After an interview in which she incorrectly stated the presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) was a dual-Israeli-US citizen, NPR’s Diane Rehm told TPM she made “a mistake” and got the information from Facebook.
Benae Mosby of WAMU emailed TPM a statement on behalf of Rehm:
On today’s show I made a mistake. Rather than asking Senator and Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders whether he had dual U.S./Israeli citizenship, as I had read in a comment on Facebook, I stated it as fact.
He corrected me, saying he did not know where the question came from. I apologized immediately.
I want to apologize as well to all our listeners for having made an erroneous statement. I am sorry for the mistake. However, I am glad to play a role in putting this rumor to rest.
Earlier on Wednesday, Rehm’s interview with Sanders went off the rails when she repeatedly asked whether he, or any other members of Congress, “have dual citizenship with Israel.”
“Well, no I do not have dual citizenship with Israel,” Sanders, who is Jewish, replied. “I’m an American. I don’t know where that question came from. I am an American citizen, and I have visited Israel on a couple of occasions. I’m an American citizen, period.”
Rehm cited “a list we have gotten” at NPR.
“That’s some of the nonsense that goes on in the Internet,” the senator responded. “But that is absolutely not true.”
