ROCHESTER, Minnesota (AP) – A Southeast Minnesota television reporter who was wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat at a Trump rally that he was covering was fired.
James Bunner was a multimedia journalist for KTTC-TV in Austin. He was wearing the hat Thursday while he was covering the appearance of President Donald Trump in Rochester and images of him wearing the hat began appearing on Twitter.
(James Bunner, KTTC-TV Multimedia Reporter Mark Vancleave / Star Tribune via AP)
Information director Noel Sederstrom said the station did not allow staff members to cover stories while wearing political campaign clothes. Sederstrom says Bunner was fired on Friday.
Bunner did not have a phone number listed and did not immediately return a social media message requesting a comment on Friday.
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Variations on hats – Make America Great Again & # 39; from Trump
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A woman smiles after receiving an autograph from Donald Trump, presidential candidate and Republican businessman in the United States, after speaking at a campaign rally at the South Point Resort and Casino in New York. Las Vegas, Nevada, January 21, 2016. REUTERS / David Becker
A gay rights delegate attends the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, July 27, 2016. REUTERS / Lucy Nicholson
Ana Gomez, Member of the Public, wearing the "Immigrants Make America Great" cap, inspired by Donald Trump's hat-style presidential candidate in the United States, welcomes Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during an election campaign held at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida, United States of America September 6, 2016. REUTERS / Brian Snyder
Vendors sell hats in front of a rally of US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Gaffney, South Carolina on February 18, 2016. REUTERS / Jonathan Ernst
Amerindian activists are mobilizing to ask President Barack Obama to stop the Dakota access pipeline, in front of the White House in Washington, United States, on September 13, 2016. REUTERS / Jonathan Ernst
A participant wears a hat "Make Donald Drumpf Again" at the "Politicon" convention in Pasadena, California, United States, June 25, 2016. REUTERS / Patrick T. Fallon
A man and a child wear "Make America Great Again" hats while waiting for Republican candidate Donald Trump's candidacy at "Joni's Roast and Ride" in Des Moines, Iowa, USA, on August 27, 2016. REUTERS / Carlo Allegri
US presidential candidate Donald Trump signs a hat at a campaign rally in West Chester, Pennsylvania, United States, on April 25, 2016. REUTERS / Dominick Reuter
A man is wearing a hat that says "Make America Gay Again," a parody of Donald Trump's campaign slogan while watching the LGBT Pride Parade in San Francisco, San Francisco, California on June 26, 2016. REUTERS / Elijah New
A man wears a "Make America Great Again" hat as a presidential candidate for US Republican Donald Trump during a protest in front of an airplane hangar in Rochester, New York, on April 10, 2016. REUTERS / Carlo Allegri – TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
On February 10, 2016, supporters of US Republican candidate Donald Trump appear in front of a rally with her at the Clemson Breeding Center in Pendleton, South Carolina. REUTERS / Jonathan Ernst
The images of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton (left) and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump are painted on decorative pumpkins created by artist John Kettman in LaSalle, Illinois, in the United States, June 8, 2016. REUTERS / Jim Young TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
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(James Bunner, KTTC-TV Multimedia Reporter Mark Vancleave / Star Tribune via AP)