Even genteel, mild-mannered men like legendary weather forecaster Al Roker have their limits. The otherwise good-humored weather anchor for NBC’s “Today” reached his this week thanks to controversial words spoken Tuesday by Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin.
“This nitwit governor in Kentucky, saying that, ‘Oh, we’re weak!’ These are kids who are going to be in sub-zero wind chills,” Roker roared with anger during an appearance Wednesday morning on MSNBC.
“Cancel school! Stop it!” he continued, seething with a rage that many felt was more than justified. “Adults, if they want to be out there, that’s great. These are our children. I’m glad you’re not a teacher!”
Ouch.
Listen:
The outburst came a day after the Kentucky governor told Louisville AM radio station WHAS’s Terry Meiners that closing schools due to below-freezing temperature is contributing to making kids “soft.”
“There’s no ice going with it or any snow,” he said of the weather in the Midwest, where temperatures had been slated to drop to as low as -27 on Wednesday. “I mean, what happens to America? We’re getting soft, Terry. We’re getting soft.”
He added that he was being “only slight facetious” before explaining his reasoning for feeling like this: “But it does concern me a little bit that in America — on this and any number of other fronts — we’re sending messages to our young people that if life is hard, you can curl up in the fetal position somewhere in a warm place and just wait until it stops being hard.”
“And that isn’t reality. It just isn’t,” Bevin concluded.
Listen:
While there’s a strong argument to be made that the next generation of kids is being made soft via safe spaces, participation trophies and other left-wing-concocted nonsense, it’s unclear whether keeping them inside during a deadly polar vortex counts as one of the reasons why.
By Thursday at least eight Americans had died because of the cold front. Moreover, the United States Postal Service — which has long pleged that “[n]either snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds” — had halted its deliveries “from parts of the Dakotas through Ohio,” according to the The Daily Telegraph.
In Chicago, Illinois, where the wind chill reportedly dropped to -49, practically the entire city closed down, including but not limited to museums, institutes, zoos, universities, county officers, health centers, state agencies, courthouses, libraries, restaurants, music events and theaters.
As a result, it’s not a shocker that many social media users rushed to their keyboards to thank Roker for the exasperated lecture he aimed at the Kentucky governor.
Look:
I’m with Al
— cdingens (@cdingens) January 30, 2019
@GovMattBevin is purposely reckless with his speech; worse than that, he is obtuse. Politics has always, and will always, stand in the way of good governing. It’s a shame.
— Ashley Manger (@ashley_manger) January 30, 2019
Snow and ice on my street. 20 crashes last night. Crashes seem to still be happening.
It was smart to cancel classes. Even the University of Louisville Dental School was closed.
Kids should’t have to stand for an hour in these temps waiting for a school bus.— Alida Antonia (@ArtByAlida) January 30, 2019
Bevin was personally challenged by a KY teacher to stand outside for half an hour today as if waiting for a school bus. I haven’t heard that he’s done so. Why not? Too “soft”?
— Gelfling 545 (@mrsnstarr) January 30, 2019
@alroker from a retired KY teacher now living in Rochester THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!! ???❤️❤️❤️??????
— Julie Ross (@Jhale1414) January 30, 2019
Way to go Al Roker. As a parent I agree with you. Kids can’t stay out in this cold.
— Tracey Dale (@TraceyD65739260) January 30, 2019
But the KY governor had plenty who had his back too:
Kentucky can take care of their own business. We don’t need NBC … as if they care
— catsfan (@TMAA70) January 31, 2019
Who knew that Roker was a wuss? Wow.
— Shawn Crowe (@LburgWXandNEWS) January 30, 2019
When I was growing up, I can’t remember a day missed because of cold weather. Snow yes. It’s called bundle your children up, make arrangements to get them to school safely. There aren’t having classes outside.
— Debbie (@Ddaniels715) January 30, 2019
My 3, 5, and 7 year olds were outside playing when I left for work at 8:00 am. They had a blast. The cold is not dangerous if you dress for it.
— Ryan Weston (@uswestons) January 31, 2019
@alroker has a lot to say lately. Except about Matt Lauer and his sex shenanigans.
— Virginia Mooney (@gin2557) January 30, 2019
Stupid liberal BS And what do the kids in AK ND MT do every fu**ing year? #DipShiIdiot
— William McCord (@WilliamHMcCord) January 30, 2019
@alroker You sound like a “wimp and an idiot” criticizing Kentucky governor. I WANT him for my kid’s teacher. WE/ they need to be tough and know how to live (as I did) with weather. One cannot change it or fight it…. 80 year old NE girl. Why why encourage people to be SOFT?
— kathi grant (@ksgdesigner) January 31, 2019
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V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.
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