Tom Ricks appeared on HuffPost Live on Wednesday and was particularly candid when asked about his testy interview on Fox News earlier this week.
Ricks appeared on Fox News on Monday to promote his new book "The Generals." The interview was cut short, lasting only 90 seconds, after the Pulitzer Prize winning-journalist and author said that Fox News "hyped" the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi and was "operating as a wing of the Republican Party."
Fox News' executive vice president of news editorial Michael Clemente told the Hollywood Reporter that Ricks apologized after the feisty exchange and blamed his snappy response on fatigue caused by his book tour. Ricks denied that he ever apologized and clarified his hallway conversations following the interview in an email to Clemente.
Ricks hammered the point home when speaking with HuffPost Live's Ahmed Shihab-Eldin. In response to Clemente's statement indicating that Ricks "apologized" after the interview, "ignored the anchor's question," and doesn't have "the strength of character to [apologize] publicly," Ricks had one thing to say: "that's horseshit."
He recounted his hallway conversations once again, which included running into Fox News host Bret Baier and complimenting him on his weight loss and telling a Fox News staffer he was tired. "It was not an apology for what was said at all," he added.
When asked about why he turned down an invitation to appear on MSNBC, Ricks said, "Fox really seems to sell outrage as its product, MSNBC doesn't as much. But they both seem to be running political campaigns almost more than they seem to be running news networks."
At the end of his HuffPost Live interview, Ricks thanked Shihab-Eldin, saying it was the "sanest conversation [he's] had in days."
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Ricks appeared on Fox News on Monday to promote his new book "The Generals." The interview was cut short, lasting only 90 seconds, after the Pulitzer Prize winning-journalist and author said that Fox News "hyped" the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi and was "operating as a wing of the Republican Party."
Fox News' executive vice president of news editorial Michael Clemente told the Hollywood Reporter that Ricks apologized after the feisty exchange and blamed his snappy response on fatigue caused by his book tour. Ricks denied that he ever apologized and clarified his hallway conversations following the interview in an email to Clemente.
Ricks hammered the point home when speaking with HuffPost Live's Ahmed Shihab-Eldin. In response to Clemente's statement indicating that Ricks "apologized" after the interview, "ignored the anchor's question," and doesn't have "the strength of character to [apologize] publicly," Ricks had one thing to say: "that's horseshit."
He recounted his hallway conversations once again, which included running into Fox News host Bret Baier and complimenting him on his weight loss and telling a Fox News staffer he was tired. "It was not an apology for what was said at all," he added.
When asked about why he turned down an invitation to appear on MSNBC, Ricks said, "Fox really seems to sell outrage as its product, MSNBC doesn't as much. But they both seem to be running political campaigns almost more than they seem to be running news networks."
At the end of his HuffPost Live interview, Ricks thanked Shihab-Eldin, saying it was the "sanest conversation [he's] had in days."
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