Sky News has said it is “proud” of U.S. correspondent James Matthews following his heated exchange with newly-elected Senator Abdul El-Sayed, telling Variety the journalist “was doing his job.”
\n\nMeanwhile Matthews himself has weighed in on the confrontation, saying he hadn’t had a chance to ask the politician any questions directly before El-Sayed made a beeline towards him and started quizzing him.
\n\nA clip of the two men talking over each other, taken outside a Detroit polling station on Tuesday, went viral this week, clocking up over 12 million views on Twitter in less than 48 hours.
\n\nThe exchange saw El-Sayed hold Matthews by the shoulders as he repeatedly told him he wouldn’t answer his questions because he worked for an international media outlet.
\n\n“You’re journalist in the U.K.,” the politician told Matthews. “You know how many votes I want to get in the U.K.? Zero. I am never running for office in the U.K. So I absolutely do not care what you think or the questions you ask.”
\n\nWhen Matthews protested that Sky News has a large international audience, El-Sayed responded: “Like five people.”
\n\nMichigan's Democratic candidate for Senate Abdul El-Sayed confronted @jamesmatthewsky, telling him he wouldn't answer his…
Original source: https://variety.com/v/tv/