Atlanta ABC affiliate WSB has fired longtime chief political analyst and commentator Bill Crane for comments he made about former president Donald Trump.
“During Sunday evening’s Channel 2 Action News at 6:00, Bill Crane, a frequent guest as an outside third-party political analyst, uttered remarks about former President Donald Trump that are not aligned with our commitment to fair and unbiased reporting and analysis. As a result, we’re ending our relationship with Mr. Crane, effective immediately,” WSB vice president and general manager Ray Carter said in a statement.
During the show, Crane was talking about a federal judge postponing potential testimony by U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham to the Fulton County Grand Jury that is looking into attempts by President Trump, his former White House staff, the campaign team and legal advisors, to overturn the results of Georgia’s 2020 election results.
In a Facebook post, Crane said, “I offered that it is part of Democratic Party strategy to keep President Trump’s fantasy of a stolen election in play, as well as to keep his orange face looming large to increase Democratic base voter turnout, as many voters begin to pay attention and make up their minds after Labor Day— even though Donald Trump is NOT on the ballot anywhere in 2022.”
He added that, while his use of the term “orange face” to describe Trump was found extremely offensive by some viewers, he said he stands by “the assessment and analysis, though perhaps in my verbiage I certainly could have been a bit more PC.”