Phil Donahue on His 2003 Firing From MSNBC, When Liberal Network Couldn't Tolerate Antiwar Voices

[@racing747]

Phil Donahue will forever be the only talk show host that always had me intrigued & focused even so now whenever I catch a clip of him nowadays getting interviewed. He will forever be IMO, the quintessential pioneer of excellent TV talk show host. Sure do miss seeing someone of his stature on TV.

[@jayneweaver8695]

THIS was a brilliant interview, MISS Phil Donahue's voice, intelligent, thoughtful, not much of that now. AWESOME Post! Thank you!

[@acousticshadow4032]

Pardon, but I think it was MISTER Phil Donahue ~ not MISS.

[@tombryant52jumpscoach]

Seeing Amy standing up to Chris Matthews on the air like that gives one hope.

[@anthonycbrown1952]

Watching Chris looking uncomfortable and trying to find a way to shift iff Amy's message was a powerful moment

[@howieloso]

2:28

[@aldinlee8528]

Not for me. After a lifetime of active involvement, only to see the utter incompetence of the media in covering the political coup in 2000, then to watch Dem Senators behave so self-servingly in October of 2002, rather than stand in opposition as they knew was just, and in 2004 trying myself to enter the pantheon of policy making in order to inject sorely missing intellect, but finding those same acts of purely self-interest by local Dem operatives, I threw my hands up! I saw that our political structure and human nature was a mix for continued abuse of power and tragic results, with the political pendulum swinging further and further left and right. It has done just that. The Dem Party went on to nominate murderers, Kerry, Biden, and Clinton (all Senators who green lighted Bush, despite knowing full well of his and Cheney's clearly selfish intent) to the highest executive positions. Twenty years later we are still 'honoring' one of those murderers with 'Hail to the Chief'.

[@charliedibe6180]

I reference this often. Common sense tells you that everyone should naturally have an anti war stance. War is failure war is hell. But in the US, a country that has gone into nearly every modern war based on a lie, war is an industry that’s protected by our own media.

[@Khamas786]

Never more evident than today with the new war in Ukraine. The Empire of Lies drawing to a humble end.

[@jabbarbrown3089]

War is big business in America

[@EricForney-uz4iz]

You encapsulated and explained the whole situation about war so clearly. 👍👍 It is a sad commentary on this country.

[@SoniaTolson]

He was a great man. I grew up watching him.❤

[@SThrillz]

Imagine how a news station boss pushing for the deaths of so many people is not a crime but they can grab a guy selling a packet of cigarettes round the corner!

[@nonyafkinbznes1420]

Agreed, abolish tobacco regulations and taxes!

[@tubermind]

I always wondered why Phil Donohue left the airwaves at the height of his popularity.

[@kidfly2ify]

Probably became disgusted.

[@JD-jc8gp]

@@kidfly2ify Well, he was fired and probably blacklisted.

[@polishpipebomb]

True censorship, not this bullshit right wingers complain about where they lose friends and no one wants to work with them because they are bigots or extremists. He was fired for Truth.

[@daniellemiller2547]

good f* RIDDENS. I watched his episode with Farakhan. He actively and openly used the N word with no hesitation.

[@naveed210]

@@daniellemiller2547 do you have a link for the interview?

[@andrewbrown1067]

RIP Phil Donahue

[@thepoeet]

this deserves over a million views....

[@acousticshadow4032]

...and has 1.4mil views as of this writing. 🥳🎉

[@williamallende4384]

She absolutely broke Chris Matthews there....

[@jeaniechowdhury6739]

Phil is awesome. ❤️❤️☮️❤️

[@carolempie114]

I miss Phil Donahue!

[@m.e.d.7997]

He had such a great show for so many years! You could not stop watching! Great guests, always interesting.

[@etexman020202]

and I was mad at MSNBC for years over this. Because its never been considered a big deal by anyone that he was fired. America has suffered Big time without Phil donahue over these years...

[@vimmandude]

+alterdestiny Well, you obviously didn't grow up watching Donahue or you would have realized his importance and significance in the 30 year run of his show. He tackled every conceivable social issue. The audience was a major participant. Phil tried to bring back that format on MSNBC. Fox news commentators were gleeful that his show was cancelled in the lead up to the attack on Iraq. America IS suffering now because so many people have viewpoints that were not shaped by rational debate (being presented with both sides to an issue). What programs do we have now? I was lamenting just last evening how the 3 networks no longer have issue driven tv movies. They were important films over those years and the nation was talking about them the next day. So America HAS been dumbed down. Fox news is on every tv set in every public place in America. America IS suffering because Donahue is gone.... America is more stupid now....

