Bob Beckel | |
|---|---|
 Beckel in 2011 | |
| Born | Robert Gilliland Beckel (1948-11-15)November 15, 1948 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | February 20, 2022(2022-02-20) (aged 73) Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S. |
| Education | Wagner College (BA) |
| Occupations |
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| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Graham Beckel (brother) |
Robert Gilliland Beckel (November 15, 1948 – February 20, 2022) was an Americanpolitical analyst andpundit, andpolitical operative.[1] He was a registered Democrat, and from 2011 until 2015 an analyst and commentator onFox News.[2][3] He was an original co-host ofThe Five until he was released in 2015 after being absent for several months recovering from back surgery.[4] Briefly, Beckel became a commentator forCNN, but returned to Fox News as co-host ofThe Five on January 16, 2017.[5] On May 19, 2017, Fox News announced Beckel had been fired again after he was accused of making a racist remark to a Fox News employee.[6]
Beckel was born inGreenwich Village, Manhattan and grew up inLyme, Connecticut.[1] He is the son of Cambridge Graham Beckel Jr. (author ofWorkshops for the World: The United Nations Family of Agencies)[7] and Ellen Gilliland Beckel.[8][9] Both of Beckel's parents were alcoholics.[10] He is the older brother of actorGraham Beckel.[11]
Beckel received aBA fromWagner College inStaten Island.[12] While in college, he played football and was a brother ofTheta Chi fraternity.[13] and worked forRobert F. Kennedy'spresidential campaign in 1968.[14][15]
After college, Beckel served in thePhilippines as aPeace Corps volunteer from 1971 to 1972,[16] and later was a graduate school professor of politics atGeorge Washington University.[17][18]
In 1977, Beckel joined theUnited States Department of State as deputy assistant secretary of state for congressional relations, becoming the youngest deputy assistantsecretary of state in theCarter administration.[15] In that role he helped to shepherd thePanama Canal Treaty through Congress to ratification.[15][19] The following year he was appointedspecial assistant to the president for legislative affairs, working on ratification ofSalt II and Mideast treaties.[15][20]
Beckel was the campaign manager forWalter Mondale's1984 presidential campaign.[21] During that campaign he became known as the man who effectively wrapped the Wendy's slogan "Where's the beef?" aroundGary Hart,[15][13] Mondale's opponent for the Democratic nomination.
In late 1984 he formed the consulting firm Bob Beckel & Associates, or BBA, a lobbying firm that was succeeded in 1985 by Beckel–Cowan.[22] In 2000 Beckel called on Florida electors to overturnGeorge W. Bush's slim victory overAl Gore. Gore rejected this and Beckel's business partners in his firm left over Beckel's move forcing Beckel to break up his firm.[23]
In 2002 Beckel managed the campaign ofAlan Blinken, theDemocratic nominee forUnited States Senate inIdaho, until he resigned after it became public that he was a witness and victim in an extortion attempt by a prostitute.[24]
From 2005 until the end of 2015, Beckel was a columnist forUSA Today, where he wrote articles with friend and political oppositeCal Thomas in the style of "point–counterpoint."[25] Beckel and Thomas debated issues such asImmigration and theIraq War.[10]
In 2010, he made a brief appearance as himself on theSeason 8 premiere of TV series24 in a mock debate with fellow Fox News AnalystMonica Crowley.[citation needed]
In 2011, Beckel joined Fox News as a co-host ofThe Five and co-hosted some 708 episodes,[26] In December 2011 Beckel said aboutJulian Assange on Fox: "A dead man can't leak stuff ... there's only one way to do it: illegally shoot the son of a bitch."[27]
In October 2011, Beckel nearly choked to death on a piece of shrimp at a Fox News reception, but was saved by Fox News chiefRoger Ailes andThe Five co-hostEric Bolling.[28][29]
