In a weird moment, conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt ripped off his headset and stormed off the set of the Washington Post First Look podcast because Jonathan Capehart didn’t care for being lectured over journalistic integrity by the right wing blowhard.
Ruth Marcus is also a member of the podcast team as the discussion turned to Trump and voting in Pennsylvania where Trump has been littering the grounds with voter fraud allegations already.
Capehart said it appeared Trump was laying the groundwork for election fraud nonsense by claiming cheating was already happening in Pennsylvania.
Hugh Hewitt used a Republican victory to extend voting for another day in Bucks County and claimed that proved Trump had a right to complain.
That was not the case. The Trump campaign sued over long lines and unpreparedness, not cheating. After Hewitt’s diatribe about opinion and journalism had stopped, Capehart told Hewitt he didn’t like to be lectured.
That was it. It was as soft a push back as one could make.
Hewitt used a mild rebuke to create a scene as if he had been molested on air. He cried that what Capehart and Marcus were doing was a terrible injustice to Trump an unfair election ad.
CAPEHART: In Pennsylvania by suing Bucks County for alleged irregularities. And this is on top of his continual assertion that if he loses, it’s because of cheating.
MARCUS: Yeah, that’s what he’s been laying the groundwork for this just not in the last week, but in the last umpty-ump months.
No election can be fair in Donald Trump’s mind, unless Donald Trump wins it. And I think we are going to see him both rev up his supporters to contest elections outside of courtrooms and go to every courtroom he can in America, where it’s relevant to make whatever arguments he can, no matter how far-fetched.
Hewitt cut in: HEWITT: Jonathan I got.
CAPEHART: Let her finish, Hugh.
MARCUS: We saw that work out last time, but it didn’t work out this time. That may not happen this time.
And now I’ll let you go, Hugh.
HEWITT: Well, I’ve just got to say, we’re news people, even though we’re at the opinion section. It’s got to be reported. Bucks County was reversed by the court and instructed to open up extra days because they violated the law and told people to go home. So that lawsuit was brought by the Republican National Committee, and it was successful. The Supreme Court ruled that Glenn Youngkin was successful.
We are news people, even though we have opinions, and we have to report the whole story if we bring up part of the story.
So yes, he’s upset about Bucks County, but he was right, and he won in court. That’s the story.(Capehart paused thinking Marcus would continue talking)
MARCUS: I’ll let you keep going, Jonathan.
CAPEHART: No, I just don’t appreciate being lectured about reporting when, Hugh, many times you come here saying lots of things that aren’t-
HEWITT: I won’t come back, Jonathan. I’m done. (Hugh takes off his earpiece and rises)
I’m done. This is the most unfair election ad I have ever been a part of.
You guys are working.
That’s fine.
I’m done.
(CAPEHART paused then continued)
Capehart was wrong about Bucks Country, but not in a nefarious way. Even so, it wasn’t an election ad of any kind. It was a standard discussion. Trump has been repeatedly claiming there’s a lot of cheating going on by Democrats for weeks now.
Acting like a sissy-man certainly wasn’t warranted by Hugh.
Hewitt’s reaction seemed almost planned.
In a NY Post article about the scene this made me laugh: Conservative media luminaries lauded the veteran radio host and pundit for standing up to Capehart’s badgering.
Badgering? Geez.
What cowards,
