It's not often that a news host feels compelled to ask a guest if he's been drinking, but that bizarre scenario unfolded Monday night as former Trump aide Sam Nunberg made the rounds of cable shows to complain about Robert Mueller's subpoena of him. On Tuesday, Charlie Gasparino of Fox Business Network tweeted that Nunberg now plans to fully cooperate with Mueller and will "go get treatment following his grand jury appearance on Friday." The entire spectacle has some wondering whether media outlets exploited an apparently vulnerable guest:
- The worry: "I know it's compelling to watch Sam's bizarre interviews right now ... but I'm actually concerned that someone I've known a long time is not okay," tweeted SE Cupp of HLN on Monday.
- One critique: "This is one of the reasons America hates the media," write Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei at Axios. "Our entire industry lit itself on fire because a troubled Trump hanger-on made an ass of himself—live."