Anchor Says Medhi Hasan Attempted To ‘Hijack’ Show During Explosive DC Crime Debate: ‘Our Viewers Deserve Better’
NewsNation’s Leland Vittert addressed an explosive exchange with Mehdi Hasan on crime in Washington, D.C., accusing Hasan of “hijacking” the past segment by bringing up the Jan. 6 Capitol riot — though he punted on whether there is a double standard in how President Donald Trump treats police.
On Tuesday’s On Balance, Vittert addressed the exchange with Hasan, arguing Trump’s pardons of the Jan. 6 rioters had “absolutely nothing” to do with the topic at hand — policing in the nation’s capital. Many on social media accused Vittert of downplaying the riot, during which many of those rioters Trump pardoned violently beat cops.
Vittert said:
Everybody is welcome to disagree on policy or argue data or philosophy. That’s why we have this program. That’s what makes us different. That’s what makes you, as a viewer, different. You choose to tune in here to hear things you disagree with and to be challenged. But no one is welcome to come on here and hijack a segment and make it about something four years ago that has absolutely nothing to do with the topic at hand.
The NewsNation anchor argued Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to the streets of D.C. is “good” for residents and noted Trump critics like Joe Scarborough have acknowledged resident concerns about crime in the city.
“Our viewers, deserve better. You deserve an honest conversation on the merits of policy and making us a better country. Not talking points. January 6th was awful. I was in the middle of it. Hell, I was even confronted by the mob, multiple times. It is a stain on our country’s history,” Vittert said.
Critics of Trump’s plan have noted that police data has shown a drop in violent crime in D.C. this year, a “talking point” that Vittert challenged. The anchor noted reports that bring official crime statistics into question, including union officials alleging stats are being cooked. An NBC News local affiliate also confirmed that an MPD police commander had been placed on administrative after being accused of doctoring official data.
Vittert said:
I’m a journalist by training. And what you’re supposed to do as a journalist is question the talking points. So we did that, and here’s what we found. From NBC 4 Washington back in July ‘DC police commander suspended, accused of changing crime statistics. The union claims police supervisors in the department manipulate crime data to make it appear violent crime has fallen considerably compared to last year.’ So maybe the talking points aren’t even true. Even the chief of the DC Metro Police Department is now welcoming the cooperation with federal law enforcement.
In the original exchange, Vittert blew up at Hasan for bringing up Jan. 6 and Trump’s pardon of Capitol rioters as proof that the president does not truly care about crime in D.C.
“You can pretend it’s about– you think it’s because Trump cares about crime in D.C.? Really? Because I remember Donald Trump on January the 6th, 2021 not giving a crap about crime in D.C.,” Hasan said.
“Come on!” Vittert responded, as the debate grew more heated.
Vittert called Hasan’s argument “silly” and ended the segment as Jan. 6 and Trump’s pardons became the central point of debate.
“The only person who died on January 6 was a Trump supporter and you can’t talk about what’s happening on the streets right now,” Vittert said.
“Let me know when you want me to speak,” Hasan responded.
“No, you cannot talk about this without talking about January 6 or anything else. You won’t have an argument on the merits. Mehdi, thank you as always,” Vittert said, ending the segment.
Watch above via NewsNation.
