Roger Ailes Apologizes to ADL, but Not to NPR for 'Nazi' Comments

(Nov. 19) -- Did I say Nazi? I meant nasty, inflexible bigot.

Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes may have apologized for calling NPR executives a bunch of "Nazis" during an interview with the Daily Beast's Howard Kurtz, but he certainly isn't backing down.

In a letter to the Anti-Defamation League, Ailes said that he "was of course ad-libbing and should not have chosen that word," adding that he "was angry at the time because of NPR's willingness to censor Juan Williams for not being liberal enough." Ailes also qualified the Nazi statement, saying that in his "now considered opinion, 'nasty, inflexible bigot' would have worked better."

Nice save, Mr. Ailes. And let this be a reminder to all: Always account for incidental insults and unintended backlash when attacking your opponents in the media.

To be clear, Ailes' apology was offered to the ADL, not NPR.

"Both NPR and Fox News say Ailes has not apologized to NPR executives for calling them Nazis," NPR's David Folkenflik reports. NPR probably won't hold its collective breath waiting for Ailes to apologize, but NPR executive Dana Davis Rehm did write the following statement to Mediate:

We are disappointed that Mr. Ailes directed his apology only to the ADL, and amazed that his statement substituted a new insult to replace his original scurrilous remark. This ongoing name-calling is offensive to NPR, its member stations and the 27 million listeners who rely on us.

The ADL, however, accepted Ailes' apology and released the following statement:

The Anti-Defamation League has accepted an apology from Roger Ailes, Chairman and CEO of Fox News Channel, for his use of the expression "Nazi attitudes" in an interview to describe officials at National Public Radio.

In a letter to Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, Mr. Ailes wrote that he was sorry for using the term "Nazi" in an interview with The Daily Beast. "I was of course ad-libbing and should not have chosen that word," he wrote, "but I was angry at the time because of NPR's willingness to censor Juan Williams for not being liberal enough."

"I welcome Roger Ailes' apology, which is as sincere as it is heartfelt," said Mr. Foxman, a Holocaust survivor. "Nazi comparisons of this nature are clearly inappropriate and offensive. While I wish Roger had never invoked that terminology, I appreciate his efforts to immediately reach out and to retract his words before they did any further harm."

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