'My biggest fear is for my country': Brian Williams hosts final episode of MSNBC's The 11th Hour with warning of 'mob' threat to democracy: Hints at return to TV 'I will probably find it impossible to stay away from lights and camera'
Brian Williams has hosted his final episode of MSNBC's The 11th Hour after 28 years at NBC with a warning of a 'mob' threat to democracy.
Williams, who remade his career as an MSNBC host after losing his job as NBC Nightly News anchor for making false claims about a wartime story, said in his final monologue that his 'biggest fear is for my country'.
He also accused politicians who swore an oath to the U.S. Constitution of deciding to 'burn it all down - with us inside'.
The anchor, 62, also used the three-minute speech to keep the door open for future possibilities away from NBC, saying that he would 'find it impossible to stay away' from his viewers and TV cameras.
Williams' final show comes after he said in a note to colleagues last month that 'following much reflection,' he had decided to exit when his contract ends in December.
Williams, 62, said he will take a few months off to spend time with his family.
Brian Williams has hosted his final episode of MSNBC's The 11th Hour after 28 years at NBC with a warning of a 'mob' threat to democracy
Brian Williams is seen in 2005 marking his first anniversary in the anchor chair at NBC Nightly News after taking over for Tom Brokaw
Speaking during his final show, Williams said: 'My biggest worry is for my country. The truth is, I'm not a liberal or a conservative. I'm an institutionalist. I believe in this place. And in my love of my country, I yield to no one.
'But the darkness on the edge of town has spread to the main roads and highways and neighborhoods. It's now at the local bar, and the bowling alley, at the school board, and the grocery store. And it must be acknowledged and answered for.'
Williams continued: 'Grown men and women who swore an oath to our Constitution, elected by their constituents possessing the kinds of college degrees I could only dream of have decided to join the mob and become something they are not while hoping we somehow forget who they were.
'They’ve decided to burn it all down – with us inside. That should scare you to no end as much as it scares an aging volunteer fireman.'
The concerns he raised follows his tenure reporting an era of U.S. politics which saw the rise of Donald Trump and the January 6 Capitol Riots, as well as extreme political factions growing on both the right and left.
Anchors Brian Williams and Rachel Maddow host the 2016 presidential elections on MSNBC
Williams did not reveal what his plans are next, but did keep the door open for future opportunities in front of the camera.
He said: 'I will probably find it impossible to be silent and stay away from you and lights and cameras after I experiment with relaxation and find out what I’ve missed and what’s out there.'
Williams replaced legendary NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw in 2004 and held the coveted position until 2015 - when he was suspended for falsely claiming that he had been in a helicopter hit by enemy fire during the Iraq War.
A subsequent investigation found that he had made other inaccurate statements about his experiences covering events, and he lost the job.
He was later given the 11pm hour at MSNBC, which he turned into a fast-moving, entertaining newscast summing up the day's news.
Williams replaced legendary NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw in 2004 and held the coveted position until 2015 - when he was suspended for falsely claiming that he had been in a helicopter hit by enemy fire during the Iraq War. Pictured: Williams with the American military reports from the Camp Liberty in Baghdad, Iraq
Announcing his exit from the network in November, Williams wrote: 'This is the end of a chapter and the beginning of another. There are many things I want to do, and I'll pop up again somewhere.'
'For the next few months, I’ll be with my family, the people I love most and the people who enabled my career to happen. I will reflect on the kindness people have shown me, and I will pay it forward.
Williams and his wife Jane have two adult children, including actress Alison Howell Williams, who gained acclaim on the HBO series Girls.
Brian Williams began broadcasting his current show, The 11th Hour, shortly before the 2016 presidential election. His current contract expires at the end of 2021.
Williams got his start in broadcast journalism at KOAM-TV in Kansas, and worked his way up to bigger markets before landing a job at New York's WCBS in 1997.
Williams began broadcasting his current show, The 11th Hour, shortly before the 2016 presidential election. His current contract will lapse at the end of 2021
Brian Williams and wife, Jane, are seen arriving at the Obama White House in 2009 for a State Dinner for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
The newsman joined NBC News in 1993 as chief White House correspondent, also anchoring the weekend nightly news.
Following Tom Brokaw's retirement in 2004, Williams took over the top job at NBC News, anchoring the weekday national news broadcast.
He won praise early on for his coverage of Hurricane Katrina, including harsh criticism of the Bush administration over failures in the government's response.
Under Williams, NBC Nightly News consistently led in the ratings, beating rival broadcasts from ABC and CBS. Williams was showered in plaudits, including 12 Emmy Awards.
Over the years, however, there were numerous incidents in which Williams was accused of embellishing or fabricating details of certain events.
In 2008, for example, conflicting accounts called into question his statement that he was at the Brandenburg Gate of the Berlin Wall 'the night the wall came down.'
Brian Williams prepares for the nightly news broadcast in 2005. He won praise early on for his coverage of Hurricane Katrina, including harsh criticism of the Bush administration
Williams is seen interviewing then-Vice President Joe Biden during his tenure as anchor of NBC Nightly News
He also once claimed to have flown into Baghdad with SEAL Team Six, which was contradicted by a Special Operations official who said that the SEALs do not embed journalists.
These and similar questionable incidents flew under the radar for the most part, until Williams in 2015 was forced to apologize and recant for telling a disproven story about his experiences in the Iraq War.
He had claimed on a Nightly News broadcast that he was on a military helicopter in Iraq that was 'forced down after being hit by an RPG'.
Tape of the original reporting from the incident in 2003 showed Williams saying that the helicopter traveling ahead of him had been targeted by an RPG and forced to make an emergency landing.
The story evolved over the years in multiple retellings, but soldiers aboard the helicopter Williams was traveling in said that no rocket-propelled grenades had been fired at that specific aircraft.
In a public statement announcing Williams' suspension, then NBCUniversal Chairman Steve Burke said: 'By his actions, Brian has jeopardized the trust millions of Americans place in NBC News. His actions are inexcusable and this suspension is severe and appropriate.'
Lester Holt took over for Williams as Nightly News anchor, and remains in that position to this day.
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December 10, 2021
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