NBC quietly brings back pundit it dropped over racism and homophobia
NBC is set to interview a pundit that the network dropped three years ago over his extreme anti-gay comments.
The news network MSNBC cut ties with Pat Buchanan in 2012 after the publication of his book Suicide of a Superpower – in which he sharply criticised equality and claimed white Christians “may discover what it is like to ride in the back of the bus”.
Buchanan, who was previously a senior Republican adviser and ran for President three times, later claimed that “militant gay rights groups” had got him fired from the network.
However, despite his extreme views, Buchanan is set to appear on NBC’s Meet the Press this week.
The show’s website claims it will interview Buchanan about “the return of populism” – but does not reference his extremist beliefs.
Buchanan famously called for the banning of gay pride in New York – claiming it was responsible for the spread of the AIDS pandemic.
The pundit has also praised Russia’s anti-gay laws, claiming that all Putin was trying to do “was re-establish Russia’s moral compass before it fell to Communism.”
Erik Hananoki of Media Matters, which reported news of his return to Meet the Press, said: “Buchanan said ‘homosexual sex is unnatural and immoral’ and ‘that kind of conduct should be discouraged in a good society’.
“He’s written of same-sex relationships: ‘In a healthy society, it will be contained, segregated, controlled, and stigmatized, carrying both a legal and social sanction’.
“He once wrote of AIDS: ‘The poor homosexuals — they have declared war upon nature, and now nature is extracting an awful retribution’.”
Hannoki also notes some of Buchanan’s comments are overtly xenophobic – warning that the US is “committing suicide” while “Asian, African, and Latin American children come to inherit the estate”.
