John Gibson Tells Black Caller: "You Just Like [Obama] Because He's Like You And You Want To See One Of You Up There"

On his Fox News Radio show Friday, John Gibson told a caller — who had not identified himself as an African American — that he only liked Barack Obama "because he's like you and you want to see one of you up there." Summary and video below courtesy of MediaMatters:

On the June 6 edition of his Fox News Radio show, John Gibson said to a caller who spoke favorably of Sen. Barack Obama: "You don't know what Barack Obama stands for. You just like him because he's -- he's -- he's like you and you want to see one of you up there, and you don't care what he stands for." The caller responded: "[H]e's not one of me. ... He's not one of me just because he's a black guy or something like that. That doesn't make him one of me. He's standing for him, not me."

As Media Matters for America noted, on the April 9 broadcast of his radio show, Gibson told a caller who had identified herself as an African-American, "You're sticking with Obama, because he's ... he's a brother" and that Obama "is lying to your face but he knows you are so -- you so identify with him on the basis of race, you will not even see the lies."

This is just another in a long-series of inflammatory remarks by Gibson, who lost his Fox News TV show earlier this year. Last month, he mocked Rachel Maddow's sexuality on air and in January mocked the death of actor Heath Ledger.

Comments

[CulureFX]

The hate in this guys voice is amazing, It's so sad to hear....

[JohnCochtosten]

You could just as easily claim that women only voted for Hillary because she's a woman, or that white men are voting for McCain because he's a white man.

[mari2JJ]

Or we could just call Gibson out for his totally racist comment. But surely this is no surprise that Faux News keeps some racist guy on their payroll. And by the way, who ever expects one drop of fairness out of any Fox news person. And, it is going to get decidedly worse. Laura Ingram is coming to the Fox station near you so expect much more of this hate filled, thoughtless, knee-jerk reaction in that line up. Sad, sad day when an entire network goes to such racist extremes.

[vschicago]

The caller says it did not hear the audio playback...gibson automatically concludes that he did not know Obama's policies WTF. It's sad really to see gibson and others like him so hard up to criticize anyone defending or supporting Obama that they twist their words around in this way. Say goodnight Republicans, your time is over!

[DrRJP]

With 92 percent of African Americans voting for Obama, does anyone really think for a moment that Obama's race had nothing to do with it?

The underlying impetus, and it's not necessarily a negative one, is that Obama, being black and experiencing life as a black man, can relate better to the needs of the black community than can a white Hillary Clinton.

Just as an argument can be raised that women voted for Hillary because she was a woman.

The argument, raised by someone, that the majority of black community sat on the fence until after they learned more about Obama just does not ring true.

We tend to vote for people like us. That is a perfectly valid statement and corroborated by tons of research.

However, it is exactly because Obama is black, that everyone in the white community has been walking on egg shells, trying not to be perceived as "racist" for fear of saying anything negative about Obama that could be construed as relating to him being black or being, at one time, a practicing Muslim.

[gjoh]

"The argument, raised by someone, that the majority of black community sat on the fence until after they learned more about Obama just does not ring true."

Well ring that bell again because I am one of those in the majority of the black community that wouldn't have voted for Obama at all but for the way Hillary ran her campaign. I am a 50 year old Black woman who would have voted for Hillary even if she hadn't run a campaign at all. Vote for Barack? Barack who?
First, I don't see him as Black like I am Black. He is literally African and American. He is half white.
Second, because of that difference, the way he looks at America is fundamentally different than mine. My ancestors know an America with slavery, Jim Crow and racial discrimination. It's not just a history lesson, I know people who have relatives that were lynched. I've had white people spit in my face.
Obama convinced me to trust him with the future of my family. I was not predisposed to do so. I didn't think he really understood me or my problems. (Yea, just like those working class white people. Suprised?)
He saw a future in America that would allow me to stop looking at everything thru the prisim of race and just be an American.
Hillary was the "safe" choice. She blew it. Her campaign tactics drove me away.
I support Obama now. But it was hardly a given.

[Genisa]

THANK YOU!!! I'm so sick of people saying that blacks are voting for Obama simply b/c he is black. Like we can't make an informed decision.And I'm so glad you touched on the fact that he is African and American, without the slavery heritage.

[Oridaman]

Sing it troll!!!

[tweety1]

African Americans 99% of the time vote for the Democratic Nominee, after all these years are they any better off. When a Democratic is in the WhiteHouse, Nothing Changes for the African Americans, When The Democrates have control of the House and Senate, Nothing changes for the African Americans. Bill Clinton was President for 8 years what did he accomplish for the African Americans? I don't think this comment was appropriate, but I can understand that SOME African Americans do want to see an African American President. Just like women want to see a Woman President.

