An NBC News affiliate in Minnesota fired a reporter on Friday for wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat on the job.
Journalist Jim Bunner, who worked for KTTC, was reporting on a Trump rally in Rochester, Minn. when he made the political statement, Buzzfeed reports.
A video reporter for Minnesota’s Star Tribune took a picture of Bunner wearing the offending headgear.(RELATED: Teen’s MAGA Hat ‘Taken, SpatUpon And Thrown Into The Street’)
“He violated our policy so he’s no longer with us,” KTTC news director Noel Sederstrom told BuzzFeed News. “We don’t allow our people to wear campaign clothing while on assignment.”
Bunner frequently used his social media activity to advertise his approval of Trump’s election and his membership in the NRA, Buzzfeed reports. He is also fond of criticizing others in the media, like CNN.
But Sederstrom said Bunner was free to express his political views on his own time but shouldn’t have expected to do so while covering the news.
“It’s not something to allow,” he told Buzzfeed.
Bunner had only been with the station since December 2018.