MSNBC host Joe Scarborough on Friday lauded Fox News’s Shepard Smith as “an American hero” after the Fox host defended the news media while declaring that journalists “are not the enemies of the American people.”
“Watch Shep Smith, who again stands up for truth, justice and the American way. Shep keeps courageously speaking the truth to those who need to hear it,” Scarborough tweeted Friday, including a link to Smith’s monologue.
During his show Thursday, Smith defended the news media after the White House banned a CNN reporter from an event after she asked President Trump questions about his longtime personal attorney Michael Cohen and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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“For those of you at home, if I may, journalists are not the enemies of the people. It’s quite the opposite,” Smith said. “Our profession is enshrined in the Constitution and the Fourth Estate holds the essential job of being your eyes and often ears and, when appropriate, your voice. It’s a cornerstone of our republic.”
Smith also called out White House deputy chief of staff for communications Bill Shine, a former Fox News executive and Smith’s “personal friend,” after CNN’s Kaitlan Collins was barred from attending an event in the Rose Garden on Wednesday.
Shine had pushed back against accounts that Collins was banned from the event, telling reporters on Thursday to ask Collins “if we ever used the word ‘ban.’”
Smith cited comments about the incident from White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, who argued members of the news media should show more respect while covering Trump.
“Civility,” Smith said on his show. “CNN maintains, the [White House] Correspondents’ Association agrees, and we at Fox News observe, that Collins was civil, that she asked relevant and timely questions of a president who often answers questions under identical circumstances and in the same setting.”
“One of our journalists might have done exactly the same,” he added.