Sam Donaldson plays the race card

Sam Donaldson accuses the right of disliking Obama because of his race.

NEW YORK — Shortly after Daily Caller reporter Neil Munro interrupted President Barack Obama’s remarks on changes in immigration policy Friday, Editor-in-Chief Tucker Carlson suggested to The Huffington Post that the reporter’s actions were similar to those of former White House correspondent Sam Donaldson during the Reagan years.

In a later official statement, Carlson again mentioned Donaldson when taking issue with ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer dismissing Munro as a “heckler.”

“I don’t remember Diane Sawyer scolding her colleague Sam Donaldson for heckling President Reagan,” Carlson said. “And she shouldn’t have. A reporter’s job is to ask questions and get answers.”

But Donaldson, remembered for his aggressive questioning during the Reagan years and for sparring with White House press secretaries as an ABC News correspondent, rejected the comparison to Munro.

In the email, Donaldson continued:

. . . and there is one more factor, let’s face it: Many on the political right believe this president ought not to be there — they oppose him not for his polices and political view but for who he is, an African American! These people and perhaps even certain news organizations (certainly the right wing talkers like Limbaugh) encourage disrespect for this president. That is both regrettable and adds, in this case, to the general dislike of the press on the part of the general public.

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