Ann Coulter Blasts Matt Lauer for "Today" Show Boot
Updated 7:00 AM PST, Wed, Jan 7, 2009
A day after she was bounced from NBC's “Today” show, Ann Coulter had a fiery on-air exchange with show co-host Matt Lauer over the decision to bounce her from Tuesday's lineup then re-book her for this morning's show.
The outspoken right-wing author and columnist lambasted the “Today” show for canceling her first- and fourth-hour appearances Tuesday then inviting her back after banner headlines on the Drudge Report screamed – incorrectly – that she had been banned from the network for life.
"It apparently took eight hours for the 'Today' show to remember that there was a Wednesday show that I could be invited back to," she told Lauer this morning. "It took the Drudge Report posting that for the Wednesday invitation to appear."
Lauer charged that Coulter had stoked the fires of controversy to gain publicity for her new book and that the network, which has hosted Coulter on the "Today" show 11 times, had no intention of banning the author.
Coulter appeared on Fox News on Monday night and said the cancellation was a set-up that NBC had planned beforehand. Lauer defended the decision to bounce Coulter.
"We traded you out for Tony Blair yesterday and I think that's a pretty good switch," Lauer said.
She countered that it took the Drudge Report's post to get re-booked on the show.
"The point is I was canceled twice and it wasn't until the Drudge Report ran a headline [that I was re-booked]," Coulter said.
"You know what that expression is? Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean you don't have enemies," Lauer said.
A "Today" show spokesperson said Coulter was bumped Tuesday because of the ongoing news in Washington and the Middle East.
First Published: Jan 7, 2009 5:26 AM PST
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