Before showing the video, co-hosts Steve Doocy and Gretchen Carlson explained that Fox News had previously called Khalidi but had been hung up on, which is why Jenkins was deployed to ambush the Columbia professor.
When Jenkins caught up with Khalidi, he asked:
Professor Khalidi. Hi. Griff Jenkins with Fox. Can I ask you a quick question? Can you just - what's your relationship with Senator Obama? So you clarify it, sir. I apologize for interrupting but you've become the centerpiece of the election. Will you at least call for the L.A. Times to release the video? What was said? What was said at that speech?
Khalidi then ran for the elevator, but Jenkins didn't give up and asked, "Were you the spokesman for the PLO? Will you confirm that?" Khalidi did not answer.
The PLO is the Palestinian Liberation Organization and was formerly led by Yasser Arafat. Recently, there has been some confusion about whether or not Khalidi was directly involved with the organization, specifically if Khalidi served as its spokesman. While most recently Khalidi has denied that he worked for the group, as reported by the New York Times, in 1982 the same newspaper ran an article which described Khalidi as a "director of the Palestinian press agency, Wafa." And, as the American Spectator reports, page 7 of Khalidi's 1986 book, Under Siege: P.L.O. Decisionmaking During the 1982 War, describes Wafa as "the PLO's news agency."
After running the video of Jenkins's exchange with Khalidi, Carlson wondered, "But interestingly enough here, nobody else seems to be tracking down Khalidi. Why is it only Fox who's looking for this guy?" Good question.
The transcript of the October 31 Fox & Friends segment follows:
STEVE DOOCY: You know, a couple of days ago we showed you some pictures of how a member of our staff by the name of Jesse Waters went up to Bill Ayers and tried to get him to talk about the whole controversy surrounding him and his connection to Barack Obama. Well, over the last couple of days we've been telling you also about a connection between a professor of Columbia University by the name of Khalidi and also Barack Obama. Well, yesterday, Griff Jenkins, because Mr. Khalidi wasn't going to talk to us any other way-
GRETCHEN CARLSON: He hung up on us.
DOOCY: Griff Jenkins, exactly right, did a little ambushing. Watch this.
GRIFF JENKINS: Professor Khalidi. Hi. Griff Jenkins with Fox. Can I ask you a quick question? Can you just - what's your relationship with Senator Obama? So you clarify it, sir. I apologize for interrupting but you've become the centerpiece of the election. Will you at least call for the L.A. Times to release the video? What was said? What was said at that speech?
KHALIDI: Get this guy out of here.
JENKINS: Will you talk to us? Were you the spokesman for the PLO? Will you confirm that?
KHALIDI: Get these guys out of here.
JENKINS: You're at the center of the election, sir. Just some quick clarifications then we'll leave. Okay.
DOOCY: I get the feeling he doesn't want to talk.
CARLSON: Well, he doesn't and especially he doesn't want to talk to Fox 'cause when we called for comment he did hang up on us the other day and he said even if he did had a comment he would never give it to Fox. But interestingly enough here, nobody else seems to be tracking down Khalidi. Why is it only Fox who's looking for this guy?
PETER JOHNSON, Jr.: Well, you know, it's an appropriate question to ask. He didn't answer the questions and this kind of furtive running to the elevator. I don't know what he's pushing in front of the camera, I don't quite understand. If the relationship is on the up and up and it's above board and there's nothing elicit about it, then I think that he'd be happy to discuss his relationship with Senator Obama and happy to discuss his views. I really think it's strange, I mean, it's suspect.
DOOCY: A number of people who are close to Obama have said, "Look, I'd like to talk to you right after the election and I'll be able to do just that."
