Susanna Reid has faced criticism after appearing to support the BBC during a fiery discussion on Good Morning Britain.
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During Monday’s (November 10) edition of the show, Susanna and co-presenter Richard Madeley welcomed The Telegraph’s Associate Editor Gordon Rayner, who exposed the story that the BBC edited a Donald Trump speech to make him seem to incite the Capitol Hill riots in 2021.
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The material, which appeared in a Panorama episode, has resulted in the departures of Director General Tim Davie and CEO Deborah Turness.
Speaking to the ITV hosts, Gordon insisted there is “no way” the BBC “accidentally” combined the two segments of Trump’s address, stating: “The BBC knew about this six months ago, they did nothing about it. That’s part of the reason Tim Davie has had to go.”
Throughout the discussion, Susanna challenged whether the BBC genuinely altered the meaning of what the US President was expressing, reports the Express.
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Gordon Rayner believes the BBC deliberately edited Donald Trump’s speech to influence how it was perceived(Image: ITV)
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The 54-year-old remarked, “In that same speech, he does say that we’re going to protest peacefully and patriotically. He also says he wants to stop the steel and said the election was stolen. He said we fight like hell, and if you don’t, you’re not going to have a country anymore.
“Do you think that documentary materially misrepresented what President Trump said that day?”
When Gordon insisted it “materially misled viewers”, the presenter interrupted: “Except he did say those things that are in that clip. They didn’t make up those words.”
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He hit back: “That’s a bit like saying that you said somebody was guilty, but earlier in the same sentence you said the word not, so you put not guilty together and you say, ‘Oh look, they’ve said not guilty.'”
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The pair came to blows over BBC’s editing over Donald Trump(Image: Getty)
Dismissing her argument, he stated: “That’s just not how it works.”
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Her comments triggered fury amongst viewers, with some even calling for her dismissal from the show.
One posted: “Susanna Reid doing her utmost to excuse the indefensible – simply because it’s Trump. The point is that a publicly funded broadcaster should not be deliberately misleading the public with biased editing.”
A second fumed: “Susanna Reid still defending her ex-employees about what they did to Donald Trump!”
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Another concurred: “I totally agree with you. Of course, she is going to back the BBC, she gets paid by them too. Kuenssberg often has her on her Sunday morning show. How can anyone support broadcasting to the public a doctored video which was of extreme significance?”
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GMB viewers were not impressed by Susanna’s comments(Image: ITV)
Criticising the host, a fourth commented: “What a hypocrite Susanna Reid is, she who worked for years for the BBC and said if she cut herself she would bleed the BBC.”
Others supported the ITV presenter’s viewpoint, with one viewer commenting: “I think that, ultimately, Trump was responsible for the attack on the Capitol.
“His behaviour before, during, and after the attack has been extensively examined, and the intent is clear. That said, it sounds like the BBC’s clumsy edit of the footage could’ve been far better.”
