Ed Schultz, a veteran radio broadcaster and former show host for MNSBC and RT, has died at age 64, according to WDAY, a Fargo, ND, radio station where he was once an employee.
The station reports Schultz died of natural causes at his Detroit Lakes home.
The progressive populist hosted MSNBC’s The Ed Show between 2009 and July 29, 2015.
In a recent interview, the far-left host claimed his support for Sen. Bernie Sanders during the 2016 presidential election led to his firing from MSNBC.
“I think the Clintons were connected to [NBC’s] Andy Lack, connected at the hip,” Schultz said. “I think that they didn’t want anybody in their primetime or anywhere in their lineup supporting Bernie Sanders. I think that they were in the tank for Hillary Clinton, and I think that it was managed, and 45 days later I was out at MSNBC.”
Once an outspoken critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin, Schultz joined RT America in January 2016. Working for the Kremlin news network is “the most freedom I’ve ever had,” he declared this spring. “I’m doing real journalism. It’s not opinion,” he said. “There was more oversight and more direction given to me on content at MSNBC than there ever has been here at RT.”
During a surprise appearance at the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Schultz offered up his views on Donald Trump presidential campaign.
“Trump went into Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin and he took down the progressive firewall, because he talked to the American people about a deal,” the veteran news host said when asked about Trump’s appeal on trade. “I went into these towns, and I saw the anguish and the hurt,” he continued. “For years, the American heartland thought that Democrats and the progressive movement were their best friend, but guess what? The jobs left anyways. Donald Trump came in and promised them a deal.”