Mika Brzezinski Apologizes For Asking If Mike Pompeo Is 'A Wannabe Dictator's Butt Boy'
MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski has apologized for making a homophobic remark on Wednesday’s “Morning Joe” during a tirade against Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Responding to Pompeo’s failure to take a strong stand against Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman for the grisly murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the co-host was furious.
“I understand that Donald Trump doesn’t care,” she said. “But why doesn’t Mike Pompeo care right now? Are the pathetic deflections that we just heard when he appeared on ‘Fox & Friends’ ― is that a patriot speaking or a wannabe dictator’s butt boy?”
Photographer G.E. Anderson posted the clip on Twitter shortly after, pointing out that the closed captioning omitted that part of Brzezinski’s remarks.
.@morningmika just asked if Mike Pompeo is a “wannabe dictator’s butt boy,” as homophobic a term as I’ve heard on national morning television. @MSNBC tried and failed to censor it, and did not transcribe her remark in the closed captioning. #journalism pic.twitter.com/3zK7H8evjh
— G.E. Anderson (@g_e_anderson) December 12, 2018
Joe Scarborough, Brzezinski’s co-host and husband, bashed Pompeo for his weakness on the matter of Khashoggi’s killing, given the CIA’s conclusion that it was committed at the direction of the crown prince.
“He’s debased himself,” Scarborough said of the secretary of state. “He once again has undercut the conclusions of our intel community.”
Brzezinski later expressed regret for her words, telling Anderson he was justified in his criticism.
“SUPER BAD choice of words,” she wrote on Twitter. “I should have said ‘water boy’... like for football teams or something like that.”
Totally agree with you -SUPER BAD choice of words .. I should have said “water boy”... like for football teams or something like that.. apologize to @SenatorDurbin too! SO SORRY! https://t.co/zIqsGdK3Tk
— Mika Brzezinski (@morningmika) December 12, 2018
Trump slammed Brzezinski for the comment on Thursday, calling her “crazed” and dissing her for contributing to “terrible ratings.”
....She will probably be given a pass, despite their terrible ratings. Congratulations to @RichardGrenell, our great Ambassador to Germany, for having the courage to take this horrible issue on!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2018
This article has been updated with Trump’s response to Brzezinski’s comment.
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
