Trump Celebrates Exit of BBC Director General and CEO of News
Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Sunday afternoon to celebrate the exit of the BBC’s director general, Tim Davie, and the CEO of News, Deborah Turness. The shocking step-downs came days after BBC’s documentary program “Panorama” was accused of doctoring Trump’s Jan. 6 speech to make it look like he incited the Capitol riots.
“The TOP people in the BBC, including TIM DAVIE, the BOSS, are all quitting/FIRED, because they were caught ‘doctoring’ my very good (PERFECT!) speech of January 6th,” Trump wrote. “Thank you to The Telegraph for exposing these Corrupt ‘Journalists.’ These are very dishonest people who tried to step on the scales of a Presidential Election. On top of everything else, they are from a Foreign Country, one that many consider our Number One Ally. What a terrible thing for Democracy!”
As noted by Trump, The Telegraph put the network in hot water after publishing the details of a 19-page dossier on BBC bias by a former independent external advisor to the BBC’s standards committee. The report claimed that Panorama spliced together footage that made Trump “‘say’ things [he] never actually said.” One of the Panorama sound bites shows Trump declaring he would march with his supporters to the Capitol and “fight like hell,” when he actually told them to “peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”
In an exit note to BBC staff, Davie wrote, “Like all public organizations, the BBC is not perfect, and we must always be open, transparent and accountable. While not being the only reason, the current debate around BBC News has understandably contributed to my decision. Overall the BBC is delivering well, but there have been some mistakes made and as Director-General I have to take ultimate responsibility.”
Turness, in her own statement, said she had “taken the difficult decision that it will no longer be my role to lead you in the collective vision that we all have: to pursue the truth with no agenda.”
