Phillip Stucky on September 15, 2017
President Donald Trump demanded an apology from ESPN Friday morning after host Jemele Hill called the president a “white supremacist” on Twitter Monday.
“ESPN is paying a really big price for its politics (and bad programming). People are dumping it in record numbers. Apologize for untruth!” the president said on Twitter.
ESPN is paying a really big price for its politics (and bad programming). People are dumping it in RECORD numbers. Apologize for untruth!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 15, 2017
Hill slammed the president in a series of tweets Monday, calling the president “ignorant” and “offensive,” before concluding, “Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself with other white supremacists.”
Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 11, 2017
ESPN released a statement Tuesday condemning the statements but didn’t apologize. “The comments on Twitter from Jemele Hill regarding the President do not represent the position of ESPN. We have addressed this with Jemele and she recognizes her actions were inappropriate.”
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said of the comment, “I think that’s one of the more outrageous comments that anyone could make and certainly something that I think is a fireable offense by ESPN.”
