Tom Brokaw paid a steep price on Twitter for calling on Hispanics in the United States to “work harder at assimilation.”

The former NBC anchor’s comments came during a Sunday “Meet the Press” panel on the topic of what could bring Americans together. (RELATED: Tucker Gets Into Heated Exchange Over Immigrant Assimilation)

WATCH:

Brokaw said:

A lot of this we don’t want to talk about but the fact is on the Republican side, a lot of people see the rise of an extraordinary important new constituency in American politics, Hispanics, who will come here and all be Democrats. I hear when I push people harder, I don’t know whether I want brown grand babies. That’s also a part of it. It’s the intermarriage that’s going on and the cultures that are conflicting with each other. I also happen to believe that the Hispanics should work harder at assimilation. That’s one of the things that I’ve been saying for a long time, that they ought not to be codified in their communities but make sure that all of their kids are learning to speak English and they feel comfortable in the communities. And that’s going to take outreach on both sides, frankly.

The discussion continued unabated, but PBS correspondent Yamiche Alcindor did push back on Brokaw at the end of the segment:

I would just say that we also need to adjust what we think of as America. You’re talking about assimilation. I grew up in Miami, where people speak Spanish, but their kids speak English. And the idea that we think Americans can only speak English, as if Spanish and other languages wasn’t always part of America, is, in some ways, troubling.

Alcindor’s comments, however, were mild compared to the ripping Brokaw received from the Twitter mob:

.@tombrokaw, for a celebrated @NBCNews journalist who spent years chronicling American society you seem stunningly ignorant of the Hispanic community in this country. Unfortunate to see xenophobia pass for elevated political commentary @MeetThePress https://t.co/nKoLhjWdbk — Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) January 27, 2019

This is just… and no pushback. Dear @tombrokaw, let me know where I can send you a copy of @RosinaLozano’s book: Spanish “An American Language”. https://t.co/hBX3P33P5H — Enrique Acevedo (@Enrique_Acevedo) January 27, 2019

wow, who knew that @tombrokaw was a closet xenophobe. will @MeetThePress @chucktodd and Brokaw address this? this is awful. — Julio Ricardo Varela (@julito77) January 27, 2019

Wow, the longer clip, @AndreaLeon, is even worse. @tombrokaw literally goes against facts with his closet xenophobia this morning. pic.twitter.com/A5LzD2VyI6 — Julio Ricardo Varela (@julito77) January 27, 2019

Tom Brokaw arguing classic white supremacist talking points in a deeply racist rant on national television. https://t.co/UcAy5LaMNd — Aura Bogado (@aurabogado) January 27, 2019

The former NBC anchor later apologized for his statements:

i feel terrible a part of my comments on Hispanics offended some members of that proud culture — Tom Brokaw (@tombrokaw) January 27, 2019

His apology was not accepted:

You misspelled, “I apologize for my ignorant and demeaning glib generalization.” — pourmecoffee (@pourmecoffee) January 27, 2019

Brokaw also got into some trouble with those on the right who took issue with his “brown babies” comment:

Why won’t @tombrokaw name these people who’ve told him this? Why is he hanging around with and protecting them, if they exist? And why is @chucktodd having an accused sexual harasser on @MeetThePress in the first place? https://t.co/iUXJkylqCk — Derek Hunter (@derekahunter) January 27, 2019

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