The abrupt firing of NBC "Today" co-host Matt Lauer announced Wednesday prompted cheers among Hillary Clinton’s loyalists who feel that he was extraordinarily mean to her — and soft on President Trump — during the 2016 presidential campaign.

“Another person whose interview with Trump was ridiculously soft and interview with Hillary was incredibly tough: Matt Lauer,” tweeted former Clinton aide Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress.

Another person whose interview with Trump was ridiculously soft and interview with Hillary was incredibly tough: Matt Lauer. https://t.co/5AiPopJVMO — Neera Tanden 🌊 (@neeratanden) November 29, 2017



Another former Clinton aide, Verrit co-founder Peter Daou, wrote on Facebook: "Matt Lauer was fired today. One by one, we're finding out the true character of the male journalists who treated Hillary Clinton (and her voters) with seething disdain."



“Remember when Matt Lauer kept interrupting Hillary Clinton and asking her about emails, yet went easy on Trump?” tweeted Rolling Stone contributing editor Rob Tannenbaum.

Remember when Matt Lauer kept interrupting Hillary Clinton and asking her about emails, yet went easy on Trump? 🤔 https://t.co/4rwfRT440Z — Rob Tannenbaum (@tannenbaumr) November 29, 2017



Another listed several men in the media accused of harassment, concluding, “Hmm. Men who sexually assault women seem to *really* dislike Hillary Clinton.”

Lauer came under fire from Team Clinton after he repeatedly pressed the Democratic presidential nominee in a live candidate forum about her controversial emails sent as secretary of state through a private server.

His tactics were called sexist.

Related: Trump reacts to Matt Lauer's firing

Clinton associates believe he had a history of being critical of the former first lady. One moment sometimes cited, and pulled from the C-SPAN archive today, occurred the morning of former President Bill Clinton’s 1998 State of the Union address, which came following news of the Monica Lewinsky sex affair.

MATT LAUER: Morning of Pres. Clinton Jan. 27, 1998, State of Union address, Lauer interviews Hillary Clinton -- "Do you know Monica Lewinsky?" https://t.co/weHvrfJvhO pic.twitter.com/9VvlSMuk26 — Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) November 29, 2017



Lauer bluntly asked Clinton, “Do you know Monica Lewinsky?”

NBC said it received a detailed complaint about Lauer on Monday about "inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace" and informed him he was fired within a day.

“While it is the first complaint about his behavior in the over 20 years he’s been at NBC News, we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident," NBC said.

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com