Imus's McGuirk and McCord refused to apologize for attacks on Jill Carroll
SUMMARY: Imus in the Morning executive producer Bernard McGuirk and co-host Charles McCord refused to apologize for their recent remarks about kidnapped journalist Jill Carroll. Because of Carroll's statements upon her release from kidnappers in Iraq that she was "treated very well" and "was not harmed" or "threatened," McGuirk claimed on the March 30 Imus broadcast that Carroll "strikes" him "as the kind of woman who would wear one of those suicide vests" to "try and sneak into the Green Zone," and added the next day that Carroll "is carrying [terrorist leader Abu Musab al-] Zarqawi's baby." McCord agreed with McGuirk on the March 30 program, stating that "[s]he cooked with them [terrorists], lived with them" and adding that "there is no evidence to suggest" that Carroll was not representing terrorists or insurgents with her statements.
On the April 3 edition of MSNBC's Imus in the Morning, the show's executive producer, Bernard McGuirk, and co-host Charles McCord refused to apologize for their recent remarks about Jill Carroll, a Christian Science Monitor reporter who was released by her Iraqi kidnappers in Baghdad on March 30. Because of Carroll's statements upon her release that she was "treated very well" and "was not harmed" or "threatened," McGuirk claimed on the March 30 edition of Imus that Carroll "strikes" him "as the kind of woman who would wear one of those suicide vests" to "try and sneak into the Green Zone." He added on the March 31 edition of Imus that Carroll "is carrying [terrorist leader Abu Musab al-] Zarqawi's baby." McCord agreed with McGuirk on the March 30 program, stating that "[s]he cooked with them [terrorists], lived with them" and adding that "there is no evidence to suggest" that Carroll was not representing terrorists or insurgents with her statements. On the April 3 edition of the show, after Carroll had publicly explained that she had made the prior remarks in exchange for her freedom and had declared that "[t]hese people are criminals and I was under duress," Imus demanded an apology from McGuirk and McCord. Both refused: McCord claimed that their comments were "widely held view[s]," and McGuirk said that they were just "articulating what everyone was suspecting." McCord later added: "All we said was that she is a known sympathizer to the general Arab cause. And Iraq is considered, you know, almost a second home by her. There's nothing wrong with that."
From the April 3 edition of MSNBC's Imus in the Morning:
IMUS: So she's aware of all of the -- in my view -- idiotic analysis of this initial interview she gave that was made by various people. Rush Limbaugh and other morons.
RICHARD ENGEL (NBC News Baghdad correspondent): She's definitely aware of it. In Germany, she spent a half-day --
IMUS: Pardon me?
ENGEL: Yeah, she's definitely aware of it. Half the day in Germany, she actually missed the flight, so she had to spend the day in Germany -- missed the connection. And that day, she spent writing a sort of rebuttal to all the criticism saying that "this was not what I meant. I had no choice. These people are criminals, and I was under duress."
[...]
IMUS: Well, now what do you have to say, Charles? Bernard?
McCORD: What do you mean?
IMUS: Well you guys were -- had her carrying al-Zarqawi's baby.
McGUIRK: Aw, come on. Just kidding around. Just glad she's OK, she's back and all is well.
McCORD: Absolutely.
McGUIRK: And all is well.
McCORD: Enough said.
IMUS: Well, you two should apologize. That's what I think.
McGUIRK: Apologize for what? For articulating what everybody was suspecting?
McCORD: Yeah, for sharing the widely held view?
IMUS: Well, I didn't hold that view. So how widely held was it?
McCORD: It was very widely held.
IMUS: You're nuts.
McCORD: No, no, no, no, no.
IMUS: You're nuts, all of you.
McCORD: All we said is that she is a known sympathizer to the general Arab cause. And Iraq is considered, you know, almost a second home by her. There's nothing wrong with that.
IMUS: No, no. But you made her -- you four-eyed goober -- you made her sound like a terrorist, part of the insurgency.
McCORD: No. I don't think, there's no evidence to support anything like that, at this point.
IMUS: Well, of course there is. Lou and I had the tape.
McCORD: No, I mean there is no evidence to support that she is a sympathizer of the insurgency.
IMUS: Oh, you shut up.
McCORD: That's ridiculous.
IMUS: You're a horrid individual.
McGUIRK: We're just glad she's OK.
McCORD: Amen. Back with her family.
IMUS: What about you Bernard? You had her carrying al-Zarqawi's baby.
McGUIRK: Listen, it was just speculation -- was all it was.
that a hostage that survived or an organisation that they represented gets attacked. These guys do not know how it is to be kidnapped. They only like it when they can get videos of people whose heads being cut of so they can use hem to portray the terrorists as the dogs they are.
These people who smeared Carroll should be presecuted for attacking her good name (e.g., for she cooked with them, she could wear a suicide belt, and she has his baby!).
Sounds the same as :"she likes to be raped", doesn't it?
It made me sick to listen to these guys talk. They really made me physically ill. Do we get an email address so I can make sure everyone I know lets them know what scum they are?
