Fox News "objective" reporter Doug McKelway, whose attempt to legitimize Donald Trump’s Charlottesville comments was written up last week by The Daily Beast, went on a Twitter rampage attacking the musicianship of Andrew Kirell, one of the authors.
You may recall that on Friday, The Daily Beast reported that Fox News Radio’s Jon Decker called out McKelway and like-minded colleague Cody Derespina for defending Trump’s Charlottesville comments in response to Joe Biden’s campaign video attacking them. “Your posts read like something you’d read on a White Supremacist chat room,” Decker shot back.
In a case of shoot the messenger, McKelway retaliated against Kirell who is also a musician.
The tweet storm seems to have started last night:
I will pay five dollars to anyone whose head does NOT explode after listening to this video of @AndrewKirell. His guitar and harmonica playing are almost as bad as his reporting. AND HE POSTS BOTH. Reminds me of Slim Whitman music in “Mars Attacks.” https://t.co/qSrq4usKaw
— Doug McKelway (@dougmckelway) April 28, 2019
And continued today:
Andrew, Andrew, Andrew. Really? You're proud of this? Tell you what. I'll give you a free guitar lesson if you report that Joe Biden voted to re-instate Robert E. Lee's citizenship. I'll even throw in a harmonica lesson.
— Doug McKelway (@dougmckelway) April 29, 2019
I don't play, but from available evidence, neither do you
And the harmonica? I've seen it played better as a defacto heart monitor shoved into the gaping, dentureless maw of a near corpse in hospice care. In and out and in and out until it stops. But yours never stops.
— Doug McKelway (@dougmckelway) April 29, 2019
One more thing, Andrew. I make it up to Hipster town every now and then. I know some real guitar players up there. I'll let you know when I'm coming and we can maybe teach you a lesson.
— Doug McKelway (@dougmckelway) April 29, 2019
Then McKelway claimed he was just having “a little fun” – at someone else’s expense, of course:
Oh come on Andrew. Why so serious? You can criticize my banjo playing all you want. Why not have a little fun?
— Doug McKelway (@dougmckelway) April 29, 2019
It was fun, Andy. Thanks for playing ball. Got to get to work. And for all you folks in Andrew world, don’t take it too seriously. Just pokin fun. Back soon.
— Doug McKelway (@dougmckelway) April 29, 2019
The incident written up by The Daily Beast was no one off from this supposedly unbiased reporter who has guest hosted for Bret Baier on Special Report. “In addition to attacking Democratic politicians, McKelway frequently uses his Twitter account to push right-wing views,” Media Matters noted, along with a long list of examples.
You don’t have to look hard to find those right-wing views in McKelway's Twitter account. Lately, a lot of those tweets have been in defense of Trump’s Charlottesville comments, mixed in with digs at Democrats and the media. By the way, the defense is a load of right-wing, revisionist hooey.
Oh, and got irony?
I’m sorry? What President spied on reporters? I didn’t go to that lame ass dinner, thankfully, because I knew I’d have to listen to this self-serving crap. I remember the days when reporters were tougher, did their job, and didn’t whine like school children. https://t.co/GQUzPJQP6K
— Doug McKelway (@dougmckelway) April 28, 2019
(McKelway image via screen grab)
