'Lost total respect for this person': Sportscaster Bob Costas slammed for comparing Donald Trump's supporters to 'toxic cult'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Sportscaster Bob Costas stirred up quite the buzz on social media recently. His remarks likening former president Donald Trump's supporters to a 'toxic cult' sparked a lot of discussion online.

Criticism aimed at Trump and his supporters is a familiar tune, but it hit a fever pitch when Trump dubbed himself a "proud political dissident" during his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) over the weekend.

Trump isn't exactly unfamiliar with criticism himself. Just recently, he faced backlash for his CPAC speech where he confidently bragged about his political prowess, citing a significant victory over GOP rival Nikki Haley in the South Carolina Republican primary.

He even went so far as to suggest that if divine intervention determined election outcomes, he'd have won California in 2020 too.

Bob Costas slams Donald Trump's supporters

According to Fox News, Sportscaster Costas found himself in hot water with 'The Big Weekend Show' panelists shortly after he criticized Trump supporters as part of a "toxic cult" during his appearance on CNN's 'Smerconish' last Saturday.

During his time on 'Smerconish,' Costas didn't hold back, labeling Trump as the "most disgraceful figure in modern presidential history" and didn't spare his followers either. Fox News reported that Costas didn't stop there and described Trump as a "bubbling cauldron of loathsome traits."

Aiming at Trump's supporters, Costas remarked, "You have to be in the throes of some sort of toxic delusion and in a toxic cult to believe that Donald Trump has ever been, in any sense, emotionally, psychologically, intellectually, or ethically fit to be President of the United States. But his supporters are locked in on that," as per Fox News.

The panelists on 'The Big Weekend Show' didn't hold back in their criticism of Costas' statements either.

Fox News reported that Guy Benson, a radio host and Fox News contributor, pointed out, "74, 75 million people in this country voted for Donald Trump. I'm not sure that's a great look [for Costas]."

Benson, along with Fox News contributors Katie Pavlich and Lisa Boothe, shared their own perspectives on the political landscape while targeting Costas, with Pavlich remarking, "From sports to saying Trump supporters are a cult… It was a deplorable moment for him," according to Fox News.

Boothe suggested that such criticism would be directed at any candidate in the Republican race for the White House. With Trump currently leading the race and winning all primary victories so far, the spotlight is on him.

"Let's say Nikki Haley did get the nomination, but she's not going to. He would be turning the same ire toward her, right? Remember, they called John McCain racist. Mitt Romney was a sexist. Basically, if you're a Republican, you have a target on your back," Boothe said, as reported by Fox News.

She added, "They're going to criticize Donald Trump, but we're seeing, with Joe Biden, a fracturing coalition of the people that propelled him to victory in 2020, saying, ‘You know what? We thought that you were going to be better. You weren’t.' And now Trump's going in and can easily say, ‘Things were good under my watch…'."

Internet users assert they have lost respect for Bob Costas

A Facebook user trolled Costas and stated, "Lost total respect for this person"

A user wrote, "Freedom of Speech does not mean Freedom from Consequences. He will receive his due, in whatever form it takes, as do we all."

Another user wrote, "He needs to keep his opinions to himself on the air. It’s his right to have an opinion even if it’s wrong but he should not be using his professional position to spread hate."

A user commented, "He'll probably keep his job..... if the tables were turned though and he said the same thing about Biden supporters.... then he'd be fired in an instant."

Another user commented, "He’s done!"

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.