Former Donald Trump Adviser, Roger Stone, Suggests ‘Pistols At Dawn’ With Geraldo Rivera
The unceremonious departure of Roger Stone from Donald Trump’s faltering presidential campaign has officially become the latest sideshow-quality spin-off of a raucous election cycle. In fact, Stone’s antics in the days leading up to his parting of company with Trump have even garnered a direct threat of violence from Fox News contributor Geraldo Rivera.
Angered by some of Stone’s tweets about CNN consultant Ana Navarro and former CNN contributor Roland Martin, Rivera recently tweeted that he is willing to duke it out with Roger Stone the next time they meet in person.
@RogerJStoneJr when I see you around Fox News I’m going to kick your racist ass punk
— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) August 5, 2015
The Right Scoop notes that the offending tweets by Roger Stone suggested that Navarro and Martin were employed by CNN not because of their journalistic abilities and insight, but because of a quota system at the network.
Ana Navarro the dumbest person on TV since CNN fired moron @rolandmartin – both quota hires #CNN
— Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) July 28, 2015
So called political analyst Anna Navarro is literally a moron. #quota? #cnn
— Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) July 13, 2015
It’s not clear when or how the tweets came to Geraldo’s attention, but his spirited defense of his colleagues didn’t exactly impress Roger Stone. In a statement posted on his own website and re-published in part by Daily Caller, Stone upped the ante by calling for a duel.
“I would remind that there was a time when public figures settled their differences with pistols at dawn. Maybe there’s something to be said for that. Bring it on, Geraldo. I’ll let you know next time I’m in the building. After all, what’s left when your shows have been cancelled and your greatest contribution to TV in recent years is losing on Celebrity Apprentice?”
Stone also responded on Twitter, making a crack about Geraldo’s 2013 near-naked selfie. He also brought up an interview that Geraldo conducted Lyndon Johnson’s alleged mistress Madeleine Duncan Brown.
@GeraldoRivera sold out. TV reporting proved #LBJkilledJFK-inteviewed LBJ mistress -destroyed single bullet- Now agrees with Warren Com #JFK
— Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) August 5, 2015
While the LBJ/JFK reference might have appeared as something of a non-sequitur to many in the Twitterverse, the Kennedy assassination is a recurring — and arguably defining — theme in Roger Stone’s career, both as a political operative and as an author. In September 2014, Stone appeared on the podcast The Unexplained to promote his book, Nixon’s Secrets, and during a wide-ranging discussion, Stone touched on his opinions about Johnson’s involvement in the murder of John F. Kennedy. In 2013, Stone published an extensive volume detailing his theories, entitled The Man Who Killed Kennedy: The Case Against LBJ.
His estrangement from Donald Trump’s presidential efforts aside, Roger Stone has a lengthy resume of integral work in some of the most defining campaigns and administrations in American history. Indeed, Stone himself seems mostly at peace with his decision to stand down this time around, recently stating that he believes Trump is “losing his grip on reality.”
Whether or not Rivera and Stone actually exchange blows when they next meet, it is a relative certainty that that their paths will likely cross at some point in the future. Given Stone’s extensive, first-hand knowledge of the American political decision and Rivera’s enduring presence on cable news, it’s just a matter of time before they’re sharing a green room or on-set appearance. Even if Geraldo is fully clothed and Roger Stone doesn’t have a pistol in his hand, it’ll probably still be an encounter to remember.
[Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images Entertainment]
