Katie Couric reportedly admitted to leaving out part of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s comments slamming kneeling during the national anthem from an interview in 2016.
Couric reportedly shared in her memoir “Going There,” that the late Supreme court justice said those who kneeled during the playing of the “Star Spangled Banner” showed “contempt for a government that has made it possible for their parents and grandparents to live a decent life,” the Daily Mail reported in a piece published Wednesday. (RELATED: CNN Nixes ‘Reliable Sources’ Segment On Katie Couric Per Jeff Zucker’s Orders)
“Which they probably could not have lived in the places they came from…as they became older they realize that this was youthful folly,” she added, the report noted. “And that’s why education is important.” (RELATED: SHOCK AUDIO: Katie Couric Edited Gun Documentary To Silence Pro-Gun Opinions)
The former “Today” show host reportedly said that she figured the late justice was “‘elderly and probably didn’t fully understand the question” and she “wanted to protect her” and felt the issue of racial justice was a “blind spot” for her.
Katie Couric says she cut quotes from an interview with RBG in 2016 where the SCOTUS Justice said that kneeling during the National Anthem shows a “contempt for a government that has made it possible for their parents & grandparents to live a decent life.”https://t.co/XBnopuptSu
— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) October 13, 2021
Couric’s story, which didn’t include those comments, appeared in Yahoo! News in 2016. Her piece had quotes from the late justice saying that not standing for the anthem was “dumb and disrespectful,” but she left out the contempt remarks. (RELATED: Katie Couric In 2012: Matt Lauer ‘Pinches Me On The A** A Lot’ [VIDEO])
“I think it’s really dumb of them,” RBG shared at the time. “Would I arrest them for doing it? No, I think it’s dumb and disrespectful. I would have the same answer if you asked me about flag burning. I think it’s a terrible thing to do, but I wouldn’t lock a person up for doing it. I would point out how ridiculous it seems to me to do such an act.”
After the sit-down interview, the head of public affairs for the Supreme Court reportedly emailed the former anchor and said Ginsburg had “misspoken” and asked the comments be taken out of the story, the outlet noted. Couric reportedly shared how she was “conflicted” because she was such a big fan of the justice. Despite the former head of ABC News, David Westin, reportedly advising her they should be left in given she was a sitting justice on the Supreme Court, Couric left them out, according to the outlet.
Ginsburg made similar comments in a compilation of her writings, “My Own Words” which included her criticism of “stupid” and “arrogant” protesters, the piece noted.