tone of it. And you know that.”

“Well, I have to disagree with you. No- I have- I have to disagree with you,” Rubio said as the pair talked over one another. “Free speech was not used to conduct a genocide. The genocide was conducted by an authoritarian Nazi regime that happened to also be genocidal because they hated Jews and they hated minorities, and they had a list of people they hated, but primarily the Jews.”

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He added, “There was no free speech in Nazi Germany. There was none. There was also no opposition in Nazi Germany. They were the sole and only party that governed that country. So that’s not an accurate reflection of history.”

The exchange quickly went viral with several conservative users calling out Brennan for a “bonkers” take on Nazi Germany.

“Wow. Margaret Brennan ACTUALLY claims that the Holocaust happened because ‘free speech was weaponized’ in Nazi Germany. She’s incredibly dumb, a blatant Democrat propagandist or both. Doesn’t really matter which it is, @CBSNews should fire her over this,” conservative activist Robby Starbuck remarked.

Radio host Erick Erickson commented, “Can we just talk about how a prominent American news anchor actually believes Nazi Germany had free speech and that supposed free speech is to blame for the Holocaust? That’s both deeply arrogant and deeply ignorant.”

“Anyone claiming ‘free speech was weaponized to conduct a genocide’ in Nazi Germany is either profoundly ignorant or deliberately lying. The Nazis didn’t ‘weaponize’ free speech, they abolished it. No one pushing nonsense like this should be allowed anywhere near a newsroom,” author Hans Mahncke wrote.

“This bonkers. Like pull her off the air bonkers,” RedState writer Bonchie commented.

The Federalist CEO Sean Davis joked, “Welp. I guess that means Trump needs to shut down CBS to prevent another Holocaust. Not the path I would’ve chosen, but if Margaret Brennan says that allowing CBS to just say whatever it wants will lead to another Holocaust, who am I to argue? Better to be safe and shut down CBS than be sorry you let CBS bring Hitler back.”

The National Review editor Philip Klein also joked, “If it weren’t for the famously robust 1st Amendment protections in Nazi Germany the Jews might have stood a chance.”

“’[F]ree speech helped cause the holocaust’ is a new one,” Targeted Victory vice president Logan Dobson remarked.

Vance responded to the CBS clip, calling the comments “crazy.” 

“This is a crazy exchange. Does the media really think the holocaust was caused by free speech?” Vance wrote.

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Fox News Digital reached out to CBS News for a comment.

The vice president also went viral on Friday with his speech criticizing many European leaders about their cavalier attitude towards censoring ordinary citizens out of fear of “misinformation.”

United States Vice-President JD Vance addresses the audience during the Munich Security Conference at the Bayerischer Hof Hotel in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025.  (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

“To many of us on the other side of the Atlantic, it looks more and more like old entrenched interests hiding behind ugly Soviet-era words like ‘misinformation’ and ‘disinformation,’ who simply don’t like the idea that somebody with an alternative viewpoint might express a different opinion or, God forbid, vote a different way, or even worse, win an election,” Vance said.

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