Joy Reid suggests Trump radicalizes supporters in the same way 'Muslims act'
MSNBC's Joy Reid made the suggestion that Trump supporters are 'radicalized' by the president during a segment on her show.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said Wednesday it had met with NBC following MSNBC host Joy Reid's controversial comments about Muslims -- but the host apparently opted not to provide the apology that CAIR requested.
During a panel discussion on Monday's edition of Reid's show, "The ReidOut," the host had accused President Trump of "radicalizing" his supporters, comparing them to Islamic extremists.
"Leaders, let's say in the Muslim world, talk a lot of violent talk and encourage their supporters to be willing to commit violence, including on their own bodies, in order to win against whoever they decide is the enemy," Reid had said. "We in the U.S. media describe that as they are radicalizing those people -- particularly when they're radicalizing young people. That's how we talk about the way Muslims act. When you see what Donald Trump is doing, is that any different from what we describe as radicalizing people?"
Prominent Muslims, including U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., had called on Reid to apologize for the initial remarks, with Omar referring to the comments as "casual Islamophobia."
CAIR revealed on Twitter that it met with the network to discuss what it described as Reid's "offensive" comments.
"Thank you @NBC for meeting to discuss our concerns about @JoyAnnReid’s inaccurate, offensive remarks," CAIR wrote Wednesday afternoon. "We appreciate your pledge to avoid Islamophobia in all forms."
The prominent Muslim group added, "As we discussed, Ms. Reid must clearly apologize tonight. Anti-Muslim bigotry has no place in mainstream society."
However, when Reid addressed her remarks Wednesday evening, she did not offer the apology that CAIR claimed it requested from the network.
Reid closed the show with an expanded discussion of what she called Trump's "radicalization" of his supporters and how Muslims are unfairly depicted as terrorists in the mainstream media.
"If Trump was a Muslim leader, not the leader of the Christian right, how would we in the media describe what he's doing?" she began. "I asked that question on Monday and there was a lot of conversation, particularly online, after the segment aired, some of which was frankly not in good faith.
"But some of the conversation reflected the genuine feelings of people who have been subjected to the kind of stereotyping that I described and who take matters like this to heart because of it. And we should all be sensitive to that and I certainly should have been sensitive to that."
The host acknowledged to her panel that her comments were "not exactly the most artful way of asking that question."
One of her panelists, Dalia Mogahed of the Institute for Social Policy & Understanding, praised Reid for her treatment of her Muslim guests, but pointed out that the host's remarks had "landed" as offensive and told her it was "important to correct that notion for your millions of viewers."
CAIR later reacted to Reid's non-apology.
“'I was wrong. I apologize,' @JoyAnnReid's refusal to say that tonight was telling & disappointing," CAIR wrote. "Although shedding light on Islamophobia with help from @DaliaMogahed was welcome, you must first own your own mistakes. Don't deflect. Don't distract. Just do the right thing."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Omar and Tlaib had called on Reid to apologize for the initial remarks.
"Honestly, this kinda of casual Islamophobia is hurtful and dangerous," Omar tweeted. "We deserve better and an apology for the painful moment for so many Muslims around our country should be forthcoming."
"Words matter and these words feed into the harmful anti-Muslim rhetoric & actions that we continue to see in this country," Tlaib concurred. "It is even more painful to hear it from someone I admire. We deserve an apology."
Fox News' Sam Dorman contributed to this report.