There’s a bit of a sadist in Thomas Seltzer.
At any rate, that is what he himself told NRK journalist Kjetil Solhøi in an interview last week. They were actually supposed to be discussing Seltzer’s programme Trygdekontoret on NRK Radio, which is about the US and the American election.
Instead, Seltzer spent most of the interview condemning and lambasting Norwegian Trump supporters and Republicans. This has been one of his favourite pastimes in recent years, and the tax-funded state broadcaster is only too happy to spread his message.
Seltzer tells NRK that he is a ‘traveller in misery’. My own experience with him confirms that this description fits. Seltzer delights in tormenting Norwegian Trump supporters, but has a very low tolerance for being met with harsh criticism himself.
When I criticised one of his UXA episodes, he threatened legal action and launched personal attacks.
Seltzer loves to provoke
NRK journalist Kjetil Solhøi explains that Seltzer has been producing TV and radio programmes about the US for ten years and is very active on social media. He loves to talk, and he loves to provoke. Solhøi asks if he gets a lot of flak. Seltzer doesn’t hesitate to reply:
– No, but there’s a bit of a sadist in me. I love to tease Norwegian Trump supporters. I can’t get enough of it!
However, Seltzer draws a clear distinction between Trump voters on either side of the Atlantic. – He respects American Trump voters, they have their reasons and must live with the consequences.
The sadistic version of respect: You’ve voted wrong, and now you’re going to pay the price. But when it comes to Seltzer’s America, and particularly the conservative part of the US, he is far from respectful.
In several episodes of UXA, he portrays Trump supporters in a derogatory manner, including in the episode on Florida, ‘MAGA-luf’. Henrik Heldahl put it best in Nettavisen:
In Thomas Seltzer’s world, Florida has become a safe haven for MAGA fanatics, where one of the governor’s key political priorities is to oppress transgender people. A sort of right-wing hell where MAGA supporters move to live the MAGA lifestyle.
‘Rapepublicans’ are totally in
And not long ago, he told Dagbladet that it was perfectly acceptable to refer to the Republican Party as ‘Rapepublicans’. According to journalist Sunniva Archer Knive, he delivered a scathing verdict on Trump supporters in the interview.
So spare us, Seltzer, your attempts to portray yourself as a reflective and thoughtful social critic.
But it is when he talks about Norwegian Trump supporters that Seltzer really becomes ‘sadistic’:
But then you have people on benefits in Norway who sit there cheering Trump on. They want the welfare state here in Norway, but begrudge the Americans the same. I believe that is a pure form of anti-Americanism.
Basket of deplorables
Where to begin? Seltzer and Hillary Clinton would probably have got on well. Put everyone who might agree with Trump into one big basket labelled ‘deplorables’.
The statement is wrong on several levels. The most revealing aspect is the top-down attitude he displays. Seltzer disparages people on benefits, whilst at the same time taking it for granted that Norwegian Trump supporters are dependent on the welfare state.
And NRK believes this constitutes balanced and objective journalism, fully in line with press ethics and the Code of Conduct? Seltzer continues in the same vein, also condemning the party and the voters he supposedly respects.
“There is so much at stake,” he tells the NRK journalist:
“People in Norway must understand that the Republican Party is no longer a normal conservative party. It has become a radical, revolutionary movement. They’ve had enough of democracy. They’re fed up with it, and so it’s simply a matter of preventing people from voting.
Those who trust NRK and Seltzer have probably already picked up on this distorted picture of the Republican Party. But the description fits the Democratic Party better, given how it has evolved in recent years.
Is Seltzer anti-American?
Norway’s supposedly foremost US expert ought to know that no one is stopping people from voting. What the party and the voters want are the same secure electoral rules as in Seltzer’s home country, Norway.
But hang on a moment. Why doesn’t Seltzer grant Americans the same security, with government-issued ID and limited use of postal votes? I believe that is a pure form of anti-Americanism.
