The “utterly dumbfounded by live TV guest” look isn’t a good one (unless Tucker Carlson’s making the face), but NBC News’ Katy Tur moved in on Carlson’s territory Monday when Rep. Francis Rooney of Florida tried to transmit some information on the Obama administration’s cozy relationship with Russia.
'I Don't Know What You're Referring To': NBC's Katy Tur Doesn't Remember Obama Promising Putin 'Flexibility' https://t.co/PPpJMjs3Y2 VIDEO pic.twitter.com/z0GmXHIgAF
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) February 20, 2017
We do need to cut Tur some slack here; Rooney screwed up the anecdote, recalling the time Obama leaned over to Putin and promised more flexibility once his reelection was in the bag. Actually, it was Dmitri Medvedev who was caught on a hot mic saying he’d “transmit this information to Vladimir.”
It’s possible that Tur was simply confused by the mix-up of Medvedev and Putin — so confused that it never occurred to her to correct Rooney. It’s also possible the time it took us to type this disclaimer was longer than the time most mainstream journalists waited before reporting that President Trump claimed there was a terrorist attack in Sweden Friday night.
That said, the video is terribly awkward to watch. It’s also a lot of fun.
Watch this. via @SooperMexican – Katy Tur in response to comment about Obama's "Flexibility" comment with Russia.https://t.co/K0V3k4M7wd
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) February 20, 2017
https://twitter.com/RobProvince/status/833779791547473920
GOP Rep just brought up Obama's hot mic "flexibility" promise to Putin, and NBC's Katy Tur said she didn't know what he was talking about.
— Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) February 20, 2017
She will not transmit this information to Vladimir. https://t.co/U8wHy6vD0x
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) February 20, 2017
To be fair, he said Obama leaned in towards *Putin* and whispered about flexibility (it was Medvedev). But that should be enough to go on.
— Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) February 20, 2017
I saw this live. Couldn't believe it. Although in her defense, he kept saying it was with Putin when really was with Medvedev
— Levi Plotkin (@PlotkinLevi) February 20, 2017
This is pretty amazing to me. https://t.co/j7RkjGNg88
— John Sexton (@verumserum) February 20, 2017
This isn't some obscure person. This is one of NBC News' top reporters. https://t.co/lohie12hyX
— Crusty Gobblestein (@NathanWurtzel) February 20, 2017
https://twitter.com/CitizenEgg/status/833804297557127171
https://twitter.com/SethAMandel/status/833790227059789825
Maybe an NBC News editor can clean up that little hiccup before it goes into the online archives.
* * *
Update:
Tur might not have heard Obama’s hot mic comment to Russia’s president, but she did catch wind of her slip-up making the rounds online.
To be fair, I didnt touch politics in 2012. I almost exclusively covered fires and shootings in NYC area. (1/2) https://t.co/BJ3RCJheIg
— Katy Tur (@KatyTurNBC) February 20, 2017
And I'd rather be honest about what I know and don't know in the moment. Got off air, did the research, then talked about it at 5pm on MTPD. https://t.co/BJ3RCJheIg
— Katy Tur (@KatyTurNBC) February 20, 2017
Fair enough; this excuse sounds perfectly legitimate. However, if NBC News allowed this to be a teachable moment, they and other mainstream media outlets might understand why conservatives have had it with partisan posturing disguised as news.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member