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Mark Halperin Suspended by MSNBC After Calling President Obama a 'Dick' on 'Morning Joe' (VIDEO)
by Alex Moaba, posted Jun 30th 2011 11:10AM
Mark Halperin, Time Magazine editor-at-large and MSNBC correspondent, has been suspended indefinitely by MSNBC after saying live on 'Morning Joe' (6AM, weekdays on MSNBC) that President Obama acted like "kind of a dick" in his Tuesday press conference. Immediately taken aback by Halperin's language, Joe Scarborough scrambled to ask his producers if they could put the comment on 7-second-delay, but they were unsuccessful in doing so.
Several minutes later, Halperin issued an on-air apology to the President and to viewers.
MSNBC released a statement after the incident explaining Halperin's suspension.
"Mark Halperin's comments this morning were completely inappropriate and unacceptable.　 We apologize to the President, The White House and all of our viewers. We strive for a high level of discourse and comments like these have no place on our air. Therefore, Mark will be suspended indefinitely from his role as an analyst."
Halperin also released a statement:
"I completely agree with everything in MSNBC's statement about my remark. I believe that the step they are taking in response is totally appropriate. Again, I want to offer a heartfelt and profound apology to the President, to my MSNBC colleagues, and to the viewers. My remark was unacceptable, and I deeply regret it."
It was an interesting moment that illustrates how swiftly live TV, and media pontificating, can go awry. Halperin is generally a well-respected journalist who's a fixture on the cable news circuit, but his poor choice of words has instantly put him in hot water.
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