BBC presenter David Aaronovitch has come under fire after he suggested that President Joe Biden should order the 'murder' of Donald Trump. The Radio 4 Briefing Room host let loose on Twitter, posting: "If I was Biden I'd hurry up and have Trump murdered on the basis that he is a threat to America's security #SCOTUS."
It seems his bold remark followed a Supreme Court ruling, which decreed that past presidents are entirely immune from prosecution for their official actions. The controversial tweet caused quite a stir with followers quick to highlight a glaring breach against BBC's impartiality rules.
Standing defiant amid the backlash, Aaronovitch took at it with journalist Jack Montgomery who called him out for his alleged "Trump derangement syndrome", quipping: "Did you see the Supreme Court ruling Jack? Or were you too busy with your head up Nigel Farage's derriere? ". The BBC have yet to comment on the furore.
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Nonetheless, Aaronovitch remained unphased by his critics even when one follower attempted to add a 'community note' to his contentious post. He said: "That community note should be interesting. But before you go to the effort of writing it, try reading the arguments, the ruling and the dissent in the Supreme Court's judgment on presidential immunity delivered today."
In response to a critic, he insisted on the satirical nature of his tweet, stating that it was "satirical and based on today's 6-3 ruling on presidential immunity."
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Approximately an hour and a half later, Mr Aaronovitch decided to take down the controversial post, elaborating through a tweet: "There is now a far right pile-on suggesting that my tweet about the Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity is an incitement to violence when it's plainly a satire."
"So I'm deleting it. If nothing else though it's given me a map of some of the daftest people on this site. "Note by the way that not one of them has a problem with the ruling itself. "".
Observing the situation, Steven Barratt, a columnist for The Spectator, commented on Mr Aaronovitch's actions, questioning: "'Impartiality' may not be in the best of health at the BBC.."
Moreover, another user chimed in: "Let's see what @Ofcom & @BBC say about this! ".
GB News commentator Adam Brooks did not hold back his frustrations, blasting: "The @bbc ok with this yeah? You utter scumbag David."
Following a social media dispute regarding Gary Lineker and his political tweets, the BBC implemented new regulations on social media activity in September 2023. The updated guidelines added more limitations on presenters expressing party political opinions.