[ivorytower54]

You're wrong. But let us suppose that you are right and that democratic administrations don't make African Americans' lives easier. Republican administrations certainly make them more difficult.

[Kalima]

A grown up man said this?
I would expect it from a 6 year old maybe, but his ignorance is painful.
Where do they find these uneducated racists?

[dr4Will]

the paranoid left refuse to believe blacks will vote for Hussein because he is black--I will vote for McCain because he is white--whats the big deal, lefties!!

[maxwellinformed]

You are right. Black people can't possibly be voting their own self interest. They can't possibly be voting because they want the issues of the their community to be addressed. They must be mindlessly voting on race like, say, YOU!

[ivorytower54]

Yup. You will vote against your own economic self-interests in favor of racial similarity. Unless you married a beer distribution heiress, attended the naval academy b/c of your Father's position as a Vice-Admiral, want to pay $9.00/gallon for gas, and want to have your employee provided medical benes taxed then you have no reason to vote for McCain. But that you favor the color of his skin more than the content of his policies.

[Big0725]

Why is this jackass allowed to breathe my air? It could be used by productive people and pack animals.

[returnofthejedi]

That's just a terrible thing to imply and to say. If you can read between the lines of what he is sayin'
he's implying that black people are not smart enough to vote according to the issues. It is very hypocritical for a" white' man to say this after all the years of discrimination and prejudice that
prevails in the United States even to this day. Is there no wonder why Blacks don't support anything Republican after seeing this type of insult coming from the right? Someone should ask Mr. Gibson when was the last time he voted for or supported a presidential candidate that didn't look like HIM!

[PioneerKing]

NEWS FLASH TO JOHN GIBSON, FOXNEWS AND THE REPUBLICANS:

NEARLY 5,000 DEAD AMERICAN SOLDIERS - MORE THAN 60,000 MAIMED SOLDIERS FIGHTING IN A WAR BASED ON LIES!

There is not a lie Obama could tell that is more reprehensible than the lies that Bush/Cheney/McCain and the republicans told to draw America into war in Iraq.

[DaOne]

Someone should "school" this corpse.

[SMP]

I can not wait till President Obama passed legislation to shut these "trash talking, race baiting, a*sholes" down...revoking their liscens. And I am an older white female, we need to clean up our airwaves.

[braggio28]

I know what yo are trying to get at but then Obama would be no better than the dictators who censor their people. KNowledge is power, spread the truth and be truthful with your actions and this fool wont have any ground to stand on, i mean its not like he really does right now anyways, I mean fox news fired him.

[MyGuyO]

Of course, we should expect this vile coming from the ~Foxers.~ They never did have a class act...never.

[belief08]

When a Repug Senator from Indiana can quote S. Hannity from FoxNews verbatim as something good to get his point across, you know this country is up a creek without a paddle. You don't have to like the man, but he is the right person to change the Old Washington politics, he is a fresh voice to those politics, he's a different mentality for those politics and I truly believe he is going to work for the voters and not for big business that always seem to reap more benefits than the average american voter.

I look forward to the changes ahead. We can't afford to let McCain get into office. He already rich, so he has nothing to lose.

[thecanadian]

Another attempt by a huge loser to try and get his ratings up. Fire him and lose him forever.

[kkuate]

...Of course we identify ourselves and feel more comfortable with people of our own race, but that did not mean I favored Bill Richardson over Obama and Hillary just because I am latino ...

John Gibson ----look at all the early candidates from the Republican party... Not a woman, nor a person of any other color but white was amongst their ranks. The only national organization that tolerates discrimination against women and non-white is the Republican Party, and I assume you are a member of it, right?

Do not know what it is that draws Clarence Thomas, BJ Watts, Alan Keys, and the Cuban American community to associate themselves with this kind of Republican carrion.

[adavis08]

Me either except maybe they want to be white!

[returnofthejedi]

They can have them we dont want them. We dont think they are very wise either!

[Big0725]

Oh, I can 'splain why the Cubans love Repuclicans! It was called the Bay of Pigs invasion. It went terribly wrong and they have blamed Democrats ever since. A nice 47 year grudge.

[belief08]

All you are; are tokens, you are just someone to get them elected. You will never be good enough, never. They only seek you out when they need your vote, we don't here from them until then and they are all up in your face. For the Clintons to turn on a dime during this election process, it proved that. Which is why they lost most of the AA votes.