Hillary responds to Shuster’s suggestion that Chelsea was “being pimped out” by campaign. Hillary rips MSNBC's Shuster

ORONO, Maine — Hillary Rodham Clinton on Saturday morning ripped MSNBC over reporter David Shuster’s suggestion that Chelsea Clinton was “sort of being pimped out” by the campaign.

“I found the remarks incredibly offensive,” Clinton told reporters in this snowy town outside Bangor. Earlier, she sent a letter to NBC brass that called for swift action against Shuster, who was suspended Friday by MSNBC.


“Nothing justifies the kind of debasing language that David Shuster used and no temporary suspension or half-hearted apology is sufficient,” Clinton wrote to NBC News President Steve Capus, who apparently had already called Clinton to personally apologize.

“I would urge you to look at the pattern of behavior on your network that seems to repeatedly lead to this sort of degrading language,” Clinton wrote. “There’s a lot at stake for our country in this election. Surely, you can do your jobs as journalists and commentators and still keep the discourse civil and appropriate.”

NBC did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment.

The letter and harsh rebuke followed similar comments made by her top advisers and came a day after Shuster issued an on-air apology and was suspended.

The hubbub started Thursday, when Shuster guest-hosted Tucker Carlson’s MSNBC show, “Tucker.” In a discussion about Chelsea Clinton’s role in calling superdelegates on behalf of her mother’s presidential campaign, he asked whether she was “sort of being pimped out in some weird sort of way.”

The Clinton campaign immediately demanded an apology and floated the possibility that Clinton would no longer participate in an MSNBC debate, scheduled for Feb. 26. The campaign did not explain under what conditions Clinton would participate in MSNBC's debate.

In her comments to reporters Friday, Clinton sounded ambivalent about participating in the debate.

“We’ve accepted a lot of debates from a lot of different sponsors, and we’re going to wait and see how this plays out,” she said.

“I am a mom first and a candidate second,” she said. “You know I can take whatever comes my way. That’s what I signed up for as a candidate and an office holder.”

She cast Shuster’s comments as part of “a troubling pattern of comments and behavior that has to be held accountable.”

MSNBC host Chris Matthews last month apologized over remarks he made about Clinton that were widely denounced as sexist.



FULL TEXT OF LETTER:

Dear Mr. Capus,

Thank you for your call yesterday. I wanted to send you this note to convey the depth of my feeling about David Shuster's comments.

I know that I am a public figure and that my daughter is playing a public role in my campaign. I am accustomed to criticism, certainly from MSNBC. I know that it goes with the territory.

However, I became Chelsea's mother long before I ran for any office and I will always be a mom first and a public official second.

Nothing justifies the kind of debasing language that David Shuster used and no temporary suspension or half-hearted apology is sufficient.

I would urge you to look at the pattern of behavior on your network that seems to repeatedly lead to this sort of degrading language.

There's a lot at stake for our country in this election. Surely, you can do your jobs as journalists and commentators and still keep the discourse civil and appropriate.

Sincerely,

Hillary Rodham Clinton