Liz Trotta "apologizes" with a smile on her face

[Bjorn Against]

Run time: 03:26 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKlv6vQca8k   Posted on YouTube: May 26, 2008 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: May 26, 2008 By DU Member: Bjorn Against Views on DU: 4015

 
How anyone can consider this an apology is beyond me. Instead of issuing an immediate apology Liz Trotta goes before the camera and gives three minutes of analysis on the Presidential race and does not say anything about her own comments, when the "reporter" finally asks her about it she "apologizes", although no serious observer would view this as a sincere apology. At one point it seems like she is about to start laughing in the middle of her "apology" and then she ends it with a smile on her face. If Fox News thinks we are going to accept this they are dead wrong.

[bookman]

1. The Problem Liz is...

... we don't believe anything we hear on Fox News.

[NMLobo]

37. It's 2:45 min into the clip

If you don't want to listen to the rest of the horseshit she spews. My good deed for the day.

Oh, and FUCK YOU Liz. :argh:

[speedoo]

2. But she "SINCERELY apologizes"!

How lame can you get. Fucking disgusting POS. As is Bill Hemmer... the lamest of the lame.

[Bjorn Against]

4. She doesn't seem to realize you don't laugh about "colorful statements"...

In the middle of a supposedly "sincere" apology.

[Wapsie B]

3. She needs to be saying this behind bars,

not smiling about it in the studio.

[helderheid]

5. Talk to the SS, Liz.

[Orrex]

6. Why the hell hasn't she been arrested yet?

Bad enough that Limbaugh can with impunity call for mass violence and riots. Is nothing out-of-bounds for RW demagogues?

[stlsaxman]

7. if only those words had come from Hillary's mouth...

and as quickly as they did from Liz Trotter- she might still have a shred of decency in the eyes of many.

[Bjorn Against]

9. I want Hillary to apologize as well, but not in the way Trotter did...

Watch that apology again, Trotta is smiling and at one point she even lets out a small laugh. Trotta's "apology" only makes things worse. If Hillary is going to apologize she needs to do so in a much more sincere way than this, if she follows Trotta's path and smiles and laughs during her "apology" it would certainly not show a shred of decency.

[stlsaxman]

10. aside from the Cheshire Cat grin on Trollop- the all important choice of words was the gist

of my post. Had Hillary used those words in a sincere (at least seemingly) manner we'd all see her "apology" as more credible.

[Kierkegaard]

8. Clarification noted??

WHAT clarification? There's no clarifying such an inflammatory statement and she didn't even try (probably to her credit.) Futher, how could anyone accept this weak 'apology' especially when she was smirking like a chimp during its' entirety?

I know it's fruitless bashing headlong into Faux and hoping they'll show some signs of being human. Just ranting a bunch this morning.

[quark219]

22. That closing remark really ticked me off, too

I wanted to slap that anchor upside the head when he said that. "Clarification noted" -- what BS.

He could have closed the segment with, "Yes, it has certainly been an unusual primary season. Thank you, Liz." Or simply a pause for a beat, then: "Liz -- thank you."

Instead, in a moment of glib blather, he mischaracterizes and trivializes what went before.

[Kierkegaard]

26. Exactly.

That was nothing less than a subtle absolution of a heinous and truly 'incendiary' remark. How empty a person must be to have so little conscience...

[Zambero]

29. Yes, it would have to have been a TRULY Dark Soul

"Apology" is NOT accepted, and there was NO clarification given by Trotta despite the softball interviewer's implying so. How does one "clarify" wishing death upon anyone? In this instance the best FOX News can due is to try and gloss it over since her comment was blatant and not subject to any other interpretation. Can you imagine the response from the wingnut media if a liberal commentator had issued similar remarks against McCain?

[enough]

11. Trotts's words were worse than Hillary's.

To link Barack Obama with America's most hated terrorist, then JOKE about how "we" could knock them both off. This is beyond what anyone could see as acceptable (anyone but Fox News, I guess).

[Chisox08]

12. You can hear the sarcasm in her voice

Liz said what she meant the firat time that she want Obama assassinated

[jefferson_dem]

13. "...lame attempt at humor..."

