Chuck Todd Goes OFF on Fox News Anchor: ‘From Trying To Follow Brit Hume’s Footsteps’ To ‘Sean Hannity’
Former NBC News host Chuck Todd opted not to name names as he went off on a Fox News anchor who he criticized for having gone from “trying really hard to follow in Brit Hume’s footsteps” to embracing “tee time” with Trump “like Sean Hannity.”
The comments were made during Todd’s appearance on The Bulwark podcast to speak with host Sam Stein in a ranging interview during which the host praised the White House decision to ban the Associated Press over its refusal to use Trump-mandated terminology: “Gulf of America.”
While some Fox News journalists have spoken up in opposition to the decision, including journalist Brit Hume and Guy Benson, Stein argued Fox News was not “standing up” against the barring of AP. Fox News is one of 40 news organizations that signed a letter by the White House Correspondents’ Association supporting the AP, according to Status’ Oliver Darcy — although this information emerged after the Bulwark interview was recorded.
Stein — who is a contributor at Fox competitor MSNBC — began: “I’m not going to say I’m disappointed that they’re not standing up for the AP because I never expect them to stand up for the AP, but I’m wondering if you’re disappointed having stood up for Fox yourself?”
“I’ve given up on –” Todd started, speaking with the kind of DNGAF attitude of someone who recently left cable news (which he did). “Look, I don’t want to – I don’t want to name-call, but I’ve given up.”
He continued: “I’ve handed my credibility to a handful of journalists over there who’ve never reciprocated when times were tough. When times were tough for them, I went out of my way to defend a couple of them. When times were tough, you know, an unfair criticism or character assassination that was taking place. And these people don’t stand… they’re just, you know, there’s…”
After trailing off, he focused on one Fox News personality he chose not to name but revealed was male: “Certainly, we’ve seen the evolution of one of their larger news personalities go from trying really hard to follow in Brit Hume’s footsteps. And suddenly they — [he] looks more like Sean Hannity every day. And it’s a shame, you know, because I thought he really cared about that reputation and I think really actually cared about being a journalist first and wanting to sort of walk that line, understood what his audience was.”
“Instead, he now just wants to have tee time with the president,” Todd concluded. “I hope he enjoys it.”
Despite Todd’s efforts, CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter had little doubt about who he believed the Fox anchor in question was:
And right on cue, Fox’s fellow Murdoch media outlet the New York Post hit back at Todd in its own piece:
Watch above via The Bulwark
