An Associated Press story about “tender age” shelters caused Rachel Maddow to break down in tears on camera Tuesday night.
The MSNBC host was reading at the end of her show from the AP story about the youngest children being separated from their illegal-immigrant parents, “Officials have been sending babies and other young children …, ” before halting and starting to tear up.
She attempted to begin again with the next words of the AP story — “to at least three” — but couldn’t continue.
Rachel Maddow chokes up and cries on air as she struggles to deliver news that migrant babies and toddlers have been sent to “tender age” shelters pic.twitter.com/O6crm8cvyR
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) June 20, 2018
Several times during the clip, which went viral on the the Web, she tries to return to her confident and snarky persona, but couldn’t get any words out.
She tried to save herself by asking for a graphic to appear onscreen, but it didn’t.
She ended her show with “I think I’m going to hand this off. Sorry. That’s [it] for tonight,” segueing into Lawrence O’Donnell’s program.
Ms. Maddow later took to Twitter to apologize.
“Ugh, I’m sorry. If nothing else, it is my job to actually be able to speak while I’m on TV. What I was trying to do — when I suddenly couldn’t say/do anything —was read this lede,” she wrote, spending the next several tweets reproducing the top of the AP’s story.
Ugh, I’m sorry.
— Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) June 20, 2018
If nothing else, it is my job to actually be able to speak while I’m on TV.
What I was trying to do — when I suddenly couldn’t say/do anything — was read this lede:
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• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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