NBC’s Guthrie slammed by left, right over interview with Covington student Sandmann

NBC “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie was criticized by the left and the right on Wednesday following her interview with Nick Sandmann, the Covington High School student at the center of a weekend controversy at the Lincoln Memorial.

Liberals criticized Guthrie and “Today” for giving Sandmann a national platform, while conservatives criticized her for asking if he should apologize to Native American activist Nathan Phillips.

Sandmann and Phillips are at the center of a media firestorm over their interaction at the Lincoln Memorial.

{mosads}Sandmann and a group of his classmates were in Washington for the March for Life rally when they ran into Phillips. Viral video initially appeared to show the two in some kind of confrontation, with Sandmann and other students seemingly mocking the activist, who was beating a drum and singing.

Other videos subsequently suggested that initial video was selectively edited and shown out of context, and that the meeting was hardly confrontational.

This has led to heavy criticism of the media and people on social media who shared the initial video and showered the students from Covington with criticism.

Guthrie’s interview was promoted by NBC’s official social media pages on Tuesday, drawing a visceral reaction from some of the left.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conservatives also took issue with the interview, but because of one question regarding whether the student saw his “own fault in any way” during his interaction with Phillips.

“Do you feel from this experience that you owe anybody an apology? Do you see your own fault in any way?” Guthrie asked Sandmann.

“As far as standing there, I had every right to do so,” he replied. “I was not disrespectful to Mr. Phillips.”

 

 

 

 

 

Phillips is offering to travel as a “delegate representing the international coalition behind the Indigenous Peoples March to Covington Catholic High School in Northern Kentucky and have a dialog about cultural appropriation, racism, and the importance of listening to and respecting diverse cultures,” according to the Lakota People’s Law Project and CBS News.

During his interview with Guthrie, Sandmann also said he would like to sit down with Phillips.

“I respect him. I’d like to talk to him,” the 15-year-old student said.

“In hindsight, I wish we could have walked away and avoided the whole thing.”