Geraldo Berates Democrats Who Boycott Fox News, But 'Kiss CNN's A--'

June 15th, 2007 10:48 AM

Fox News anchor Geraldo Rivera appeared on the June 15 edition of "Fox and Friends" to blast the organized left wing campaign against Fox News. After discussing Angelina Jolie’s banning of Fox News from her premier of "A Mighty Heart," Geraldo moved on to blast the far left blogs, and some Democrats, particularly John Edwards, who willingly followed. Geraldo could not resist to express his loathing of immigration enforcement and expressed outrage that some Democrats "go over and kiss CNN’s a**" when they have enforcement proponent Lou Dobbs.

Geraldo noted the Fox News has "just as many different opinions on different issues as any other network." He then labeled this anti-Fox campaign as "a form of censorship." The entire transcript is below.

STEVE DOOCY: Moving on, we’ve got some other stuff to talk about. Yesterday, we revealed that Roger Friedman from Foxnews.com said that Fox News Channel was banned from the red carpet at the premier of Angelina Jolie's brand new movie. You were at the premier on the red carpet.

GERALDO RIVERA: I was shocked when I heard the controversy that Angelina apparently had gone off on this rant and wanted to ban the news channel and all of the Fox affiliates as well from covering "The Mighty Heart"[sic] the opening. I was shocked, because she could not have been nicer to my wife, Erica, and to me, walking the red carpet. Just the way things worked out, we got there late. They had already walked the red carpet. We didn't even know it, so then we walked the red carpet and the lights went off. And then at the end of the red carpet, Angelina and Brad were there talking to the producers of the movie. And she saw me, came right over. She shook Erica's hand. People took pictures. I don’t know if you have any. But she shook Erica’s hand and they started talking about babies. We all five– you know– we have five children, she has five children.

DOOCY: Does she know that you work for the Fox News Channel?

RIVERA: Of course she did. You know, I think that, you know, what worries me about some of the far left attack against the Fox News Channel is that they are stereotyping. Our network is as diverse, we have just as many different opinions on different issues as any other network. We are a mature network, we report, you decide. And I think that for people to get people like John Edwards to fall into this kind of– It’s like the worst kind of stereotyping. It’s--

GRETCHEN CARLSON: Yeah, but it’s not new. I mean, you know, so we hear that Angelina Jolie may have done this. I mean, you’re talking about the Democrats, some of them say they won't even debate on the Fox News Channel.

RIVERA: I think that’s a form of censorship. For instance, you know how I feel about this immigration issue and they go on CNN. CNN has Lou Dobbs. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, he’s done more to encourage anti-immigrant violence than anybody. If you start reviewing a news entity saying "I’ll never give the ‘New York Times’ an interview, I’ll never give the ‘New York Post’ an interview," what you are trying to do is manage your own image. You’re trying to manage the news in a way that is as odious as any censor. So I don't know what happened with the Angelina Jolie thing. She and Brad Pitt again could not have been nicer to my wife and me. But if they are going down that same sorry path, all I’m going to say is that a lot of people consider me a liberal and all the rest of it. I will condemn that behavior. That is censorship. It is as odious as if some far right-wing person did it, and it is as unacceptable and I just won't stand for it. And I’m telling you, a lot of people feel the way I do about this. A lot of people want to know why they go over and kiss CNN's a** when they have been so anti-compassionate on this issue of immigration and Latin people, Latino people, Hispanic people in this country. And, you know, this thing cuts both ways. Beware the censor because it’s just as, as despicable and unacceptable on the left as it is on the right.