Then Seltzer really lets rip. The NRK journalist simultaneously takes care to tone down the impact of the statement by introducing it as follows: – Nevertheless, the cultural critic and satirist cannot quite hold back:
– There isn’t much I can say in defence of Nazi Germany, but the SS men certainly looked cooler than some of the people around Trump. And they didn’t hide what they thought; they simply said, ‘We’re going to kill them and them’. Whilst Trump’s entourage claims they are ‘defending freedom’. No, they aren’t.
This, then, is news reporting from those who believe they stand for truth-seeking and ethical journalism. It’s actually quite unbelievable.
Lawyer up, Lyin’ Lizzie
My own experience with Thomas Seltzer dates back to early last year. In light of recent developments – the dispute surrounding Document and the Norwegian Editors’ Association, and the condemnation of our work from all sides – I have decided to explain what happened.
Another reason is that Seltzer is allowed to make one-sided and disparaging remarks about anyone who does not share his views, in NRK’s name and without being challenged, as we also saw in the recent interview on the state broadcaster.
And I will not tolerate Seltzer’s attempts to silence me by threatening legal action. Especially not when the threats come from such a high-profile NRK personality.
It all began when Seltzer sent me a friend request on Facebook, which I accepted in good faith.
Here is his first message to me. I am reproducing it to document what was written, in case he or others were to dispute that this took place.
“Get yourself a solicitor, lying Lizzie,” was his message.
See you in court, you little retard
The case he was referring to was my comment on the UXA episode ‘MAGA-luf’, as mentioned above. I concluded it with the following words:
Thomas Seltzer is sticking his tongue out in the image promoting the Florida episode. The so-called America expert who supposedly loves his homeland and NRK has once again shown us just how much they hate half of America, and they have no shame.
NRK’s Florida: A paradise for MAGA extremists and a hell for trans people
‘Hate’ is a strong word. In hindsight, I would probably have chosen a milder expression. I do not wish to stoop to his level, but I wrote what I wrote, and I stand by my criticism of his programme.
I replied to Seltzer objectively and asked questions, because at the time I did not know which article he was referring to. I suggested we could have a video chat to sort things out, and ended with ‘peace out’.
I wasn’t worried about a lawsuit, but feared he might lodge a complaint with the PFU or take some other action. He replied with quotes from my article and wrote: ‘I’ll leave the semantics to the lawyers. Good luck.’
That’s when I realised he wasn’t joking, and I replied: – You can dish it out but not take it. Your friend request was really an enemy request.
He replied: – Oh, that was clever! See you in court, then, you little retard.
Bring it on, Thomas Seltzer
I’m not telling this story to elicit sympathy. Eventually, I actually found the whole thing so absurd that I started to think it was funny. In conversations with people who know me, I’ve called myself ‘little retard lyin’ Lizzy’.
I’d been following the Norwegian media long before I started working for Document, and in my wildest dreams I’d never imagined that a high-profile NRK figure would threaten me with legal action.
But this is precisely the crux of the matter. Thomas Seltzer is employed by NRK. Many regard him as the foremost expert on America, and his UXA series are watched by millions. They trust him to give them the truth about the US.
But as Henrik Heldahl wrote in *Nettavisen*, the series has gone from being ‘an insightful and refreshing series’ to becoming ‘a party-political narrative’.
Seltzer’s series *Trygdekontoret* has also become a party-political narrative. This became very clear during Arendalsuka, as I wrote in this commentary.
‘Trygdekontoret’ live in Arendal: An hour of attacks on Trump and the Republicans
Hilde Restad is set to appear alongside Seltzer in Trygdekontoret’s special programme on the mid-term elections, ‘Bråktober’. When it comes to the arrogant and one-sided way of commenting on American politics and society, Restad is on a par with Seltzer.
In another exchange with Seltzer regarding the threat of legal action, I wrote to him: Bring it on.
He tried to silence me by threatening legal action. Unlike him, I do not take pleasure in tormenting people or entire groups of people.
But I stand by every single word in this article as well. If Seltzer chooses to take the matter further, I have the same message for him:
Bring it on.