Fuck that!

Fire Trotta now. Demand accountability.

[quark219]

14. Ehhhh... Have to disagree with most of you on this one

I was one of the people who took deep offense at Trotta's joke and quickly signed the petition calling for her firing. Watching that clip just now, here are my impressions: (1) I had the sense that for much of what went before it, Trotta and the anchor were just slowly pedaling up to the real point of the segment, which was her apology; (2) I have the sense Trotta had been contacted by the Secret Service and apologized because they'd told her that she had to make an on-air apololgy if she wanted to help bring an end to the investigation; (3) the apology's text was good--she was not fooling around in complying with the SS request.

As far as her smirky manner, ehhhh, what can you do? She's a talking head on TV, and about 85% of those people are full of themselves and couldn't seem sincere about anything if they wanted to.

Would I have liked to see her fired? You bet. Do I think, at they VERY least, she should have been inconvenienced with a five to six hour interview and "processing of her case" in a Secret Service office? Absolutely. I hope she was, but rather doubt it.

Do I think this on-air apology is worth getting more aggravated about? Not so much.

[Bjorn Against]

15. She was smiling during her apology and she even let out a small laugh...

There is absolutely nothing sincere about this apology, and for Fox to allow her to laugh this off and continue her job as a commentator shows that they are perfectly fine with assassination jokes.

[quark219]

19. I can see your point, but...

Not wanting to get into a debate at all, because I share your outrage regarding the comment. We're definitely on the same team here, and I'm just trying to provide some honest analysis.

I watched the clip twice more to see what I may have missed. (1) Once again, I got the distinct impression that she was distracted during the one minute of discussion that went before the apology--I definitely get the sense she's just filling the slot and waiting for the topic of the apology to come up. Note that her "Oh, yes!" remark when the anchor raises the topic comes across very scripted. (2) I noticed this time around that she's reading her apology from the prompter. I think it's clear she was complying with a Secret Service "suggestion," and both she and FOX wanted to make sure it was done right (while doing their best to make it appear off-the-cuff and thereby downplay the whole thing). (3) I don't get any particular insincerity or mockery in her apology. I'm sure honest souls can disagree on this one, but the trace of a smile or laugh I see on her face during the apology seems to me more a case of "I'm surprised and bemused that my one little joke has turned into such a big deal."

Just my two cents. And just to be clear, I do think Trotta should be fired for the remark. I just don't think her on-air apology is reason to take further offense.

[theFrankFactor]

21. I'd have to say...

I agree, and I signed the petition too.

[Pastiche423]

38. Do you have a link to the petition?

[quark219]

40. Here you go...

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/fox-news-has-to-sack-liz-trotta

[Pastiche423]

42. Thank you!

Signed.

[Th1onein]

46. I DOUBT the SS was investigating her or had contacted her.

But I do think that her apology was sincere.

[scarface2004]

16. you call that an apology?!?!?!?

fu fox hemmer trotta et al!!!! she should have immediately resigned and gone to feed the poor street people in calcutta...now that would have been an apology!!!!

[mystieus]

17. At least she took responsibility for her comment. Hillary seemed to gloss over the whole main issue.

[Bjorn Against]

18. Smiling and laughing about it is not taking responsibility...

I am disgusted by what Hillary is doing as well, but we should not pretend that this "apology" of Trotta's is an example of taking responsibility. If she wanted to take responsibility she would have resigned, she would not laugh about her "colorful statements" and pretend it was an apology.

[dave123williams]

20. Somebody should explain to the Republicans....that they're just not funny.

No tango el yucks.

Why do you think most comedians lean left?

That's right: The truth has a well-known liberal bias.

I wonder how funny she'd think a quip about the irony of Cheney's getting shot in the face would be?

What would be her reaction to a snarking barb about Bush getting ass-raped in prison before his war crimes trial resulted in a long drop to the end of a short rope, I wonder?

You know, she wouldn't get the opportunity, because no self-respecting Progressive comedian would ever make an assassination joke.

These GOP wankers are beneath contempt, and they're definitely gearing up to show us the TRUE nature of their 'brand'. This is just a taste.