[@vimmandude]

I see my post from a year ago....and we see what just happened because of everything I said....

[@CrazyCookieMarcia]

Phil Donahue is anti-American! He doesn't want to be American-he has choices! and I wish he'd exercise a choice to leave--he adds nothing positive!

[@vimmandude]

what the HELL are you talking about? You need to get some knowledge before you post. Don't show your ignorance!!

[@justgivemethetruth]

I totally agree. Yet there was no big movement to get him back on as far as I know, nor have I ever heard him frame this issue so starkly. Having to load every show biased to the right-wing MF-ers ... this was supposed to be America. Donahue should make a documentary talking about this

[@Oblong-Orange]

So this is what a real journalist looks like

[@juliejensen7370]

I had heard it was low ratings, but I've always missed Phil Donahue terribly! His voice is badly needed today.

[@Colortiniz]

RIP Phil. 🥲

[@RayHuong]

Chris Matthews confronted the facts by talking over them. Amy did a good job.

[@ELKNOW]

Donahue please! GET A KZbin CHANNEL! We need your voice of reason!

[@blessingjohnchelliah4317]

Why don't the TYT guys invite Donahue on their show?

[@mahnamahna3252]

Corporate owned media has been a bipartisan goal. Reagan, Clinton both contributed .1996 bill sealed our fate.

[@jmaguire2232]

Which bill are you referring to?

[@latrel66]

Love Phil!!!

[@justgivemethetruth]

Phil Donahue should have a show with as much air time as any other of the other idiotic talk shows of this age ... he was awesome!

[@lorraineb.4698]

The BEST

[@cjaquilino]

Today this would be called “cancel culture”. Phil Donahue, Ed Schultz, Cenk Ughyr, Keith Olbermann, and so on all got fired for having views considered “too liberal”. The fact that they’re not brought up in that conversation says everything you need to know.

[@icyfootball5754]

This Video is very relevant today!

[@Tessasdadd0]

Obama's stated polices are lefty alright, but his realized policies, (with the exception of healthcare), especially when it come to defense spending, drone use, NDAA, NSA spying, etc., are to the right of Cheney. He's as progressive on a citizen's right to privacy as J. Edgar Hoover.

[@billofrightsamend4]

George W. Bush passed the baton and Obama ran with it. 😢 I have nothing against President Bush, I just had this gut feeling that the Iraq war was a mistake. I don't know what they knew at the time.

[@akselknudsen3708]

His stated policies weren't even "lefty". Very decent person compared with the rest of the wolf pack in the past 50 years, but he was required to be a war monger, just like all U.S. presidents. America is a conservative, war hungry country. There are no leftists in America- not in politics.

[@jmaguire2232]

The ol’ neoliberal switcharoo.

[@acousticshadow4032]

Good on Amy for taking it to Matthews! Problem is, there's nobody today doing the kind of fair-minded journalism that "Donahue" gave us on an almost daily basis. And that, my fellow Americans, is a very sad commentary on the US Media.

[@alexbegbie8611]

AMY FANTASTIC !!!!!

[@mdaze9753]

MSNBC was on the WRONG side of history with the firing of Phil Donahue. I miss his voice.

[@thomasdonohue1833]

I personally like Phil Donahue only because I think he's an intelligent guy. But let's get real, he was the original Jerry Springer. He had some credibility in the 1970s but by the 80s and beyond his talk show was sleaze.

[@SOS-ct9mv]

Why did Chris invite Amy Goodman to the show? kind of strange.

[@calalilygirl]

What's wrong with Marlo? She is active in the St. Jude Childrens research Hospital and carrying on Danny Thomas's quest for the care of ill children around the world. She did not have to keep up with that. Phil and Marlo are obviously crazy about each other.

[@NicPap12]

I'm a traditionalist conservative. But I understand his message. Though I'm quite opposed to 'liberalism,' I believe we can both agree on corporatism's assault on our interests.

[@user-ee1fn4vt8b]

What's wrong with 'liberalism'?

[@ChicanoPhD]

So you’re pro-oppression. Got it.

[@kalligirl4374]

Love Phil!!!!!!!!

[@CBT5777]

Where was the support for Ralph Nader? Ralph was totally anti-war. The Democrats weren't.

