In his final sign-off as an MSNBC anchor, Brian Williams said that his loyalty does not lay with either of the major political ideologies, noting that he is "not a liberal or a conservative."
"After 28 years of peacock logos on much of what I own, it is my choice now to jump without a net into the great unknown. As I do for the first time in my 62 years, my biggest worry is for my country," Williams said as he closed his show, "The 11th Hour with Brian Williams."
"The truth is I'm not a liberal or a conservative. I'm an institutionalist," he continued. "I believe in this place and in my love of country, I yield to no one."
Signing off MSNBC for the final time, Brian Williams says "my biggest worry is for my country" while bemoaning "the darkness" that has engulfed the nation.
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) December 10, 2021
"I’m not a liberal or a conservative. I’m an institutionalist. I believe in this place." pic.twitter.com/fnx1pclUKs
Williams went on to say that the "darkness on the edge of town" had spread across communities, now making its presence felt "at the local bar and the bowling alley, at the school board and the grocery store, and it must be acknowledged and answered for."
"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," Williams said. He did not, however, call out any individual lawmakers.
"They've decided to burn it all down with us inside," he continued. "That should scare you to no end as much as it scares an aging volunteer fireman."
Williams has served in a number of roles since joining NBC News in 1993, including as the chief White House correspondent, anchor and managing editor of "The News with Brian Williams," the anchor for "Nightly News" and most recently as the anchor for "The 11th Hour with Brian Williams."
The anchor, although a seasoned journalist at the network, has, at times, found himself in controversy, including one instance in 2015, when he allegedly embellished a story about an experience he had in Iraq. He later apologized to viewers for the story and received a six-month suspension from NBC.