Talk-show host Hugh Hewitt walked out of a Washington Post webcast Friday after clashing with two of the paper’s columnists over their coverage of the presidential election, characterizing the livestream as an “unfair election ad.”
Hewitt and columnists Jonathan Capehart and Ruth Marcus discussed court rulings surrounding early voting in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and Virginia’s efforts to remove non-citizens from the voting rolls. Hewitt, who resigned from the Washington Post after the incident according to reports from the New York Post and Fox News, initially reminded Marcus and Capehart, who also hosts a weekend show on MSNBC, that they were “news people,” prompting Capehart to complain that Hewitt “lectured” him about reporting.
“I won’t come back, Jonathan, I’m done,” Hewitt responded. “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.”
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Hewitt then walked off, leading to the show ending early. Earlier, Capehart and Marcus had portrayed Trump’s complaints about Bucks County as him trying to advance a narrative that he would only have lost due to cheating.
“I just got to say, we’re news people even though we’re the opinion section, it’s got to be reported,” Hewitt said. “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,” Hewitt continued. “So, yes, he’s upset about Bucks County, but he was right and he won in court. That’s the story.”
The Washington Post announced it would not make an endorsement in the 2024 presidential election, with owner Jeff Bezos citing distrust of the media in an op-ed. The decision resulted in over 200,000 cancellations of subscriptions and at least one resignation from the paper.
Trump leads Harris in a head-to-head matchup by 0.5% in polls of Pennsylvania voters from Oct. 7 to Oct. 30, according to the RealClear Polling average, with 11 of the past 12 polls showing the race either tied or with Trump ahead.
“As the newsroom’s live journalism platform, Washington Post Live is known for its dynamic conversations and thought-provoking perspectives on top issues of the day, such as this morning’s ‘First Look’ program,” a Washington Post spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include reports of Hewitt resigning from the Post following the incident and to add a statement from a spokesperson for the Post.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Screenshot/Rumble/Washington Post)
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