After #FireChrisHayes Trends, Journalists Rally to Defend MSNBC Host for Covering Biden Allegation
MSNBC host Chris Hayes trended on Twitter Thursday as viewers opined on his decision to report on allegations against presumed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden by former Senate staff assistant Tara Reade. Some praised him for covering the story, while others called for the host to be fired.
“Throughout the entire ‘Me Too’ era there have been movements … when we have heard about accusations against someone that we find ourselves desperately wanting not to believe,” Hayes noted. “But part of the difficult lesson of the ‘Me Too’ era is not that every accusation is true and everything should be believed on its face, but that you do have to fight, yourself, when you feel that impulse.”
The host pointed out that this phenomenon applied with respect to Reade and Biden, before laying out the details of Reade’s accusation.
Hayes also invited New York Magazine’s Rebecca Traister to speak on the issue. Some viewers criticized that decision as well because of an April 27 article she wrote, titled, The Biden Trap.
Critics — who got the hashtag #FireChrisHayes to trend on Twitter — said Hayes’ reporting was one-sided. Some said it would hurt Biden’s chance of winning the presidential election against Donald Trump. Conservatives joined in by mocking the network over the backlash, with Human Events editor Will Chamberlain noting the segment was absent on MSNBC’s YouTube channel, “Almost like MSNBC would like to memory-hole that segment for eternity.”
Strange
I went to @MSNBC‘s YouTube channel, and I couldn’t find a clip of Chris Hayes talking about Tara Reade and Joe Biden
Almost like MSNBC would like to memory-hole that segment for eternity pic.twitter.com/l8BhwVk0h8
— Will Chamberlain (@willchamberlain) April 30, 2020
Tara got more attention and a more thorough investigation by press and law enforcement than most of Trump’s accusers. DC police said the case is now “inactive”
— Cheri Jacobus (@CheriJacobus) April 30, 2020
@chrislhayes you could have done your homework no? https://t.co/kJnQerbQqa
— Kiki Melendez (@kikimelendez) April 30, 2020
The majority of Hayes’ fellow journalists and other political pundits, however, defended the host for covering a story that many mainstream outlets and networks have failed to do, and pointed out that he was simply doing his job.
Really, #FireChrisHayes is trending?? Because he covered the sexual assault allegations against a candidate for president? @chrislhayes is a good journalist. This Twitter temper tantrum is absurd, grow up folks.
— S.E. Cupp (@secupp) April 30, 2020
Also, with this completely deranged backlash against @ChrisLHayes for the crime of covering what a news story – one that just happens to be unfavorable to Dems – you see the extreme career incentives for cable hosts never to tell their audiences anything they don’t want to hear.
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) April 30, 2020
The Chris Hayes slander on this website is beyond absurd. The man is a journalist — one of the finest we have. His job isn’t to cheerlead for Biden, the Democrats, or anyone else. He gets paid to report the news.
— Jamie ?’Grady ⚡ (@JamieOGrady) April 30, 2020
people are super mad at him for actually reporting properly on the tara reade story
— Jodi Beggs (@jodiecongirl) April 30, 2020
but still want to live our values and ask questions that need to be asked will be thrown under the bus. Honestly, I appreciate Chris Hayes stepping into it and taking a lot of heat if only because more male allies should.
— Carol Ray Hartsell (@carolrhartsell) April 30, 2020
What Chris Hayes is about to discover is that the people criticizing him for covering a perfectly legitimate story will be the same folks who will become his most fervent viewers without even knowing it. Bucking the hive mentality can only be a good thing: https://t.co/Qh3bg3Vn5P
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) April 30, 2020
Protect @chrislhayes at all costs.
— Max Berger (@maxberger) April 30, 2020
If you’re out here trying to get @chrislhayes fired for doing necessary journalism & covering a story the Times/WAPO have covered, please reevaluate your entire life. We have to talk about #TaraReade even if you don’t want to. Chris is a warrior against Trump, don’t be idiots
— Stefanie Iris Weiss ? (@EcoSexuality) April 30, 2020
Hayes is catching grief from the left wing activists posing as journalists. Liberals Pile on MSNBC’s Chris Hayes for Covering Tara Reade Allegations Against Joe Biden https://t.co/L4bFz1J7hc via @robmaness
— Col. Rob Maness ret. (@RobManess) April 30, 2020
Really, really proud of Chris Hayes for covering the Tara Reade story, and cordially invite any of my followers who are angry about it to fuck off for all eternity.
— Carlos Maza ? (@gaywonk) April 30, 2020
Chris Hayes is a Russian shill now? Tara Reade is lying because her exact accusation was used in her father’s book? Oh boy I have bad news for them on how many real life sexual assaults in Hollywood ended up in scripts after they happened and were talked about behind closed doors
— Lexi Alexander (@Lexialex) April 30, 2020
Liberals sounding an awful lot like right wingers when it comes to the media……
all it took was Chris Hayes actually doing his job.— Anthony Clark in the Struggle (@anthonyvclark20) April 30, 2020
Watch the segment above, via MSNBC.
