This is pretty dramatic footage from CNN’s Reliable Sources on Sunday, after media personality and head of The Blaze Glenn Beck took off his microphone and stormed off the set in anger when asked about recent layoffs by host Brian Stelter.
New York Magazine‘s Yashar Ali caught the moment for Twitter.
After @brianstelter asked him about the future of his media company, @glennbeck took off his mic and walked out. Brian is a media reporter, what did Glenn expect? https://t.co/2X7EgxOrR6
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) June 24, 2018
Here is a partial transcript.
STELTER: I do have to ask you, there’s this new headline on “The Daily Beast” saying that your company’s in trouble, that you were trying to find a buyer… Is this related to the point about people not talking to each other? That if you want to create that media company, there’s not interest? What’s going on with that?
BECK: Wow. Brian, thanks a lot. I think that’s the most ridiculous question I’ve ever heard. I’m sitting here ready to talk to you about the detaining of children and parents and trying to break… break families apart, something that has been happening with Janet Reno. That’s why it went to the Supreme Court in the first place, with Janet Reno. It’s been happening. We want to stop it, and you want to play those games? Have a nice day.
The context of the interview, which we’ll be posting shortly here in this space, was as Glenn says, the immigration debate, and it was contentious already prior to Stelter switching gears. Again, we’ll have more on that shortly.
The Daily Beast story that Stelter references was published on Saturday and was about another recent round of layoffs. The article was combative and insulting, to say the least.
This is the operative part of the article:
The right-wing cable and digital media company—founded by Beck shortly before he exited Fox News in 2011—fired another round of staffers this week, shrinking a workforce that has already been reduced to less than 50 employees, according to two sources who spoke with The Daily Beast on the condition of anonymity. The two sources also confirmed that more than a dozen employees had been laid off over the past several days.
Making matters worse, the company’s hopes for a bailout from a fellow right-wing titan did not go as planned.
A potential lifeboat in the form of a proposed sale to the billionaire owners of conservative commentator Ben Shapiro’s website The Daily Wire now appears unlikely. A source familiar with the negotiations told The Daily Beast that talks between the two parties broke down and the sale is now effectively dead.
Stelter brought up the article and that’s when Glenn stormed off. (Update: more here.)
Shortly after the interview, he went to Twitter, where he explained that he “couldn’t take any more of it on #cnn and #ReliableSources,” but promised to discuss the topic on his radio show on Monday.
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1.”border patrol agent injured by anti-obama mobs.” “Obama’s daughters threatens with Rape, kidnapping and murder by right wing ‘star’”;’gop activist arrested for threatening to rape and kill Dem congressman’s children.”
All headlines that would have been written…con’t #Border— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) June 24, 2018
2. Had the exact same events that occurred this week happened under Obama. The media is so blind. I couldn’t take anymore of it on #cnn and #ReliableSources. But I will lay the problem and solutions out for you on radio tomorrow. Other than solutions: “I don’t care. Do U?”
— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) June 24, 2018
That should be an interesting show. Not least because Glenn has a point. The media is pretty blind, even when Obama administration officials explicitly state what was happening.
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