Georgia local TV station fires its longtime political commentator after anti-Trump rant
A longtime political commentator has been axed from a Georgia TV station after commenting on former president Donald Trump‘s appearance, remarking his ‘looming orange face’ may continue to sway voters.
Political analyst Bill Crane was found to have ‘crossed a line’ by TV executives at WSB-TV in Atlanta when he made the comments on Sunday, and the station announced Monday they would no longer have Crane on their broadcasts.
Ray Carter, vice president and general manager for WSB-TV, said Crane was fired following the comments because they are ‘not aligned with our commitment to fair and unbiased reporting and analysis.’
‘As a result, we’re ending our relationship with Mr. Crane, effective immediately,’ Carter concluded.
Political analyst Bill Crane was fired by local Georgia station WSB-TV after he remarked on Trump’s ‘looming orange face’ during a segment about election fraud
Crane was speaking about the investigation into Trump’s attempts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results and a judge’s decision to delay Sen. Lindsey Graham’s testimony
Crane joked about the incident on Facebook, but also admitted he had used a ‘poor choice of words’ on the broadcast
After his firing was announced, Crane took to Facebook to explain the incident, and stood by his comments but admitted they ‘could have been a bit more PC.’
He said that part of the reason he has been able to do his job so long is because ‘I call the hard balls and strikes on either side, and attempt to do so with a bit of humor, sarcasm, the occasional pun and tongue in cheek.’
Crane explained he was discussing a judge’s decision to delay Senator Lindsey Graham’s testimony before a grand jury in connection to the ongoing investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results.
The political analyst, who has been with the station since 2006, continued that he ‘offered that it is part of Democratic Party strategy to keep President Trump’s fantasy of a stolen election in play, as well as to keep his orange face looming large to increase Democratic base voter turnout.’
He revealed that following his comments, outraged ‘calls followed to the switchboard, as well as social media posts, texts, and Emails.’
Crane said he has previously called Trump ‘The Orange Man’ during broadcasts, but executives felt this was a step too far for Crane.
Before working at WSB-TV and WSB radio, Crane provided political analysis for 11Alive from 2000 to 2006. He also writes a syndicated news column, ‘One Man’s Opinion,’ that is found in many local papers in Atlanta.
He also took a dig at those who celebrate his firing, and said ‘for the Trump Nation folks who will relish this day, be careful about the grave dancing, we have had a great deal of rain, you might fall twist an ankle or worse…’
Crane, who calls himself a ‘proud son of the south,’ concluded by saying this would not be the end of his career, and said ‘hopefully, my voice will just be relocating, versus vanishing,’ but that ‘time will tell.’
