During her latest bout of DeSantis derangement syndrome, MSNBC’s vile and vitriolic ReidOut host Joy Reid brought on disgraced former Axios journalist Ben Montgomery who on Monday was fired for calling a press release from Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis’s office “propaganda.” To attempt to illustrate her false belief that DeSantis is waging a war on the press, Reid used Montgomery's appearance on her Thursday night show to hold what seemed like a therapy session.
After pointing out that Montgomery was fired after his juvenile email was posted on Twitter by Florida Department of Education communications director Alex Lanfranconi, Reid bemoaned that “there is a bullying aspect and a lot of trolling” in the DeSantis administration.
“They tried to bully my dear friend and colleague Andrea Mitchell for asking a question not even to DeSantis, to the Vice President, Kamala Harris,” Reid whined, referencing a partisan interview conducted by Andrea Mitchell in which she asked, without evidence, why DeSantis doesn’t want schools to teach about slavery.
Doubling down on the very thing that got him fired in the first place, Montgomery proclaimed DeSantis’s press release “was propaganda” and “a waste of my time.”
Not wanting to be held accountable for his actions, Montgomery played the victim and claimed that Axios firing him for exposing himself as a leftist activist “has a chilling effect on the entire news media.”
Reid, for her part, predictably agreed. “Oh, it 100 percent does! It shows that that bullying works. And that sends a message to every other journalist,” she insisted.
Looking ahead to what’s next, Reid asked him if he has any future plans in mind. Montgomery teased a possible book deal as a way of getting back at DeSantis and presumably Axios. “Maybe it's time that somebody isn't afraid to stand up to DeSantis, write a true biography of him,” he threatened.
Reid of course egged him on and enthusiastically cheered the idea. “He has his military records, people have lots and lots of questions. Maybe you can pull it off,” Reid pondered.
Reid and Montgomery are both leftwing propagandists disguised as journalists. It makes perfect sense that Reid would have him on her show. They both also hate DeSantis, so that's an added bonus for the two of them.
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The transcript is below. Click “expand” to read:
MSNBC’s The ReidOut
3/16/2023
7:51:57 p.m. EasternJOY REID: There is a bullying aspect and a lot of trolling. They do a lot of Twitter trolling. They tried to bully my dear friend and colleague Andrea Mitchell for asking a question not even to DeSantis, to the Vice President, Kamala Harris. Did you experience, before this, any kind of bullying behavior from the DeSantis camp?
BEN MONTGOMERY: Look, I mostly write about fluffy kind of things. I cover the news, of course. I've been an investigative reporter for a long time but not with this administration. By and large I have not had the opportunity to really do any kind of depth–in-depth reporting on a DeSantis administration. I'm not a person that they should be afraid of, I don't think.
I'm not writing about them every day. I'm not digging deep, in other words. So yeah, but this was propaganda & it was a waste of my time. That's ultimately what I was saying to them. It's wasting my time and it's done in a clear vein of propaganda. This is objectionably propaganda.
And I read the whole thing because I give them the benefit of the doubt because they work for the people of Florida. And I want to do right by my readers. And so when this wastes my time and it’s just propaganda, I feel like I have a right to say so. And I feel like what Axios did to me has a chilling effect on the entire news media. It's a very sad thing.
REID: Oh, it 100 percent does! It shows that that bullying works. And that sends a message to every other journalist. You put up a pretty a sort of fun tweet after this all happened. Saying that you made a quiche. What are your next plans?
MONTGOMERY: I was talking to my agent today about whether there was a book in this, and maybe there is. Maybe it's time that somebody isn't afraid to stand up to DeSantis, write a true biography of him. So I might be the guy to do that we'll see.
REID: Yeah, good luck. He has his military records, people have lots and lots of questions. Maybe you can pull it off. Ben Montgomery, thank you man. Really appreciate you being here and best of luck in whatever you do next.
