Cable news network MSNBC claims it was stunned to learn that a nonprofit founded by longtime anchor Rev. Al Sharpton received half a million dollars from Kamala Harris’ campaign just before he interviewed her.
The donations that poured in just before the New York activist’s conversation with Harris have raised questions about the news outlet’s credibility.
The National Action Network, a civil rights nonprofit founded by Sharpton in 1991, received $500,000 from the Harris campaign just weeks before the MSNBC host held a highly anticipated meeting with the Democrat.
Campaign finance records from the 60-year-old’s campaign show two separate payments went to the National Action Network.
One payment for $250,000 was sent to the nonprofit on September 5 and another for the same amount on October 1.
The softball interview with Sharpton took place on October 20, just weeks after the second payment.
MSNBC is widely known as a liberal-leaning channel, and the fact that one of its top talents took in a huge amount of money just before a follow-up interview has sparked backlash from journalists who say the channel has now been given a “black eye.”
During the rosy interview, the MSNBC host effusively praised Harris’ “extraordinary historic campaign” while simultaneously labeling Donald Trump as “hostile and erratic.”
A nonprofit founded by MSNBC host Al Sharpton received half a million dollars from Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign weeks before he interviewed the Democrat.
The sit-down was widely seen as a softball interview in which Sharpton was sympathetic to many of Harris’ goals. He once even insulted Donald Trump as ‘hostile and erratic’
2020 Democratic presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Rev. Al Sharpton leave after lunch at Sylvia’s Restaurant in Harlem, February 21, 2019 in New York City. According to Sharpton’s civil rights organization National Action Network, the two discussed criminal justice reform and other critical issues
When through the Free beaconMSNBC did not respond for weeks.
Finally, the outlet responded with the fifth plea.
A spokesperson for MSNBC stunningly told the Free Beacon that it was “unaware” of the Harris campaign’s donations to the National Action Network.
“MSNBC was not aware of the donations to the National Action Network,” the spokesperson told the station.
The employee then declined to share whether MSNBC would take action against Sharpton.
He said the company does not comment on “personnel matters.”
The Society of Professional Journalists denounced MSNBC for not being aware of the donations to Sharpton’s group.
“These types of entanglements damage the credibility of the journalist, the news organization and journalism in general, and credibility is difficult to restore,” they told the Free Beacon. “While Sharpton may not consider himself a journalist, many viewers do.”
Rev. Al Sharpton listens as Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the funeral service for Tire Nichols at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis, Tennessee, on Wednesday, February 1, 2023
Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (C) hugs Al Sharpton during the funeral of U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee at Fallbrook Church in Houston, Texas, on August 1, 2024
“When TV news announcers fail to declare their conflicts of interest, or fail to perform their jobs in a manner inconsistent with ethical journalism, it creates distrust among their audiences and casts a black eye on both their network and the profession,” the statement said. group.
Previously, MSNBC took punitive action against hosts who donated to political efforts.
In 2010, then-president of MSNBC Phil Griffin suspended popular “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough after it came to light that he had given more than $4,000 in political donations.
That same year, former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann was also suspended for making political donations to Democrats.