Moment when Emily Maitlis goes off air and calls Donald Trump ‘bats***’ – while sparking Ofcom row over expletive-laden US election coverage

Emily Maitlis was mocked by co-host Krishnan Guru-Murthy after swearing in live on air during Channel 4’s US election coverage.

The ex-BBC journalist was twice attacked by her fellow presenter for swearing during the station’s eight-hour broadcast, leading to calls for Ofcom to intervene and sanction her behaviour.

Just a few hours later, Maitlis mysteriously disappeared from the show before Mr Guru-Murthy claimed she ‘started swearing’ and promised to ‘tell her off later’.

But after returning to the studio, she sparked outrage again after letting a swear word slip while citing Donald Trump’s claim that illegal immigrants in the US were eating cats and dogs – which she described as “bats***”.

Mr Guru-Murthy was forced to intervene again, telling the 54-year-old to ‘stop swearing’, before Maitlis then apologized, adding: ‘How else could you describe it?’

Emily Maitlis (pictured) was mocked by co-host Krishnan Guru-Murthy after swearing in live on air during Channel 4’s US election coverage

Boris Johnson, Carol Moseley Braun, Sean Spicer, Emily Maitlis and Krishnan Guru-Murthy during Channel 4’s US election coverage

At around 5am this morning, Maitlis left Channel 4’s coverage for another work project, with Mr Guru-Murthy addressing his co-presenters on screen.

He said: ‘I’ll tell Emily later because I know she started swearing. In the UK it could be the middle of the night, but they’re still a bit sensitive to that.’

Later in the show, the former Newsnight presenter was told off again by her co-host after she let a swear word slip.

She said, “It’s not like they disagree on one thing. The whole is asymmetrical.

‘When Donald Trump talked about eating cats and dogs, half of America thought, “These are bats***. I can’t believe what he’s saying. This is going to be the end of him.”

Mr Guru-Murthy then intervened saying, “Stop cursing. I have to tell it [the guests] away for swearing and then you do it’ before Maitlis subsequently apologised.

Elsewhere, the show addressed former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for promoting his memoir Unleashed, which was serialized by the Mail.

When Maitlis asked him if he still wanted Trump to win, the Mail Columnist joked: ‘Well, as I say in my book Unleashed..’, at which point Mr Guru-Murthy intervened, saying ‘put it away, put it away with it, enough’.

The former Newsnight presenter (left) was laughed at by her co-presenter (right) earlier in the evening after letting a swear word slip

Johnson, 60, spoke about his meeting with Donald Trump before mentioning Unleashed again

Johnson said he met with former US president and Republican candidate Donald Trump after his assassination attempt in July.

“In case I didn’t mention this, I’m promoting my book Unleashed and I talked to him about Ukraine,” he joked to the camera, holding up a copy of his book.

When asked whether he would follow in Trump’s footsteps regarding a political comeback if he wins the presidential election, Mr Johnson said: ‘The answer is clear in Unleashed, where you can find the full discussion on this subject. ‘

Maitlis then told him: ‘We’re not all going to read your book, so tell us, do you want to make a political comeback… You can’t actually answer any questions.’

Mr. Johnson replied, “By the way, Emily, I’ve been answering all your questions all evening. I am currently enjoying promoting my book Unleashed, available in all good bookstores.’

Mr Johnson, 60, has been promoting his new memoir titled Unleashed after it was released last month.

The 784-page book looks back at Mr Johnson’s time as prime minister – from 2019 to 2022 – including Brexit and the Covid pandemic.

The presidential election results continue to indicate that Donald Trump could retake the White House.

The former president won a wave of states early Tuesday evening and appeared poised to regain several swing states he lost to Joe Biden in 2020, with Trump’s camp saying they were “confident” of victory.

By comparison, at Harris’ watch party in Washington, DC, silence descended and supporters were seen hugging each other as they began to contemplate a possible defeat.

Actor Brian Cox also expressed his despair at the way the voting went on Channel 4 last night, which gave a bleak prospect of a Trump victory.

“It’s the most crucial election in my lifetime and we need to make sure he does the same [Trump] doesn’t come in, because he’s a monster, he really is.

‘He’s crazy. He’s insane. He wants to be a dictator.

“It’s all so clear what he’s been talking about, I don’t know why the American people aren’t listening to him.

‘The kind of nonsense he told. I think he’s lost it. I think he is deeply mentally unstable.

“This is not a man who should be president of the United States.”