Naga Munchetty breached BBC guidelines by criticising Donald Trump for perceived “racism”, the corporation’s complaints unit has ruled.
The BBC Breakfast host condemned comments made by the president about political rivals, after he told female Democrats to “go back” to their own counties.
Munchetty has been rebuked by the BBC for branding these comments as racist.
"I've been told as a woman of colour to 'go home'…"@BBCNaga shares her experience as we discuss the reaction to comments made by President Trump. pic.twitter.com/u0HL5tEdgt
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) July 17, 2019
The presenter earned plaudits for her decision to speak about her struggles and share her experiences of being told herself to “go back to your own country”.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast on July 17, in the aftermath of Mr Trump’s online remarks, she said: “Every time I have been told, as a woman of colour, to go back to where I came from, that was embedded in racism.
“Now, I’m not accusing anyone of anything here, but you know what certain phrases mean.”
Those Tweets were NOT Racist. I don’t have a Racist bone in my body! The so-called vote to be taken is a Democrat con game. Republicans should not show “weakness” and fall into their trap. This should be a vote on the filthy language, statements and lies told by the Democrat…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 16, 2019
Mr Trump had shared posted several messages on Twitter in which he made references to politicians Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley.
They are US citizens and three were born in America.
Munchetty’s assertion that Mr Trump’s comments were embedded in racism went beyond what the BBC allows, and a complaint made about the presenter’s comments was upheld by the executive complaints unit (ECU) of the BBC.
A spokeswoman for the BBC said: “The ECU ruled that while Ms Munchetty was entitled to give a personal response to the phrase ‘go back to your own country’ as it was rooted in her own experience, overall her comments went beyond what the guidelines allow for.”