Reporter fired after wearing MAGA hat while covering Trump rally


A local TV reporter was reportedly fired Friday after he wore a “Make America Great Again” hat while covering President Trump’s rally Thursday in Rochester, Minn.

Jim Bunner, a multimedia journalist with Minnesota’s NBC affiliate KTTC-TV, was seen sporting one of the president’s signature red MAGA hats and a red jacket with KTTC’s logo, BuzzFeed News reported.

Mark Vancleave, a video journalist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, took a picture of Bunner outside the rally at the Mayo Civic Center on Thursday.

Bunner, who joined KTTC in December 2017, was fired from the station the day after the rally, BuzzFeed News reported.{mosads}

“He violated our policy so he’s no longer with us,” Noel Sederstrom, news director for KTTC, told the outlet. “We don’t allow our people to wear campaign clothing while on assignment.”

Bunner did not return the outlet’s request for comment.

BuzzFeed News noted that many news outlets recommend or have explicit rules against making political displays or statements in an effort to maintain objectivity in their reporting.

Wearing campaign clothing or pins, especially while working, is prohibited across the industry.

Bunner reportedly was vocal on social media about his political leanings.

The outlet found a banner for the National Rifle Association in a previous Facebook profile picture and noted that Bunner posted a photo of himself dancing when Trump was inaugurated.

Sederstrom told BuzzFeed News that Bunner was fired for wearing the MAGA hat at the rally, not because of his social media posts.

“It’s not something we allow,” he said.

— Updated 11:02 a.m.