Hours after the world learned that journalist Cokie Roberts had passed away following complications from breast cancer, right-wing provocateur Michelle Malkin took a swipe at the reporter’s legacy by calling her “one of the first guilty culprits of fake news.”
Taking part in a panel at the Paley Center on Tuesday, Malkin joined an array of liberal and conservative commentators and media figures to discuss whether the media is biased.
At one point in the discussion, Malkin—who has recently been making the media rounds hawking her latest anti-immigrant book—took aim at Roberts.
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“Cokie Roberts, of course, passed away today and God bless her for an incredible career that she had but I distinctly remember that she was one of the first guilty culprits of fake news,” she declared.
“We’re doing this today?” CNN chief media correspondent Brian Stelter, who was also on the panel, interjected.
“Yes, yes we are,” Malkin confirmed.
“You’re attacking her today,” Stelter continued. “I just want to be clear: The body isn’t even cold yet.”
Malkin, meanwhile, said her remark was “pertinent” to the issue of “fake news,” bringing up an instance in 1994 when Roberts stood in front of a projection of the Capitol to do an ABC News report from the State of the Union address.
“This was a deliberate attempt to deceive the viewing public into thinking she was actually there live covering it,” Malkin added. “Fake news has existed far longer than before President Trump even had the idea of running for office.”
Malkin’s remarks, predictably, were not well received by the attendees, with many in the audience shouting at her to leave and go home.
Tuesday was far from the first time that Malkin has kicked dirt on a prominent figure after he or she has passed away. During this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, Malkin slammed the “ghost of John McCain” for what she described as his weak immigration policies.
