Report: Matt Lauer ‘Hung Out to Dry’ by NBC Top Brass After Clinton/Trump Forum Flop
The NBC News/MSNBC “Commander in Chief Forum” was supposed to have all the makings of must-watch television for the 2016 political cycle. It was, after all, the first major televised event featuring both major party candidates, and while Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump did not square off one-on-one, each was supposed to face tough questioning about military operations, global warfare, and America’s place in the world all while on board New York City’s historic Intrepid aircraft carrier.
Instead, NBC’s Matt Lauer was largely jeered for his moderating performance, with many people arguing that the TV vet allowed Donald Trump off the hook for making blatantly false claims, such as the fact that he said, “I was totally against the war in Iraq.” He also devoted nearly half of his allotted time with Secretary Clinton on her private email server instead of anything related to foreign policy.
Despite the widespread criticism of Lauer’s performance, NBC News chairman Andy Lack praised Lauer’s effort in a memo to staffers, saying, “My deepest thanks to everyone who helped pull off this remarkable achievement.”
However, Page Six is reporting this morning that NBC’s top brass is not as thrilled as Lack’s memo would have everyone believe:
“[A] source told Page Six that “Matt was hung out to dry on this,” and that NBC News and MSNBC chairman Andrew Lack was the one calling the behind-the-scenes shots. The source said Lack was controlling the interview, including the decision to move Clinton along during certain questions and to linger on the emails.”
Even Comedy Central’s South Park this week skewered the event. A separate source told Page Six, “Andy Lack was trying to cover his butt, too. Apparently, he got heat for pushing the email questions.”
A representative for NBC told Page Six in response, “Andy is very proud of what Matt and the team accomplished — not to mention the 26 million viewers it attracted.”
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[h/t Page Six]
[image via NBC News screengrab]
