By Delayna Earley
The Island News
The downtown Beaufort area is beloved by locals and tourists alike, but early on Tuesday morning, the area got some recognition at the national level when Fox & Friends co-host Steve Doocy broadcast live from Blackstone’s Café and several other locally owned businesses on Bay Street.
Blackstone’s Café owner Jake Higgins said that while he did not organize the visit from the television show, he was happy to let them broadcast from his restaurant and to feature a tradition that he is very proud of.
Every morning the patrons of the restaurant are invited to stand and say the Pledge of Allegiance, a point which Higgins said that the show wanted to highlight.
Higgins also said that hundreds of people came out to be present as Doocy broadcasted live, but a lot of them ended up having to wait outside once the restaurant reached capacity.
A highlight of the event for him was to have the viewers of Fox and Friends across the nation get the opportunity to see the people of Beaufort, S.C.
“That’s the most important part,” Higgins said. “The people, my staff, who make all these years turn are the most important part of it. That’s the heart and soul.”
While there were many who showed up to support the broadcasting of the Fox News show, the event drew protesters as well who held signs disparaging Fox News for not practicing unbiased journalism and pandering to a conservative audience.
Protesters also carried signs speaking out against President Donald Trump and members of his administration.
The back-and-forth between sides began well in advance of Fox & Friends arrival on Tuesday, with many carrying on heated debates anywhere that information for the event was posted on social media.
Some protesters made claims that they were being censored when trying to debate the issue on posts made to Blackstone’s Café’s social media.
Higgins said that the people who manage his social media did hide some comments made on the post that were deemed to be inappropriate.
“It’s a business page, it’s not a community town square or a government page where they’re allowed to say whatever they want,” Higgins said. “This highlighted the city of Beaufort and the businesses and people here and it was such a great experience to see all the support and love by the people. It had nothing to do with politics, it was literally just about the people, and it was so refreshing to be a part of that.”
Higgins said it was an honor to stand next to Mr. Ray Stocks, a 101-year-old World War II veteran, and say the Pledge of Allegiance live on TV.
“It was pretty inspiring,” Higgins said.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
