Fox News senior analyst Brit Hume doesn't think Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) should get a pass for defending white nationalism and white supremacy, he told Marth MacCallum on Tuesday's The Story. "I'm sorry, the juxtaposition of what's wrong with those terms and white supremacism is just too close for comfort." But journalists have to be careful not to go "throwing the word racist around with abandon," he argued, because while the Civil Rights movement rightfully stigmatized racism in the 1960s, the word "racist" has since been "weaponized."
Hume singled out The New York Times for running an article listing "racist" things King has said, objecting to their inclusion of anti-Islamic statements, and he criticized NBC News for rescinding its guidance that NBC journalists shouldn't call King a racist. The media should just "accurately" quote what people say and let people "make up their own minds" if it's racist, he said. "I think it is absolutely one of the things it is wrong with the news media today and why we as an institution stand in such low esteem," Hume said. "People think we are biased, and this suggests that indeed we are."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
North Korea (sort of) welcomes tourists againUnder the Radar 'Hermit kingdom' allows foreign visitors for the first time since 2020 – but only in limited areas
-
Today's political cartoons - February 23, 2025Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - loser's game, unexpected consequences, and more
-
5 slow on the draw cartoons about Democrats' response to TrumpCartoons Artists take on taking a stand, staying still as a statue, and more
-
Rupert Murdoch's behind-closed-doors succession court battleThe Explainer Media mogul's legal dispute with three of his children over control of his influential empire begins today
-
Rupert Murdoch is in a 'Succession'-style rift with his kids over his media empireThe Explainer Murdoch and his son Lachlan are attempting to maintain his empire's conservative swing following his eventual death
-
Laurence Fox suspended by GB News after 'unacceptable' Ava Evans commentsSpeed Read Broadcaster issues apology after actor goes on a tirade during a live interview with Dan Wootton
-
Rupert Murdoch steps down: a legacy of power and scandalTalking Point Lachlan Murdoch succeeds his father as head of media empire
-
Fox News apologizes to Gold Star family for false story Marine Corps called 'disgusting'Speed Read
-
Is Geraldo Rivera too liberal for Fox News?Talking Point The longtime Fox News vet has parted ways with the network after being removed from the political roundtable show "The Five"
-
CNN in crisisSpeed Read Hemorrhaging viewers post-Trump, CNN is trying to broaden its appeal. Can it get Republicans to tune in?
-
Fox News: the high price of peddling liesIn Depth Murdoch is ‘unlikely to change his ways’ despite record settlement
