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Neocon propagandist David Frum accused MSNBC of being afraid of President-elect Donald J. Trump after Mika Brzezinski’s on-air apology for his smearing of Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth as a drunkard.

During his appearance on Wednesday’s edition of “Morning Joe,” the former George W. Bush speechwriter referred to the latest component of the media smear campaign to force the Fox News personality and decorated military veteran to withdraw from consideration for the top job at the Pentagon.

In the segment on hit pieces by the New Yorker and NBC News that alleged Hegseth has had a problem with booze, Frum quipped “If you’re too drunk for Fox News, you’re very, very drunk indeed.”

Following Frum’s remark, Brzezinski apologized to the troubled left-wing network’s viewers.

(Video Credit: MSNBC)

“And before we go to break or a little bit earlier in this block, there was a comment made about Fox News in our coverage about Pete Hegseth and the growing number of allegations about his behavior over the years and possible addiction to alcohol or issues with alcohol,” Brzezinski said.

“The comment was a little too flippant for this moment that we’re in, we just want to make that comment as well. We want to make that clear. We have differences in coverage with Fox News, and that’s a good debate that we should have often. But right now, I just want to say there’s a lot of good people that work at Fox News who care about Pete Hegseth, and we’ll want to leave it at that,” she told viewers.

Frum then rushed to his computer and fired off an article for The Atlantic accusing Brzezinski and MSNBC of being cowards.

The piece on Brzezinski’s apology was titled, “The Sound of Fear on Air,” and stated, “It is an ominous sign that Morning Joe felt it had to apologize for something I said.”

“Now NBC is up for sale by Comcast, with the future of the liberal MSNBC network very much in question. The hosts of Morning Joe visited Mar-a-Lago in November to mend fences with Trump. They genuinely have a lot to worry about,” wrote Frum, who coined the phrase “axis of evil” for Bush.

“As for my own comments: You can decide for yourself whether I overstepped the proper limits of television discussion. But I also note that if I did misstep, well, my face was on the screen, my name was on the chyron, and anyone who took offense knows whom to blame,” he added. “It is a very ominous thing if our leading forums for discussion of public affairs are already feeling the chill of intimidation and responding with efforts to appease.”

Frum also suggested that his response would result in his no longer being welcomed as an MSNBC guest.

“I write these words very aware that I’m probably saying goodbye forever to a television platform that I enjoy and from which I have benefited as both viewer and guest. I have been the recipient of personal kindnesses from the hosts that I have not forgotten,” he wrote. “I do not write to scold anyone; I write because fear is infectious. Let it spread, and it will paralyze us all. The only antidote is courage. And that’s infectious, too.”

MSNBC VP of Communications Richard Hudock responded to Frum’s accusation in a statement posted to X.

“Joe and Mika have consistently expressed their strong reservations and perspectives regarding Pete Hegseth’s nomination from the very beginning, and that stance remains unchanged,” he said. “We would have responded in the same manner regardless of when these comments were made or what news organization was referenced.”

“We have great respect for @davidfrum and his contributions; he is a valued member of the @Morning_Joe family. We invite him to join us tomorrow to discuss this topic and other pressing news stories of the day,” Hudock added, sucking up to the influential neocon.

Chris Donaldson
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