On June 4, I wrote Scott Pelley kicks himself out at 60 Minutes. It was the story of an arrogant, entitled journalist who publicly insulted and challenged his new bosses, and surprise, surprise, got himself fired. He, and much of the media, have tried to lionize the man speaking truth to power, because--you knew this was coming--it was all Trump’s fault. Donald Trump, you see, told the new CBS owner, who told the new CBS News Division chief, who told the new head of 60 Minutes, who fired Pelley because Trump said so, so of course Pelley was justified in committing gross insubordination, and Pelley should win a Nobel Prize or something because Trump.

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Reality, as always where CBS is concerned, is quite different. The new management at CBS is charged with making the network’s news division profitable by fairly reporting the news, and thereby not alienating half the potential audience. The monsters. There’s little doubt Pelley’s insubordination, which he promptly reported to the New York Times, was instrumental in his self-sabotage. And so was this:

"I have been in combat in Afghanistan. I have been in combat in Iraq. I have been in the war zone in Ukraine multiple times, risking my life and the happiness of my family because of my devotion to the broadcast," Pelley, who has reported from several war zones in his career, told The New York Times. 

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As one might imagine, a great many have pointed out there’s a substantial difference between being a reporter reading copy in a war zone and actually serving in combat. There is no evidence Pelley was ever in deadly danger, and as a reporter, certainly never “served in combat.” That requires training, skill, courage, and selflessness, qualities Pelley lacks. The memes, and X Posts virtually wrote themselves:

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This one was to the point:

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As was this one:

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To be fairer than 60 Minutes, Pelley was almost certainly in danger of tepid airline food and mere three-star service at a five-star hotel at some point. The horror. Others joined in the fun:

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Clay Travis added, "These 'journalists' really think they have the most important jobs in the world. The sanctimony is incredible. You got paid tens of millions of dollars to be on a TV show people only watched because it came on after the NFL, dude."

Fox News contributor Mollie Hemingway wrote, "This propaganda clown falsely claimed to have served in combat in multiple theaters because he read TV lines near real soldiers," calling it, "Low-rent Brian Williams behavior." 

Williams was suspended and demoted from his anchor role at "NBC Nightly News" in 2015 after he falsely claimed to have been in a helicopter in Iraq that was forced to land after being struck by a rocket-propelled grenade.

This one had to leave a mark:

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Perhaps Pelley really was mistreated? After all, Trump wanted him fired, right? Not so much:

Fox News Digital previously learned that Weiss and Bilton repeatedly reached out to Pelley to express they wanted him to remain a "60 Minutes" correspondent and that he hadn't engaged with them prior to Monday's tense showdown, according to a source familiar to CBS News leadership.

Yet even after he was grossly insubordinate to his bosses, they still gave him another chance:

Puck media correspondent Dylan Byers reported Tuesday that CBS News leadership held a meeting with Pelley and that "the two sides did not find common ground," accelerating Pelley's exit from the network. Weiss reportedly asked Pelley to make an apology and accused him of creating a hostile work environment.

Obviously, heroic combat vets don’t apologize or stick around where they’re not wanted. CBS News will just have to somehow struggle along and find someone else to read copy in war zones. Pelley’s next battle will likely involve discovering no one is going to pay him millions for the pleasure of his presence and indignant insults.

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Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, lifelong athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer, and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.