I say, 'let 'em bleat as much as they like':

They can't re-package their dogshit party in time for November.

Or, more accurately, they can, but nobody's buying their fear mongering folderol any longer....except the irretrievably stupid.

And on Ms. Trotta....I'll paraphrase Margaret Cho:

"You know...her pussy probably tastes like Lysol".

[cannondale]

23. Trotta, Clinton comments NOT the same

I can't even begin to fathom how some are equating the statements and "apologies" by these two. It took me some time to realize what the fuss was over Clinton's remark because it was clear (to me) that she was speaking of a time frame that many could identify. I personally know of one person who caught this as a gaffe, but all other friends and family wanted to know what the problem was. Was it rude to the Kennedy's to bring up the death? Was it simply in poor taste?

Ahhhhhhh. A small minority caught this as a suggestion that Senator Obama could be assassinated. Are there really more than 1,000 on the planet that think she meant this the first time they heard this (other than a snippet on Faux News)?

Now look at Trotta's suggestion. I cannot find a single person who thinks she meant anything other than a non-funny right-wing chuckle point that would have landed us mortals in jail.

Does ANYONE think Trotta joked about something *other* that wishing Senator Obama assassinated when they first heard this? Anyone? Compare this to the number of people who thought Senator Clinton meant harm.

[Zambero]

30. COULD vs. SHOULD

Yes, a huge difference here!

[StarryNite]

24. They need to trot Trotta

off the air for good! In the very least that was so unprofessional.

[droidamus2]

25. Not even close

I think a 'sincere' apology would not have come as a last minute comment on a politcal segment, but would have come from her, in front of the camera by herself. Maybe even with a followup interview that examined how bad/illegal that kind of statement can be.

[nachoproblem]

27. Then I must not be the only one

who thinks here tone was mocking in that "apology".

[Zambero]

28. This is all about YOU, Liz

Mrs. Clinton's remarks pale in comparison to yours. At least Mrs. Clinton did not ADVOCATE the assassination of a major presidential candidate, which is what you have done. No thoughtful "analysis" on your part will obscure this fact.

[Yael]

31. Gee, that was sincere.

:sarcasm:

[curiousdemo]

32. What a shit face apology......

The Secret Service must have contacted her. I contacted them early this morning and thEY informed me that they where going to follow-up on my info. I also file a complaint with the FCC. Fox News reporter already knew he was going to ask her this question at the end of the interview. This to make it so she doesn't have but 30 seconds to comment on her statement yesterday. The people at FOX NOISE CHANNEL is a joke!

[odelisk8]

33. colorful

eh?

[lurky]

34. What's with her face? Stroke? Botox disaster?

n/t

[progressoid]

35. Well, that good enough for me!

NOT!

[annabanana]

36. Again with the "IF" anyone was offended....

As if anyone with an ounce of fellow feeling wouldn't be . .

[quark219]

39. Just to keep things accurate...

Trotta doesn't use the word "if" in her apology:

"O, yes. I am so sorry about what happened yesterday and that lame attempt at humor. I really just fell all over myself in making it appear that I wished Barak Obama harm--or any other candidate for that matter. I sincerely regret it and apologize to anybody I've offended. And um... it's a very colorful political season and many of us are making mistakes and saying things that we wish we hadn't said."

I'll agree that it would've been better if she had said, "I sincerely regret it and apologize to EVERYONE I've offended."

That said, I think the text of the apology is satisfactory. Unlike Hillary's non-apology, Trotta actually uses the words "sorry" and "apologize" and does not use the word "if."

[smiley_glad_hands]

41. Camp Hilliary: Faux news is fair and balanced. Excellent coverage. eom

[TexasLady]

43. Well whoopee. n/t

[Divine Discontent]

44. barf... the way she emphasizes it sounds like she's been told she 'has' to say this to protect

herself from the feds, and his closing comments - "clarification noted" made it even more apparent.


how the hell can these people pretend to be 'news' people, and play out these scripts for them that faux news writers give them... they are sickening words of hatred they spew every day.

New Obama Items Weekly!
www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable

[Sewsojm]

45. Hey Liz,

Go Fuck Yourself!!