Following an interview last week in which nationally syndicated radio host Glenn Beck and novelist Brad Thor discussed the “hypothetical” of a “patriot” assassinating Donald Trump after he becomes president, the host lost his satellite radio audience.
At least temporarily.
SiriusXM announced Tuesday morning that Beck’s daily three-hour program was suspended with the following statement:
SiriusXM encourages a diversity of discourse and opinion on our talk programs. However, comments recently made by a guest on the independently produced Glenn Beck Program, in our judgment, may be reasonably construed by some to have been advocating harm against an individual currently running for office, which we cannot and will not condone.
For that reason, we have suspended The Glenn Beck Program from our Patriot channel for the coming week and are evaluating its place in our lineup going forward. SiriusXM is committed to a spirited, robust, yet responsible political conversation and believes this action reflects those values.
In the interim, David Webb, who hosts an evening program on SiriusXM, will fill in on the satellite radio provider’s “Patriot Channel.” The move doesn’t affect in any way the production of Beck’s terrestrial broadcast program that airs at the same time (9 a.m.-noon EST).
Beck had already received an immense amount of backlash over the exchange with Thor, which resulted in a lengthy explanation on his program the next day. He downplayed the controversy, and blamed other media outlets for creating the perception of a threat that wasn’t there.
It’s unclear what, if any, impact that had on SiriusXM’s decision to suspend the program from its daily lineup.
