Hiring hate

CNN has recently hired radio talkshow host Glenn Beck to host a one-hour primetime show. Who is he? Below is a small selection of his previous comments:

On the 9/11 families: “When I see a 9/11 victim family on television, or whatever, I’m just like, ‘Oh shut up!’ I’m so sick of them because they’re always complaining. And we did our best for them.”

On Michael Moore: “I’m thinking about killing Michael Moore, and I’m wondering if I could kill him myself, or if I would need to hire somebody to do it. No, I think I could. I think he could be looking me in the eye, you know, and I could just be choking the life out – is this wrong?

On the victims of Hurricane Katrina: “When you are rioting for these tickets, or these ATM cards, the second thing that came to mind was – and this is horrible to say, and I wonder if I’m alone in this – you know it took me about a year to start hating the 9/11 victims’ families? Took me about a year…But the second thought I had when I saw these people and they had to shut down the Astrodome and lock it down, I thought: I didn’t think I could hate victims faster than the 9/11 victims…And that’s all we’re hearing about, are the people in New Orleans. Those are the only ones we’re seeing on television are the scumbags – and again, it’s not all the people in New Orleans. Most of the people in New Orleans got out! It’s just a small percentage of those who were left in New Orleans, or who decided to stay in New Orleans, and they’re getting all the attention.”

CNN Headline News president Ken Jautz says about Beck: “Glenn’s style is self-deprecating, cordial; he says he’d like to be able to disagree with guests and part as friends. It’s conversational, not confrontational.”

Text and images ©2024 Antony Loewenstein. All rights reserved.

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