Short-lived NBC “Today” show host Billy Bush got the long-anticipated ax Monday for his part in the lewd recording that captured Donald Trump 11 years ago bragging about how his fame had empowered him to kiss and grope women without their permission.
Bush’s departure from the morning news show was both a business and journalistic decision.
His laughing and carrying on with Trump, caught by a live mic while Bush was working for another NBC show, “Access Hollywood,” sure made Bush sound like a willing participant in the sexist banter. Since women make up the majority of the audience for the “Today” show, it would have been a ratings disaster to bring him back.
Separately, Bush betrayed his journalistic duty, once he went over to the “real” news division of NBC, by not informing his bosses about the existence of the tape, since it backed up allegations of the Republican presidential nominee’s repugnant attitudes and behavior toward women.
One defense of Bush had been the suggestion that he was just doing what all reporters do — playing along with a subject to keep him talking. If that had been the case, why did he never use the objectionable material? Probably because he was enjoying the conversation as much as Trump.