During his time onThe Five, Beckel frequently made comments which attracted criticism. On a Fox News panel in 2011, Beckel called for "illegally shoot[ing]"Julian Assange, the editor ofWikiLeaks.[30] In February 2013 Beckel said "When's the last time you heard about rape on a college campus?". After receiving criticism for his comments he apologized.[31] In July 2014, Beckel referred to Chinese citizens as "chinamen"[32][33] and in the same month he referred toThe Bachelorette starAndi Dorfman as a "slut".[34][35]In June 2015, Fox announced that Beckel had left the program.[36][28][37] A Fox spokesman said: "We couldn't holdThe Five hostage to one man's personal issues."[36] Beckel, whose last appearance on the show was in February 2015, had been absent while recovering from back surgery; he had also drawn controversy in the last episode prior to his dismissal, when he described himself as an "Islamophobe" in response to theCharlie Hebdo shooting.[1][36][37] The network issued a statement, saying that Beckel had "entered rehab facility for treatment of an addiction to prescription pain medication."[38]
On January 16, 2017, Beckel rejoinedThe Five as co-host.[39] However, he was again fired in May of that same year, amid claims that he had made racially insensitive remarks to a Black employee.[40] After being fired from Fox, Beckel criticized Fox for "using political tactics to front for Trump", specifically singling outTucker Carlson.[41]
In October 2015, Beckel was hired by CNN to offer commentary on the 2016 election.[42] CNN was criticized for hiring Beckel due to his controversial views on Muslims.[43]
In response toHillary Clinton callingDonald Trump supporters a "basket of deplorables", Beckel responded: "It's the wrong thing to say".[44] On an episode ofDon Lemon Tonight, Beckel questioned former Trump campaign managerCorey Lewandowski's unwillingness to criticize Trump.[45] After the release of theAccess Hollywood tape, Beckel predicted that Trump would lose the2016 presidential election.[46]
In February 2016, Beckel told CNN about an alleged letter that Trump had written toDiana, Princess of Wales, claiming the information would be damaging.[47][48] Beckel said he sought out the letter.[47]
Beckel was a registered Democrat.[49][3] Beckel supportedsingle-payer healthcare,[50]Campaign finance reform,[51]same-sex marriage,[52] and banning handguns.[53]
Beckel was originallypro-choice but his views on abortion changed after he read the Bible.[54] Beckel was described as having anti-Muslim views when proposing to temporarily prohibit foreign Muslim students from entering the country in response to theBoston bombing.[55][56][57] Beckel was a Christian and credited God with saving him from drug addiction and alcoholism.[54]
In 1992, Beckel married Leland Ingham.[58] They had two children and divorced in 2002.[59]
Beckel was a recovering alcoholic.[28][60] He spoke openly about his past addictions to drugs and alcohol, admitting in July 2011 onThe Five: "I'm a recovering addict andcocaine was my drug of choice."
In 2007, Beckel said that he was involved in an altercation in aBethesda, Maryland, grocery store parking lot with a man who took issue with his anti–George W. Bush bumper stickers.[61]
In early 2015, Beckel was absent fromThe Five for a number of weeks, which led to speculation that he had been fired. Fox later announced that his absence was due to "health-related issues." It was later revealed that he had major back surgery on March 26 at a New York–area hospital.[28]
Beckel wassaved later in life, in accordance with Christian doctrine.[62][63]
In late 2015, Beckel published a memoir,I Should Be Dead: My Life Surviving Politics, TV, and Addiction, co-written with John David Mann.[28]Cal Thomas hosted a book-signing party celebrating publication of Beckel's book, which aired in November 2015 onC-SPAN.[64][65]
Beckel died at his home inSilver Spring, Maryland, on February 20, 2022, at the age of 73.[1] Friends and colleagues paid tribute to Beckel includingSean Hannity,Laura Ingraham, andCal Thomas.[3]
After a political baptism as a college student in Robert Kennedy's 1968 campaign, a tour of duty in the Peace Corps, and a successful stint heading up his own consulting firm, Beckel joined the government in 1977. As the deputy assistant secretary of state, he steered the controversialPanama Canal Treaties through Congress. He moved to the White House to head an administration effort to press Congress into passing the Mideast andSALT II treaties.
...Beckel, a liberal commentator who taught in the Graduate School of Political Management for more than a decade...
Look, I'm not one of you Catholics. I'm a Protestant.
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