[@davy91101]

The invasion of Iraq has resulted in disastrous consequences; true Saddam was a monster but getting rid of Saddam has not yielded anything positive for the US. After 18 years in Afghanistan is hardly a success, much like our time spent in Vietnam. Millions of dollars and millions of casualties both in Iraq and Afghanistan are our legacy. Our arrogance regarding regime change has certainly not benefited the citizens of the many South American countries where we instigate and install a "puppet" government has not endeared us to much of the world. Did your support of the Contras lead to a better life for the citizens of Nicaragua? Our arrogance in Chile was monstrous and resulted in the death of many Chileans. It is not our job to police the world and tell them how to govern themselves. After many years we have been able to deal with the People's Republic of China but all Trump's posturing about North Korea is just hot air and PR. If being an anti-war agitator Phil Donohue was wrongfully terminated from his job and it would appear that Cris Matthews very possibly had his fingers in the mix. God help us if we think that we should get involved in Venezuela and Syria. Could bringing back the draft be in the mix? After all we could hardly stretch our troops any farther.

[@livingdeadgirl8074]

I miss his talk show. He was so smart.

[@RocketKirchner]

Savage was against intervention . So was Buchanan . So was Ron Paul . There were lots of conservatives against the Iraq war .

[@jakemf1]

The vast majority were all for it. Ex emotions don’t make the rules

[@Visualizingmathandphysics]

He showed a lot of class and humor while interviewing Milton Friedman.

[@johnsjohnson448]

Chris Matthews was a trick. This is why Phil lost his gig. Chris Matthews was envious and wanted Donahue out. In the end, the trick got booted out because of his inappropriate behavior.

[@jakemf1]

Nothing is more sweet than being correct! Look at what a mess the Iraq war was it cost this nation so many lives and so much money. This was a giant mistake to ever invade those countries that had nothing to do with 911. Just amazing

[@TheQualityrkc]

This is true. Philip Zelikow even admitted the Iraq war was for the safety of Israel at the University of Virginia.

[@4465Vman]

Zelikow is the guy who "directed" the 9/11 commission where they ignored 95 percent of the evidence for an inside job, controlled demolitions etc etc One of the original ten 9//11 Commission Members , Senator Max Cleland , quit the Commission calling it a "national disgrace!!"

[@jessicaking3744]

Fucking love Phil !!!!!!! Truth teller!!!

[@padmagrrl]

thank God for you guys. So few real liberals out there.

[@frankmaitland2569]

Now we have a Pandemic and a Clown Car.

[@Osagerafe]

I dropped CNN and MSNBC

[@eeenyc5959]

Democracy Now went downhill

[@plynwow]

Richard Perle (Senior staff member to Senator Henry Jackson on the Senate Armed Services Committee in the 1970s, & later on in his career in the American Government, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for international Security policy) was an Israeli Government Agent who was hired by the Bush Administration in 2000 & was involved in helping the American Government & Mossad pull off 9/11 as to get America into war with Afghanistan & soon after, Iraq, to "remake the middle east." It's all detailed in the Israel Government Document called, "A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm."

[@Xenon777channel]

Just noticed a 'new' Donahue episode in youtube, even though it was uploaded 12 years ago. 1 year ago when I went through all " Donahue " search results (around 800), it wasn't visible " Interview with David Duke ", this visibility filtering was recently covered in C-SPAN, video - " Rep. Lauren Boebert to former Twitter Employees: "Who the hell do you think you are?!?" ". So, I'm guessing that youtube turned politically and made that David Duke video much more visible these days. It's great that Lauren Boebert's video is very popular... as visibility filtering, 90% less traffic algorithms, tailored algorithms, all via an 'excuse' isn't ethical. With Donahue, Megyn Kelly and others at least they know that they've been deemed or judged as politically distasteful (subjectively). While a " cyber-op " where the person doesn't know, is different. When the internet censors [in a careful & stealthy way, via excuses which aren't valid] the extreme left... the extreme right... and extreme others in politics, then it's tailoring society into a " moderate, centrist, family friendly place ". So they 'think' it's good, however it's not.... The tailoring changes the 'fate' of those people which were influenced to believe in " centrist and moderate " politics, which they otherwise would not have if they existed in a natural environment.

[@saabguy303]

The Chicken Comes Home To Roost For Ole Chris Matthews!

[@tracyleighbasham]

Funny how much Democracy Now has shifted to the pro war right since this original broadcast. 😕

[@ChicanoPhD]

You must be smoking crack.

[@llh3025]

@@ChicanoPhD He's right. DN! is pro-war in Ukraine.

