Juan Williams: NPR Was Looking for a Reason to Fire Me

Juan Williams, now a full-time Fox contributor, said on "Fox and Friends" this morning that he believes that executives at NPR were looking for a reason to fire him and found the ammunition with his comments about Muslims earlier this week.

"I think they were looking for a reason to get rid of me. They were uncomfortable with the idea that I was talking to the likes of Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity."

Host Gretchen Carlson asked Williams about Congress defunding NPR. Here was his reply:

You know what? I love NPR. I think that NPR is an important institution. I think oftentimes the quality of journalism is fantastic. I’m not about attacking NPR. But I do think this, Gretchen. If they want to compete in the marketplace, they should compete in the marketplace. They don’t need public funds. I think they should go out there, if they think the product is so great, go out and sell the product. And what happens is, too often, then, they want to make it out like, “You know what? We are a public jewel and we need the protection of the federal government. We need federal funds that come through the member stations and they pay for this product.” Nonsense. They are on a federal dole, is what it is And they better admit it and step up if they want to compete.

But Republicans on Capitol Hill are already looking into the possibility of pulling the financial plug. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) is expected to discuss such a proposal sometime today.