Fear. Fear. Fear. Rude, offensive speculation. Fear. Fear. Not my fault, others said the same thing.
Idiots.
My bad. Oh, wait. Somebody else's bad! Couldn't have been me that was wrong.
You have your business partner's email address...have you sent him a message stating your outrage? Have you told him that you think he's scum?
You said he makes the same type of comments...just wondering.
Why yes Wesley, I have. Thank you for being so typical in not understanding that some people are consistent with their ideals. I have pulled him aside, and I have told him what I think of such comments. And yes, Wesley, I have told him on many occasions... each occasion, in fact. If I could have shown my anger to McGuirk & McCord to their faces I most certainly would have.
I don't have to wonder why my I ended up with my own group of personal friends. They seem to have this odd hang-up that they should behave in a certain respectful way, and expect that others behave in that same respectful manner.
One small itty-bitty problem with your comparison: I seriously doubt my business partner has a radio show -- so I don't think he has as much sway in public discourse.
I'll be sure to send him an email next time he says something racial.
There is no problem with my comparison...you loudly proclaimed that your business partner and the Imus characters made you sick with their racism.
My comment was simply a question...and your answer was sufficient...thanks for the clarification.
If you don't mind my curiosity...why do you continue in business with a rascist partner?
Who do they think they are - if they had to go to Iraq, they would no doubt give in upon capture. Did you notice when Imus chastized them and said an apology was appropriate they couldn't even look up. You have no idea what she was through but for me she is a hero. Perhaps these two poor excuses for men should be sent by their station to cover the war. What think you.
Ruth95dk@aol.com
Statements like "we're just reiterating widely held views"... are BS. Are those hateful views widely held? What exactly does "widely held" mean? It's like Bush saying, "some say" all the time. It's nonsense. These guys are real tough.
The Righties are pissed because Carroll didn't come back and say she was tortured, or raped, or whatever. She never said anything to the effect that she 'sympathized' with her abductors, etc. Just saying she wasn't mistreated is enough for these chump-jockeys to get all red in the face... and on the air.
...has had a show that is incoherent, vulgar, and just plain stupid.
I remember his early days in New York when he was doing dopey radio preacher sketches - that got old fast. Next, he tried to make himself over into another version of Howard Stern; when that failed, he tried sports radio.
Somehow, when that fell apart, he managed to reinvent himself as a bad boy of politics (mostly, it seemed, by ingratiating himself to Al D'amato).
Why Washington takes him seriously is absolutely beyond me. For a guy like Joe Lieberman, who so sanctomoniously frets about our declining culture, to even appear on his show is amazing to me.
In a way, I can see why he's such buddies with McCain: they've both sold themselves as straight-shooters who don't care what people think as long as they tell the truth; in reality, they are chameleons who will say whatever it takes to keep the cameras on them for a few more seconds.
Imus's time has long past - MSNBC should pull the plug.
it is people like these, and bill oreally, andy coulter, micheal savage and mush loosebowels that cause me to actively dispise the conservatives/republicans that they represent. PIGS!!! shameless bloody pigs.
Pigs are gentle, sensitive, intelligent animals. Not to mention delicious.
He claims to be a republican, but has stated he only votes democratic? I agree with an above post, that he will probably say anything to stay in the spotlight and garner whatever ratings he gets on a morning cable show.
I also see a hint of NY Ivory tower look down your nose on the rest of the country attitude from that whole crowd. His guests tend to run heavily NY oriented or at least Northeast centered. Dump, er I mean Trump drops in every week as does some local yokel wannabe Soprano.
The two bright spots they have are the two comedians (Rob Bartlett is one) who come on and do spot on imitations of Jerry Falwell, Clinton and Limbaugh to name a few.
Imus shows his tacit approval of the attacks with reprimands like "you four-eyed goober " and "Oh, you shut up."
The failure to apologize is a mark of the truly arrogant.
Actually, not so much from McCord, but certainly from McGuirk. That's McGuirk. I'm just saying..
Ok, first, I don't and never have listened to Imus........
For those of you in here that have or do listen to him........
Was what sounded kind of like him seemingly apologizing on air and forcing those two clowns he works with to do the same......or was that all just their brand of dead-air stunts to get ratings??
I would hope that cooler heads would prevail and at the very least McGuirk and McCord should be either forced to publicly apologize, suspended without pay, or out right fired if they go there again!!
Why is it so hard to believe that there are actually decent people (even insurgence fighters might only be doing what they do simply because of America's presence in a country that had nothing to do with 9/11!!) and may otherwise be decent good people?
If we are to presume within the logic of the right-wing attack machine that all Arabs must be bad because of 9/11...... then the same logic would have to be used in saying that all red-neck and racists are bad because of what Tim McVeigh did or what the KKK do....so they must be destroyed.......right?
Or all Asians should be destoyed because of Pearl Harbor? Or all blacks should die because of what OJ did?
I guess all blacks must be pediphiles because of Michael Jackson?.....oh wait.....there are white, brown, and yellow ones of those too!!
