Brian Williams appears to be one of those people who doesn’t listen to himself when he talks. How else to describe the reasons behind why the truth-challenged journalist says the things he does? Yes, it's time for another NewsBusters FLASHBACK: It was eight years ago this week that Williams appeared on Alec Baldwin’s then radio show to declare himself “cleansed of political opinions.” Only facts remain, apparently.
On he not-yet disgraced anchor told the liberal actor: “My work has been so cleansed, as I see it, and as I've tried, of political opinions over 27 years....I can try to call it down the middle, and try to be fair about it, and do a 'just the facts'..."
Baldwin fawned over Williams for sticking to the facts, asking, “How do you do it? Do you have political opinions?" The ever-humble journalist replied: "I sometimes don't know."
This is the guy who falsely said he was shot down in Iraq in 2003, who told tales about seeing dead bodies while covering Hurricane Katrina. Williams repeated his Iraq lie about being shot down multiple times. He ultimately lost his Nightly News job as a result.
But the now-MSNBC host still goes on about his truth-telling skills. Opening the MSNBC coverage for the 2018 Donald Trump State of the Union, he cheered, “As I said, our entire team of correspondents will analyze what we see and hear. We'll fact check it on the fly, as well.” You’re the one who needs a fact checker, Brian.
In 2020, Williams questioned the faith of Senators who voted to acquit Donald Trump. If only we all could live up to the ethical standards of Brian Williams.
For more examples from our flashback series, which we call the NewsBusters Time Machine, go here.
