MSNBC President Phil Griffin issued an apology Thursday afternoon after the network's official Twitter account sent out an incendiary tweet about conservatives Wednesday night. He also said that the person responsible for the tweet had been fired.
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus had urged a boycott of the network earlier Thursday, saying that he would bar any RNC staff from appearing on the network until Griffin issued an apology.
The full statement from Griffin, which was read on air Thursday afternoon:
"The tweet last night was outrageous and unacceptable. We immediately acknowledged it was offensive and wrong, apologized and deleted it. We have dismissed the person responsible for the tweet. I personally apologize to Mr. Priebus and to everyone offended. At MSNBC, we believe in passionate, strong debate about the issues, and we invite voices from all sides to participate. That will never change."
The tweet suggested that the "rightwing" would "hate" a new Cheerios ad featuring a biracial family.
MSNBC deleted the tweet late last night, and Richard Wolffe, the network's executive editor, apologized