After Public Shaming by Fans, MSNBC Host Forced to Apologize for Attack on Iraq War Vet
A liberal MSNBC host was forced to apologize Wednesday for a tweet that attacked conservative writer and Iraq War veteran David French.
Joy Reid, the host of MSNBC’s “AM Joy,” had taken aim at an article French wrote for National Review in which he provided tips for how to survive a nuclear missile strike.
French’s piece — published two days after a false missile alert made Hawaiians think a nuclear warhead might be heading their way — emphasized that most people would survive a nuclear blast, particularly those who live in the suburbs or countryside.
But according to one writer at Newsweek, this assertion was controversial due to the fact that people who live in rural or suburban areas tend to be more conservative.
“An article published Monday in the National Review reassures readers that nuclear war — and North Korea’s arsenal — shouldn’t cause them concern because a nuclear strike will mostly vaporize those in major cities while suburbanites will come out largely unscathed,” Graham Lanktree wrote of French’s National Review piece.
Reid took Lanktree’s article — which was republished by Raw Story — and took it one step further, falsely indicating that French’s piece was charged with political and racial overtones.
“We have truly entered the age of insanity when the conservative argument in favor of risking nuclear war is, ‘don’t worry, it will only kill Democrats and minorities.’ Shame on you @DavidAFrench,’” Reid wrote in a since-deleted tweet.
But, as pointed out by French and many others from both ends of the political spectrum, Reid’s attack had absolutely no basis in fact.
In another article, French called Reid’s tweet a “smear” and noted that he has written multiple pieces “specifically intended to highlight the horrific risks” of war with North Korea.
He explained that as an Army veteran who served in the Iraq War, he has seen firsthand that war is “hell.”
French concluded his piece by saying that he actually knows Reid personally — having been on her show before — and though they disagree politically, he’s “found her to be perfectly pleasant and civil.”
Many Twitter users, including self-professed fans of Reid, also called out the MSNBC host for her tweet.
Following the backlash, Reid apologized and deleted her tweet, writing in a follow-up post that her “take on this was off track.”
French, meanwhile, issued a graceful response.
“Thank you Joy,” he wrote.
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