Following the release of that video involving Donald Trump, Billy Bush, and some hypothetical women they wish to treat like sex objects, Today has decided to suspend Bush, indefinitely, from his very recently appointed (he began in May, coming to Today from his long — stretching way back to that video, in fact — career at Access Hollywood) position. “Pending further review of the matter, NBC News has suspended Billy Bush, the host of Today’s Third Hour, for his role in that conversation with Donald Trump,” announced Savannah Guthrie this morning on Today.
Taking over Bush’s usual segment today were Al Roker and Tamron Hall, with Roker again addressing the suspension, saying, “As you can see Billy Bush is not joining us today, as you’re probably aware, [he was] part of that 2005 Access Hollywood taping with Donald Trump that’s been in the news all weekend.”
Meanwhile, on Today‘s website, NBC senior vice president Noah Oppenheim is quoted saying, “I know we’ve all been deeply troubled by the revelations of the past 48 hours. Let me be clear — there is simply no excuse for Billy’s language and behavior on that tape. NBC has decided to suspend Billy, pending further review of this matter.”
Hopefully not all that will come from that incriminatingly gross video of Trump and Bush’s “locker room” talking is the end to Billy Bush’s career — how is it that a TV host who instigated these words can potentially lose his job, and Trump can continue to have a chance at running our country? And again, we have to keep asking: how is it that, through all of the completely gross things Trump’s said and done, his status as a potential politician-to-be hadn’t been put in this kind of crisis earlier?