MSNBC anchor Chris Hayes came under a sustained and vicious attack from furious liberals on social media angry that the network aired a hard news report on allegations from former Senate staffer Tara Reade that former Vice President Joe Biden sexually assaulted her in the Capitol building in 1993.
The hashtag #FireChrisHayes was trending on Twitter on Thursday morning, as liberals across the nation vented their anger at MSNBC and Hayes for reporting on news they didn’t like.
“The fact that ‘firing’ Chris Hayes is trending because he said the media needed to cover allegations of sexual misconduct made by a women even when they’re directed at powerful people who are respected is…just….peak 2020,” tweeted Lindsey Boylan, a progressive candidate for Congress in New York’s 10th District.
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CommonDreams report: In his report on the allegation, Hayes went through the facts and soberly presented the case both for and against the allegation.
The measured analysis provoked ire from Democrat-aligned critics like conspiracy theorist Bill Palmer, who demanded MSNBC remove the longtime “All In” host for reporting the news
The network at press time did not have the segment available for viewing on either its main site or on its YouTube channel.
As Common Dreams reported, the Reade scandal has prompted calls from Democrats for Biden to address the allegation. But the candidate himself has thus far remained silent, though his campaign has repeatedly denied the charges.
Progressives on Twitter Thursday pushed back against the attacks on Hayes.
Chris Hayes is a Russian shill now? Tara Reade is lying because her exact accusation was used in her father’s book? Oh boy I have bad news for them on how many real life sexual assaults in Hollywood ended up in scripts after they happened and were talked about behind closed doors
— Lexi Alexander (@Lexialex) April 30, 2020
ournalist Glenn Greenwald pointed out out that Hayes’ own network was at least in part to blame for the partisan fire directed at the host.
“Chris Hayes has been one of the media’s most virulent, relentless and arguably effective Trump critics—an all-consuming loathing for the president—but #FireChrisHayes was trending because he covered the sex assault allegations against Biden,” tweeted Greenwald. “Shows what MSNBC has cultivated.”
“Also, with this completely deranged backlash against Chris Hayes for the crime of covering what a news story—one that just happens to be unfavorable to Dems—you see the extreme career incentives for cable hosts never to tell their audiences anything they don’t want to hear,” Greenwald added.
