Trump Weighs in on Matt Lauer Firing, Calls for More Purges at NBC News

“Check out Andy Lack’s past!” POTUS tweets about NBC News chairman shortly after “Today” host terminated for sexual misconduct

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President Donald Trump took to Twitter within minutes of the news that NBC News had fired long-time “Today” host Matt Lauer for sexual misconduct against a colleague.

“Wow, Matt Lauer was just fired from NBC for ‘inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace,’” the president wrote Wednesday morning. “But when will the top executives at NBC & Comcast be fired for putting out so much Fake News.”

“Check out Andy Lack’s past!” he added, referring to the chairman of NBC News who announced the decision to terminate Lauer’s employment after more than two decades at the network.

The news was broken on-air by “Today” host Savannah Guthrie, who looked shaken. “I am heartbroken,” she said while sitting next to her colleague Hoda Kotb.

In a memo to employees sent early Wednesday, NBC News chairman Andy Lack said that he had received a “detailed complaint” from a staffer on Monday night about Lauer’s behavior in the workplace.

“It represented, after serious review a clear violation of our company’s standards,” Lack wrote. “While it is the first complaint about his behavior in the over 20 years he’s been at NBC News, we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident.”

A rep for Lauer did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.

Lauer, the longest-serving “Today” host in history, last year snagged a $20 million annual payday to extend his contract, according to the New York Post.

 

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