“I Am Mr McAdams, And I Haven’t Said A Word”

Rahul Shivshankar, the Indian TV news anchor, berated the wrong man for nearly two minutes during a broadcast about the war in Ukraine, mistakenly believing Bohdan Nahaylo, chief editor of Kyiv Post was Daniel McAdams, a US foreign policy commentator. 

The clip that quickly went viral shows Shivshankar, an anchor for the Indian news channel Times Now, scolding Nahaylo before McAdams eventually grabs an opportunity to correct the TV host.

Shivshankar wrongly believes that Nahaylo is in fact Daniel McAdams, the executive director of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, after the producers put the wrong title cards next to the interviewees.

The news anchor goes on a rant about American colonialism and mistakenly calls for the Kyiv Post’s chief editor to put boots on the ground if he cares so much about Ukraine. He also tells him to take a “chill pill”, thinking he was directing his infantile tirade towards the American. He launches into a tirade about the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and references the “African nations” and Iraq amid the cross talk too.

Craziest 2 minutes of TV news ever, with opposing guests on the Ukraine war hosted by Indian TV. the ending is a MUST watch.🤦 pic.twitter.com/1USI8bjHif

— Sk Boz, PhD 💙 (@skbozphd) March 3, 2022

Shivshankar proceeds to ask “Mr McAdams” to “get off the fence” and speaks of  “colonial agendas” meanwhile interspersing “Mr McAdams” into every other sentence. While this is going on, the real Mr McAdams is seen trying to make himself heard to no avail.

After Shivshankar says, “You people and your colonial agenda have wrecked us out. Don’t sit here and lecture us Mr McAdams”, the real McAdams manages to say, “Dear host, I haven’t said a word yet. I don’t know why you’re yelling at me. I am Mr. McAdams.” Shivshankar says “Oh” and looks confused and embarrassed. He then apologises.

Many people found the interview hilarious and Daniel McAdams has become an icon featured in memes. Journalist Shuja ul Haq wrote: “Raise your hand if Mr McAdams provided a comic end to your otherwise gloomy day?”

British anchor and former Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan, himself a controversial figure in the UK for airing controversial opinions, shared the video and joked about how important it was to “check who your guests are”.