Tom Ricks appeared on HuffPost Live Wednesday and was particularly candid when asked about his testy Fox News interview earlier this week.
Ricks appeared on Fox News on Monday to promote his new book "The Generals." The interview was cut short, lasting only 90 seconds, after the Pulitzer Prize winning-journalist and author said that Fox News "hyped" the story about the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi and was "operating as a wing of the Republican Party."
Fox News' executive vice president of news editorial Michael Clemente told the Hollywood Reporter that Ricks apologized after the feisty exchange and blamed his snappy response on fatigue caused by his book tour. Ricks denied that he apologized and clarified his hallway conversations following the interview in an email to Clemente.
Ricks hammered the point home when speaking with HuffPost Live's Ahmed Shihab-Eldin. In response to Clemente's statement indicating that Ricks "apologized" after the interview, "ignored the anchor's question," and doesn't have "the strength of character to [apologize] publicly," Ricks had one thing to say: "that's horseshit."
He recounted his hallway conversations once again, which included complimenting Fox News host Bret Baier on his weight loss and telling a Fox News staffer he was tired. "It was not an apology for what was said at all," he added.
When asked about his decision to turn down an invitation to appear on MSNBC, Ricks said, "Fox really seems to sell outrage as its product, and MSNBC doesn't as much. But they both seem to me to be running political campaigns almost more than they are running news networks. So I don't particularly like either. That said, I'm not a fan of TV news generally. I think it's a lousy place to get your information from."
At the end of his HuffPost Live interview, Ricks thanked Shihab-Eldin, saying their conversation was the "sanest ... [he's] had in days."
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