A Fox Business guest commentator, retired Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney, claimed that Sen. John McCain helped the North Vietnamese when he was a prisoner of war in Vietnam. During a segment with host Charles Payne on May 10, McInerney said that torture “worked on John” and “that’s why they call him ‘Songbird John.'”
Payne apologized to Sen. McCain for that “very false and derogatory remark.” iMediaEthics has written to the National Security Roundtable organization, where McInerney is an adviser, seeking comment from McInerney and asking if he will apologize.
According to Payne’s apology, the host did not hear the comment because a producer was talking in his earpiece.
McInerney will no longer be allowed on Fox again, CNN’s Reliable Sources newsletter reported a Fox spokesperson said. iMediaEthics has confirmed this with Fox.
McInerney in 2010 wrote an affidavit calling for Pres. Barack Obama’s birth records and supporting an army lieutenant “who refused to deploy” because he didn’t think Obama was a natural-born citizen, Talking Points Memo reported.
A Fox spokesperson pointed iMediaEthics to Payne’s on-air apology.
Payne’s on-air apology reads:
“This morning on a show I was hosting, Lt Gen Thomas McInerney made a false and derogatory statement about Senator John McCain’s actions when he was a prisoner of war.
“Regrettably I did not hear the comments at the time. I was receiving instructions in my ear at that moment from producers. If I had heard what he said the right way I would have pushed back. I didn’t, I blew it. As a proud military veteran and a son of a Vietnam vet I hold all those who served in the highest esteem.
“I, in fact, have very high respect for Senator McCain’s lifetime of service and sacrifice to this nation. Those reprehensible comments do not reflect how I feel or how this network feels about Sen. McCain.”