Though he is a Baptist minister, the Rev. Al Sharpton's newest promotional spot for MSNBC has him omitting "under God" from language he lifts from the Pledge of Allegiance to advocate for progressive ideas.
Sharpton, who
hosts a show on the left-leaning network, says in the 30-second ad, first noted by
NewsBusters:
"We must have a renewed fight for many of the things we fought for. Because voting rights, and women's rights, and the rights of people against discrimination, whether they're African-American, Latino, lesbian and [sic] gay, must be protected, until we have a nation that is really living up to the creed of one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Not all of one kind. But all."
Urgent: Do You Agree with Boehner and Obama's Tax Compromise? Vote Now.
The commercial is part of a "Lean Forward" series of MSNBC promotional spots, in which progressive show hosts speak to the viewer, discussing left-wing talking points in the context of news reporting.
Sharpton and MSNBC haven't addressed the omission.
MSNBC's sister network, NBC, has also left out "under God" in connection with the Pledge of Allegiance.
In
a commercial aired by NBC for the 2011 U.S. Open Golf Tournament, school children are seen reciting the Pledge of Allegiance spliced with patriotic images of military personnel saluting the flag. In the commercial, the children leave out "under God" from the pledge.
The omission sparked immediate outrage, leading to an on-air apology from the network via NBC sportscaster Dan Hicks.
"We began our coverage of this final round just about three hours ago and when we did it was our intent to begin the coverage of this U.S. Open Championship with a feature that captured the patriotism of our national championship being held in our nation’s capital for the third time. Regrettably, a portion of the Pledge of Allegiance that was in that feature was edited out. It was not done to upset anyone and we’d like to apologize to those of you who were offended by it," said Hicks.
During President Barack Obama’s second inauguration in January, civil rights legend Myrlie Evers-Williams quoted the Pledge of Allegiance during her invocation without saying “under God,” though she did mention God and Jesus multiple times throughout the prayer, according to
Politico.