Hugh Hewitt, an establishment media conservative commentator, abruptly departed a live episode Thursday of Washington Post Live’s First Look after its host berated him for recapping election integrity initiatives that were held up in court.
WaPo’s associate editor Jonathan Capehart appeared to be embarrassed by the departure of Hewitt, who called the show “the most unfair election ad I’ve ever been a part of,” implicitly likening it to a campaign ad for Kamala Harris.A recent Gallup poll found Americans’ trust in the media to report current events “fully, accurately and fairly” has plummeted to a record low. Only 31 percent of Americans have a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence in the media to tell the truth, one point below its low watermark of 32 percent in 2016 and 2023.
“I just gotta say we’re news people, even though we’re at the opinion section, it’s got to be reported,” Hewitt said, rebutting claims that former President Donald Trump’s election integrity efforts were meant to incite protests.
Hewitt’s comments, which included relevant facts about election integrity court cases won by Republicans, did not sit well with Capehart. The host took offense at “being lectured” to by Hewitt about journalism.
Hewitt then took out his earpiece and left show: “I won’t come back, Jonathan. I’m done. I’m done. This is the most unfair election ad I’ve ever been a part of. You guys are working. That’s fine. I’m done.”
Capehart tried to get the show back on track by asking Ruth Marcus, an associate Post editor and columnist, a follow-up question. But her video feed vanished and Capehart was left hanging, forcing him to end his show:
The incident happened after the Post decided not to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris, sparking outrage among media elites. “F—k the billionaire asshole owners of WaPo and the LA Times!” SFGate Columnist Drew Magary wrote Thursday.
Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former RNC War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.