Prehaps white people are evil because of Gacy or Speck
What about the Germans......should they not all die for what they allowed to happen to the Jews!
What about the Jews themselves........ presuming the twisted logic that all Palestinians are inheritely evil.........
Shouldn't the Spanish be destroyed because of what they did to the Mayan's, Aztecs, etc all those years ago......
Shouldn't we Americans be destroyed then for what we did to the Native Americans who were here first!!
YOU SEE........EVERY TYPE OF PEOPLE ON THE PLANET EARTH HAS SOME BAD AND SOME GOOD PEOPLE WITHIN THEM!!
AND SOMETIMES THOSE IN THE MIDDLE DO BAD THINGS BY NOT SPEAKING UP ABOUT THE OBSURD ATTITUDE OF OTHERS WHEN THOSE FEW DO BAD THINGS!!
TO PRESUME THAT EVERY ONE OF A PARTICULAR BRAND OF PEOPLE ARE EVIL BECAUSE OF WHAT A FEW BAD ONES DO OR DID IS PATHETIC!!
If you have a bushel of 100 apples and two are worm infested...... do you toss the two out to save the rest or toss the entire bushel??
Or perhaps we should all just die then?
ALL THOSE RIGHT-WINGERS LIKE MCGUIRK , MCCORD, RUSH , THE RIGHT WING RADIO AND EVEN ALEX WITT WERE GOING AFTER THIS BRAVE YOUNG WOMEN. SEE IF ANYONE SAY ANYTHING AGAINST THIS COUNTRY THEY WILL ATTACK RIGHT AWAY. ANY PERSON WITH A REAL MIND NEW SHE WAS SAYING WHAT THEY MADE HER SAY!!!
McCORD: "Yeah, for sharing the widely held view?"
What if someone was to define all right wing Christians to be bigoted morons?
After all, a lot of people are saying that too. And since McCord is the Christian fundamentalist part of this unholy trio, maybe a lot of people would be correct in their assumption. After all, isn't that the "widely held view?
No one will ever be fired, someone may give some kind of half-assed apology.
And today, HATRED is big business. It is a thriving industry, the salary and the benefits are terrific.
Wonder if those 2 morons ever had 3 terrorists hold machine guns pointed at their heads??? What would they say? The woman was a HOSTAGE, this partisan BS should never have been raised!!! Dont they get it?? Like saying that because a white social worker in Alabama wasnt killed, that she must be carrying Jesse Jackson's baby! Racists!
Don Imus did not insult Jill Carroll. Bernard and Charles were doing satire. I wouldn't take them seriously on this. Don Imus was holding the spring session at the ranch for kids with cancer. These kids are given the chance to be normal for a short time. People sre so touchy now. Take after those in the media who are doing harm. One can always switch stations. I am quite sure that Jill Carroll could hold her own with Bernard and Charles.
I think the Imus ranch is a great noble cause. But Imus' show is full of bigots and Imus just loves them. Bernie is by far the worse. He's a total ass.
I agree with you .
The Imus call for an apology was as calculated as McGuirk and McCord's responses to it. I've watched Imus for a number of years and that's just part of his shtick. 1. McGuirk (it's usually just him) goes over the line with racial or sexualy inuendos. 2. Right in the middle of McGuirk's off color remarks, Imus shows he's mildly disapproving of those remarks. 3. McGuirk continues making his point.
In fact, a few years ago it seems the show was getting a lot of heat because of the repeated racial low blows that came from the mouths of Imus and McGuirk.
Their response? Bring on more black guests. Patronize them. (Curiously Suge Knight of all people was one of them). Show mild interest in them until the heat was off. McGuirk is now free again to make the same (and in some cases worse) racial remarks. After all the show "earned" its temporary absolution!
If Olbermann were genuine he would name these two the "Worst Person in the World"
But hat hatemonger wont because of the MSNBC affiliation.
I agree with Malika that Jill Carroll can hold her own with anyone on Imus. But that is exactly why they are so afraid of her. These guys are terrified because as soon as she’s “recovered” she’s gonna be a well-spoken telegenic Cindy Sheehan (no offense to Cindy) who has serious media cred because she is a journalist herself. Jill will have no problem whatsoever speaking in soundbites, in favor of the Iraqi people just as she did before she was kidnapped. McCord's comment is very telling: "All we said is that she is a known sympathizer to the general Arab cause. And Iraq is considered, you know, almost a second home by her. There's nothing wrong with that." She is a known sympathizer to Arabs as human beings, and that makes her a threat to all apologists for this awful war.
Listen closely, little children. It's SATIRE!! If you listen/watch the show at all, you should understand this recurring riff. McCord and/or McGuirk make some outrageous, usually stereotypical, right-wing assertion; Imus later takes them to task, and they either deny ever saying it or claim they had no malicious intent. Sometimes they go over the line, particularly in the case of women or race; I have at times been offended. But, if you listen with more than "half your brain," you will understand that they are typically making fun of either the person they are talking about, or of the people who would actually seriously say the outrageous things they are saying non-seriously. And most of the time, it's hilarious.