The Potential Price of Ego: Geraldo Rivera's Most Idiotic Moment!

Rivera; What a Jackass!

I have been watching Geraldo Rivera for decades. While he has ALWAYS been about inserting himself into the story, he has gotten some pretty good “gets” over the years. He’s also occasionally bombed. Still, he is usually interesting regardless of what position you may take on a given subject.

But this weekend, he went completely overboard in terms of professionalism and common sense.

On Friday evening, while preparing for The Five, a panel discussion show on FOX, Rivera started to catch reports of violence in Paris. As the reports of violence escalated, he became worried about where his daughter was and concerned for her safety. As it turns out, she was at the soccer game, France vs Germany.

At some point that evening, Rivera made two decisions. One was to go to Paris and be with his daughter, who he found out in short order was out of danger and in good health. What dad wouldn’t want to do that? His second decision was mind-bogglingly stupid and utterly unprofessional. He decided to feature himself, in a self-aggrandizing way, in one of the most significant events since 9/11. He wanted to put himself in the center ring. So desperate is he to prove he’s still the young, brash reporter of the late 70’s, that he rigged a news moment to feature himself favorably.

So far, it’s all just Gerry being his silly, late middle-aged self. It was the content of the moment from which a thinking person and a responsible father recoils. With cameras pre-staged (no one was chasing down Rivera, images shaking and distorted, to try to capture the moment) Rivera enters the frame to greet and comfort his daughter so we can all have a moment of comfort, artistically constructed, knowing she is safe. [Sigh]

Rivera! You epic idiot! You clumsy jackass! Why didn’t you just paint a target on your daughter’s back? In an effort to rig a personal touchdown, you elevated your daughter from relative obscurity to being the daughter of legendary you! In a part of the world where cops avoid Muslim neighborhoods and religious nut bags have far too much running room, you have given the same nut bags images to consider when deciding how to make their next headline.

As a father and grandfather, I naturally hope nothing happens to her. She seems so sweet. I hope you make the smart move and decide to bring her home. But as someone who has an understanding of basic security and the history of terrorism, I condemn your circus stunt and can only sneer at those who participated in it.

See how to avoid making yourself a target for terrorists. Pay close attention to #10 as it applies here. Basically you should not elevate your profile.

Matt Jordan is a travel writer, political commentator and author of 16 20 24. Get your SIGNED copy here!

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