NEW YORK — (CNN) Tomi Lahren’s ascent to conservative media stardom has been propelled by a contentious spirit that is on full display whenever she takes aim at her political adversaries.
But she may now find herself in a public battle that she can’t win, at least not immediately: one with her boss, Glenn Beck, who on Monday addressed comments on abortion Lahren made recently that have been criticized by other conservatives.
With her full-throated support of President Donald Trump and derisive attitude toward the left, the 24-year-old Lahren has become arguably the most visible personality at The Blaze, the conservative media outlet founded by Beck for which she hosts a daily talk show.
But a report published by The Daily Caller over the weekend indicated that Lahren is “likely” on the way out at The Blaze following her appearance Friday on “The View,” during which she declared herself pro-choice on the issue of abortion.
“I can’t sit here and be a hypocrite and say I’m for limited government but I think the government should decide what women do with their bodies,” she said on the program.
Lahren was criticized for the remark by a number of fellow conservatives — including Beck.
After expressing his disagreement on Twitter over the weekend, Beck tried to rebut Lahren’s comments on his radio show on Monday.
“I would disagree that you’re a hypocrite if you want limited government, and yet you want the government to protect life of the unborn,” Beck said.
Beck did not comment on Lahren’s future at the outlet, saying it would be inappropriate to discuss the subject on the radio. The Daily Caller’s report said that Lahren’s “inflammatory, oftentimes angry style has placed her increasingly at odds with coworkers at The Blaze… a situation that’s worsened after she called pro-life conservatives hypocrites.”
Beck insisted on Monday that Lahren’s pro-choice position would not disqualify her from a job at The Blaze, the Texas-based multimedia company he founded in 2010.
“I don’t hire people who are sycophants or who have my opinion,” he said. “I try to hire people who have a different opinion because I believe in being intellectually rigorous. I don’t want straw men. I want people to make a real argument on the other side so we can learn from each other and we can grow.”
A spokesperson for The Blaze did not respond to a request for comment.
Beck, who has been one of Trump’s toughest critics on the right, said it’s “no secret” that he and Lahren disagree on a number of issues.
But he questioned the sincerity and depth of Lahren’s position on abortion, pointing out that she had criticized the pro-choice movement as recently as late last year.
“It takes intellectual honesty and it takes a willingness to actually think these things through, rather than just read Twitter or Facebook to get your news or political opinions,” Beck said on his show. “You actually have to study these things out with your mind. Bomb-throwing in today’s world is dangerous. It can destroy people if your aim is clicks, views and ratings.”
“The Blaze cannot be about me, me, me, me,” he added later, in another apparent shot at Lahren. “Media should not be about me, me, me, me.”
Lahren did not respond to a request for comment. On Monday, her normally active Twitter feed had slowed to a crawl.
By late morning, with Beck still on the air, Lahren offered up one cryptic observation to her more than 665,000 followers.
“No one hunts small deer,” she tweeted, “this too shall pass.”
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