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A local news anchor in Milwaukee was suspended after he asked why 2020 took Alex Trebek but not Mitch McConnell

Nov 14, 2020, 23:59 IST
Insider
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
  • A local news anchor in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was suspended this week following a post made to his personal social media profile that seemed to joke about the death of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
  • "2020 takes Alex Trebek but leaves Mitch McConnell?" Perry wrote following Trebek's death. "Just end already."
  • Perry, who has worked at Fox 6 since 1993, apologized for the post and hasn't been seen on air since, but it's unclear how long he will be suspended, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
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Ted Perry, a local news anchor in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was suspended from the station after made a post to his personal Facebook page that bemoaned the death of Alex Trebek and asked why "2020" spared Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel first reported.

Perry anchors the station's 5 and 10 p.m. broadcasts, according to a Thursday report from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He's been employed at the Fox-owned station since 1993, but he hasn't appeared on air since making the post to Facebook, according to the report.

"2020 takes Alex Trebek but leaves Mitch McConnell? Just end already," Perry wrote in a since-deleted post to his personal Facebook page, seen in a screenshot captured by the Journal Sentinel.

In the hours that followed his making the post, Perry apologized, after backlash and calls for his firing, according to the report.

"I made a statement on my personal Facebook page that was insensitive and does not reflect my journalist values and I was not speaking on behalf of my employer," he said. As the Journal Sentinel reported, Perry appeared to have deleted his personal Twitter and Facebook accounts following the incident, although a professional account for his work at Fox 6 remained active as of Saturday, though he hasn't posted to it since November 7.

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Trebek, the longtime Jeopardy! host, died last week at the age of 80 following a battle with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer that lasted over a year. McConnell, earlier in November, was re-elected to the Senate, beating his Democratic challenger Amy McGrath with 57% of the vote, according to Insider and Decision Desk HQ. It will be the 78-year-old's seventh term in the US Senate.

As the Journal Sentinel reported, it's unclear how long the anchor's suspension will last and whether his leave is paid or unpaid. Neither Fox 6 nor Perry immediately return Insider's requests for comment on Saturday.

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