Time magazine editor-at-large Mark Halperin has been suspended as MSNBC’s senior political analyst after he called President Barack Obama a “dick” on Morning Joe Thursday morning. Watch the video below.
“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,” said the network in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
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Said Halperin in 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.”
He will keep his job at Time magazine.
“Mark Halperin’s comments on air this morning were inappropriate and in no way reflective of TIME’s views. We have issued a warning to him that such behavior is unacceptable. Mark has appropriately apologized on air, via Twitter and on The Page,” a rep for the magazine told THR.
On Morning Joe Thursday, Halperin said of Obama while discussing his Wednesday press conference about the econony: “I thought he was a dick yesterday.”
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Joe Scarborough immediately said, according to Politico.com, “Delay that. Delay that. What are you doing? I can’t believe… don’t do that. Did we delay that?”
A few moments later, Halperin apologized, “Joking aside, this is an absolute apology. I shouldn’t have said it. I apologize to the president and the viewers who heard me say that.”
Said Scarborough, “We’re going to have a meeting after the show.”
Scarborough said the show wasn’t able to bleep the comment because the new executive producer, Alex Korson (who replaced Chris Licht), didn’t know how the tape delay works.
“You are supposed to know how to do the job,” Scarborough said. “I would tell you what I think of him, but he doesn’t know what button to push.”
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After the show, Halperin apologized again: “I can’t explain why I did it. It’s inappropriate, disrespectful. I’ve already apologized, and I will again to the President. I’m sorry, I’m sorry to the viewers…It is disrespectful, what I said was disrespectful to the president and the office but it also lowers our discourse.”
He posted on Twitter: “I want to offer a heartfelt and profound apology to the President and the viewers of Morning Joe. My remark was not funny. I deeply regret it.”
