Rush Limbaugh backtracked a reckless claim that part of the country was ‘trending toward secession’
Rush Limbaugh reacts as First Lady Melania Trump and his wife Kathryn applaud as President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address last February. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Here’s a story of Rush Limbaugh being Rush Limbaugh. That isn’t a compliment.
Limbaugh made all kinds of noise on his nationally-syndicated radio show this week about part of the country maybe wanting to secede from the union. Then after getting clobbered online, he backtracked Thursday on his show, essentially saying that’s not what he was advocating, but it’s what he had heard others say.
Again, this is classic Limbaugh: saying something provocative, something controversial, and then later claiming that’s not actually what he was saying.
It all started Wednesday on his show when he said, “I actually think — and I’ve referenced this, I’ve alluded to this a couple of times because I’ve seen others allude to this — I actually think that we’re trending toward secession.”
He later added that he has seen others write about the divisiveness in the U.S. and that those people are suggesting there cannot be a “peaceful coexistence of two completely different theories of life, theories of government, theories of how we manage our affairs. We can’t be in this dire (of) a conflict without something giving somewhere along the way.”
As for himself, Limbaugh said, “I myself haven’t made up my mind. I still haven’t given up the idea that we are the majority and that all we have to do is find a way to unite and win.”
But, not surprisingly, the remark that got the attention was about secession because that is a word that should not just be thrown around. On Thursday’s show, Limbaugh said he was not advocating for secession.
“I simply referenced what I have seen other people say about how we are incompatible, as currently divided, and that secession is something that people are speculating about,” Limbaugh said. “I am not advocating it, have not advocated, never have advocated it, and probably wouldn’t. That’s not something — 32 years — that’s not the way I’ve decided to go about handling disagreements with people on the left.”
Again, this is what Limbaugh does. He asks questions in such a way that it makes it sound he’s promoting an idea, but then later can say that he was merely asking a question. Or, in this case, he amplified an idea of others, thus giving it credence, and then later said he was merely repeating something others were saying.
Limbaugh clearly knows how to do radio. There are people I know in the radio business who don’t necessarily agree with his politics but swear he is the best host in talk-radio history.
But for three decades, Limbaugh has built a successful career leading listeners to the edge of the cliff and then claiming innocence when they jump off of it.
To bring up secession — effectively, a civil war — in any context is reckless. Is it good radio? Limbaugh might think so. Is it dangerous? Without a doubt.
Homepage takeover
NBCNews.com is trying something different today. It’s having a homepage takeover dedicated to COVID-19 coverage. NBC News wants to hammer home the message delivered this week by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield, who said that the next few months will be “the most difficult in the public health of this nation.”
So when users go to NBC News’ homepage today, they will see an interactive graphic that shows the toll COVID-19 has taken on American lives. Then, as users scroll down, multiple pieces looking at the most important questions will show just how grim the situation is, the urgency of addressing the latest surge and how our behavior now can still impact the future.
The idea of a homepage takeover came from Jason Abbruzzese, senior editor for science and technology for NBC News.
In an email to Poynter, Abbruzzese said, “As the election was drawing to a close, NBC News Digital editors were already discussing a very different challenge: pivoting our coverage back to a pandemic that had exploded across the U.S. in recent weeks. But with months of coverage already behind us and audience data showing that readership seemed to be fatigued by COVID, the question we asked ourselves was: How do we communicate to our audience and the public the importance and urgency of a story entering its eleventh month in a way that feels fresh — and that sets reader expectations for the coming months? The answer we came to is two-fold: 1. Use the power of our homepage to confront readers with the hard truths of the pandemic while also communicating to them that our paths are not set. 2. Think deeply about what the readers most want to know, and then produce articles that
provide that information.”
Waiting for summer
MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell interviews Assistant Secretary for Health Adm. Brett Giroir on Thursday. (Courtesy: MSNBC)
During an appearance on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” on Thursday, Assistant Secretary for Health Adm. Brett Giroir had this revealing quote:
“Once we get 70 or 80% of the American people vaccinated or haven't gotten the disease naturally, that we wanted vaccinated, then this will go away. … We’re confident by June any American who wants a vaccine will be able to get a vaccine.”
However, Giroir said “the vaccine will not provide immediate relief” so Americans have to “wear a mask, physically distance, avoid crowds because those numbers are going up.”
Read this quote
Speaking of the coronavirus, here was the most insightful piece that I read in the past couple of days: reporting from Seoul, the Los Angeles Times’ Victoria Kim with “Infected After 5 Minutes, From 20 Feet Away: South Korea Study Shows Coronavirus’ Spread Indoors.”
Dr. Lee Ju-hyung, a medical university professor who helped prepare the study, had this chilling quote: “Eating indoors at a restaurant is one of the riskiest things you can do in a pandemic. Even if there is distancing, as this shows and other studies show, the distancing is not enough.”
The whole story is a fascinating look at how COVID-19 can travel indoors. It’s a must-read.
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