NBC News correspondent Tom Brokaw has apologized for some questionable remarks he made on Sunday's Meet the Press, urging Hispanics to “work harder at assimilation."
"I also happen to believe that the Hispanics should work harder at assimilation. That’s one of the things I’ve been saying for a long time. You know, they ought not to be just codified in their communities but make sure that all their kids are learning to speak English, and that they feel comfortable in the communities."
Brokaw apologized soon after fellow journalists and members of the general public assailed him for his remarks.
"I am sorry, truly sorry, my comments were offensive to many. The great enduring American tradition of diversity is to be celebrated and cherished," he wrote on Twitter in a series of broken thoughts he attributed to possible glitches on the platform.
"I am sorry - I never intended to disparage any segment of our rich, diverse society which defines who we are... Finally, I am sorry I failed to convey my strong belief that diversity - dynamic and inclusive is what makes America."
Brokaw also had kind words for PBS "NewsHour" White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor, who'd criticized him for the comments he made on the air, saying that "the idea that we think Americans can only speak English, as if Spanish and other languages wasn't always part of America, is, in some ways, troubling."
"Let's go forward together," he wrote.
But Brokaw's scattered apology prompted many to wonder if he actually knows how Twitter works. Just have a look at his feed:
The replies to his tweets were... interesting, to say the least.
Many made the same joke:
Jokes about assimilation weren't the only cracks to be made.
Brokaw didn't seem fazed, however.
Brokaw, 78, has hosted all of NBC's major news shows, and his comments left many taken aback.
"A lot of this, we don’t want to talk about,” Brokaw said when the topic of immigration arose during his "Meet the Press" appearance. “But the fact is, on the Republican side, a lot of people see the rise of an extraordinary, important, new constituent in American politics, Hispanics, who will come here and all be Democrats. Also, I hear, when I push people a little harder, ‘Well, I don’t know whether I want brown grandbabies.’ I mean, that’s also a part of it.”
Brokaw did not offer any evidence for his claims, and they grew ever more farfetched from there.
"It’s the intermarriage that is going on and the cultures that are conflicting with each other,” he added. “I also happen to believe that the Hispanics should work harder at assimilation. That’s one of the things I’ve been saying for a long time."
These comments earned Brokaw the rebuke of others both within his field and outside of it.
That's one very awkward start to the week.
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