Complaint
A listener complained about an off-the-cuff remark made after an interview about Donald Trump鈥檚 presidential election campaign. 聽The ECU considered whether it amounted to a breach of impartiality as suggested by the complainant.
Outcome
The interview focused on the likely political impact of a move to prevent Mr Trump from being on the ballot to be US President in Colorado. 聽The interviewee, a US pollster, explained that ,from his sampling of political opinion, voters tended not to follow the details and viewed 聽legal cases brought against Mr Trump through the prism of their existing views about the former President. 聽After the interview, in an aside, Nick Robinson told listeners: 鈥淭hat鈥檚 cheered up the nation, I鈥檝e no doubt鈥.
The 麻豆社鈥檚 Editorial Guidelines state audiences should not be able to tell from 麻豆社 output the personal opinions of 麻豆社 journalists or news and current affairs presenters on controversial subjects. 聽The ECU noted the complainant鈥檚 view, but did not agree it was clear that Mr Robinson was expressing a view on a matter of political controversy. 聽As part of the interview concerned the calibre of public debate, the reference to cheering the nation up could be understood as a general observation about society and politics rather than a comment on Mr Trump鈥檚 candidacy.聽
Not Upheld