[@BrandonMlotshwa]

He didn’t want to say the Juice

[@nationalallianceforprogres3136]

Long live democratic socialism and no more wars

[@RobertsonMilkshakes]

Amy Goodman was not a war hawk..needless to say...nor was NPR

[@uttaradit2]

A broken man - capitalism tolerates no dissent.

[@muwinjijg9877]

michael savage's real last name is Weiner!

[@TheQualityrkc]

Clearly it did not turn out as they had planned which these things rarely do...dont kill the messenger... continued

[@tacotowninternetsolu]

Funny, but donahue looks better now than in the 80's. lol

[@jeffholloway7974]

Instead of people like Donahue, we have showman clowns like Steve Wilkos and Phil McGraw

[@claudecaesar580]

What happen to Thomas Young?

[@Orf]

4:15 numbers numbers numbers

[@justiceknight1399]

War is a racket one in which the profits are measured in dollars the loses in lives - Maj Gen Semdley D Butter USMC

[@Orf]

How is "Donald Rumsfeld your greatest customer?"

[@arnieus866]

OK assuming you are as simple as you look. Donald Rumsfeld was Secretary of Defense. He would decide who gets the multibillion dollar contracts to make missiles and stuff for the US. GE makes the missiles and stuff. That makes Donald Rumsfeld, with an unlimited amount of imaginary money their best customer. Especially when the defense dept. is doing their "shock and awe" thing blowing up missiles and stuff that GE will replace for more billions of dollars. So shut up Phil. GE owned MSNBC likes war. It is good for business. BTW the Bush family is heavily invested in the Carlyle group of defense contractors. They make billions selling missiles and stuff to the government. Both President Bushes started unnecessary wars by lying to the public. They were their own best customers.

[@m.e.d.7997]

@@arnieus866 Yup, the Bushes are no saints. Everyone always trashes the Kennedys but take a look at that Bush family.

[@cmgweb6951]

@@arnieus866 Reminds me of Bill Hicks joke about GHW Bush being asked how he knew Iraq had weapons of mass destruction: "I checked the receipts".

[@greggmclaughlin9047]

Manufacturing consent. Noam Chomsky

[@lolajohnson5202]

Why do they want war ?

[@Miodrag.Vukomanovic]

Helps the economy and empire maintenance.

[@RobertsonMilkshakes]

Democracy now. Amy Goodman.NPR Going on 35 years now bless them. black.

[@RobertsonMilkshakes]

Schultz for example. Another masnbc anchor as well

[@RobertsonMilkshakes]

Many American journalists fled to moscow...several in fact. l

[@howieloso]

2:28

[@tmo4330]

Is his wife still alive?

[@RobertsonMilkshakes]

I would say at the time. 2003. - 9 eleven hysteria was sweeping the country..! Yes there was ....no roomfor dissenting

[@harrykirk7415]

The term conservative in America means radical , unhinged warmonger and sociopath. It's such an abuse of logic.

[@llh3025]

Not anymore. It's liberals who want war with Russia.

[@kluneberg8952]

ironic because democracy now wont have Ukraine critics on

[@frankbergmanII]

Lol exactly

a show to divide and conquer

[@Eyeinthesky7]

and now the left cheerleads for corporate news... smh

[@Spiral.Dynamics]

You mean democrats. The left, while protesting the police in Ferguson, chanted “Fuck CNN!” Just do a search and you’ll find the video.

[@Xenon777channel]

[Edit 1] Regarding Donahue being banned and it's value right now in 2023 (it does have value now still). Young people now in 2023 which seek a vast & wide education... those which have a sharp mind [to be able to absorb, understand & remember the key outlines of at least 90% of the talk show content]... just watching half of all Donahue episodes would vastly increase their knowledge, on a wide array of topics. OTOH Saturday Night Live, David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, Larry King and all of those increase knowledge around 'nil'。 And yes... Democracy Now! interviews have a quite similar nature to that of of the previous Donahue talk show episodes. Like serious. Other serious 'tv channels/internet channels' in USA right now include Vice News & Ben Shapiro. The element which they lack is an audience (like 100 people).

[@josephduplaga7595]

I'm always amazed how liberal who always talks about corporate greed and against corporations but is worth 25 million dollars

[@mizztia5303]

The interviewer can't speak a sentence is he ok X

[@bobcarr5497]

Phil Donahue= Good riddance!

[@LisaLightning]

Bless Phil Donahue. I don’t know what he’s doing nowadays. Almost everyone good has jumped over to RT America. So of course the media wants everyone to mistrust Russia!

[@kalligirl4374]

Love Phil!!!!!!!