WATCH: Local CBS Reporter Scoffs at Bosses Who Tell Him Not to Cover Celebratory US-Iran Rally

(Photo Credit: CBS Austin on Facebook)

A local CBS reporter in Austin gained some viral attention this weekend when he scoffed at his boss’s order to not focus on a rally that was celebrating the United States and Israel striking Iran and killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Reporter Vinny Martorano was seen on the station’s live Facebook feed covering the rally on Saturday when he stopped and was handed a phone by a crew member.

“What does that mean?” Martorano said after reading from the screen.

“It means they don’t want us to focus on this,” the crew member could be heard telling him.

Martorano appeared both amused and mildly irritated by the request. He raised his eyebrows, took a moment, and said, “Alright, well I am.”

He then appeared to practice a live shot for a moment later before he was handed the CBS Austin microphone. Behind him, rallygoers waved American and Iranian flags and chanted in support of President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Thank you Trump! Thank you Bibi!” a woman could be heard yelling in the background.

Martorano then reported:

There’s a lot of mixed opinions across Austin about the joint attack between the united states and Israel against Iran that happened earlier this morning. Some people like this group behind me are thanking Trump and the United States government for following through with this attack against Iran, while other people across the city say there needs to be more peace in the Middle East.

That moment happened at 6:41 p.m. local time on the channel’s Facebook page, and Newsbusters associate editor Nicholas Fondacaro later shared it on X:

The clip also racked up more than 3.5 million views when it was shared by Eric Daugherty, the chief content officer of Right Line News. Martorano was praised by a number of people for his move, including Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) and Katie Miller, the podcaster and wife of White House adviser Stephen Miller. Fox News contributor Joe Concha also called the video “chilling.” 

You can see a few of those reactions below:

The decision seemed appeared to work out pretty well for Martorano, who looked to go from about 2,000 X followers to 10,000 on Monday.

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