Alec Baldwin: Brian Williams Tried to Appeal to 'Pro-Military' Audience With Exaggerated Iraq Story
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The former '30 Rock' star weighs in on Williams scandal, saying that the suspended NBC News anchor 'fell even unconsciously victim to something, which was wrapping himself in the flag.'

AceShowbiz - A month after Brian Williams was first accused of lying about his Iraq story, Alec Baldwin weighed in on the controversy on his WNYC radio show Tuesday, March 3. The actor offered his opinion on the issue, saying that the NBC News anchor exaggerayed the story in an effort to appeal to "NBC Nightly News" "pro-military, conservative" audience.

"Brian, I think, fell even unconsciously victim to something, which was wrapping himself in the flag and in the glory of the military to please his audience," so said the "30 Rock" alum. "I see his language and I see the way he plays it out and I try to understand people as an actor, like what they're going through."

"And I thought, 'He's trying to communicate to people here. He's trying to tell them something,' " Baldwin added. "And I think his crowd happens to be a very pro-military, conservative crowd. I mean, six o'clock news on NBC ... it's an older, more conservative crowd."

George Stephanopoulos, who appeared on Baldwin's show, chimed in, "I don't think I would do what he did, in that case." He went on saying, "I'm surprised. I didn't quite understand how it got into the broadcast. You know, we all are surrounded by big teams. And that was a little bit surprising."

Personally, though Stephanopoulos admitted he's "not friends with Brian," he said he likes him. "He's funny. He's a good guy. I've always respected his work," the "Good Morning America" anchor said.

He added, "One of the cautionary tales of the whole Brian Williams episode is: We all make mistakes, and you realize it can go like that."

Williams has been suspended from NBC for six months without pay after Stars and Stripes pointed out that Williams' story about his helicopter being hit by enemy in Iraq in 2003 was not true. The journalist then admitted that he wasn't in the Chinook which was hit by an RPG.

He apologized for his mistake by posting on his Facebook page, "You are absolutely right and I was wrong. In fact, I spent much of the weekend thinking I'd gone crazy. I feel terrible about making this mistake, especially since I found my OWN WRITING about the incident from back in '08, and I was indeed on the Chinook behind the bird that took the RPG in the tail housing just above the ramp."

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