Silke Jasso
When news broke of the Trump administration’s first airstrike against Syria, MSNBC called on anchor Brian Williams to break the story. (After getting fired from NBC Nightly News in 2015, Williams returned to MSNBC as a breaking news anchor; he also hosts a show at an 11 p.m. slot.)
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But Williams’ coverage — including calling American cruise missiles “beautiful” not once, but multiple times — ate into network star Rachel Maddow’s ongoing broadcast, and Page Six now reports that Williams was called on the carpet for how he handled the broadcast and the transition from his show to Maddow’s.
At the end of his segment, Williams turned to Maddow and said “Thanks for visiting tonight. Glad you were a part of our coverage.”
An MSNBC source told Page Six that MSNBC President Phil Griffin had a big problem with that.
He reportedly told Williams, “Don’t you ever do that again,” for the move, which fans of Rachel Maddow called “sexist.”
“Not only did Brian go way over the top with his coverage of the missile strike, he then totally patronized Rachel by thanking her for ‘visiting’ her own show and being ‘a part’ of his ‘beautiful’ coverage! Has he not learned anything from ‘Misremember-gate’?” the source said.
That same source claims Maddow was not bothered by the comment and that she “laughed it off.”
