Bill Murray asks Kevin Hassett to say 'My dog just died'
Actor interrupts economic adviser's CNBC interview in a bid to stop him smiling.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Bill Murray asks Kevin Hassett to say 'My dog just died'
Photograph: Variety (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Actor Bill Murray interrupted a live CNBC interview featuring Kevin Hassett, Donald Trump's top economic adviser.
- Murray asked Hassett to say the phrase 'My dog just died' to see if it would stop him smiling.
- Hassett, appearing remotely, said the words without smiling.
- Murray had been on CNBC earlier that day to discuss a docuseries.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 10 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 1 of the 11 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
60/100
Hype
41/100
11 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
Only 1 of the 10 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Actor Bill Murray inserted himself into a live CNBC interview on Monday, November 2, 2026, with Kevin Hassett, Donald Trump's top economic adviser. The interview, which was part of the program "Squawk Box" and featured hosts Joe Kernan and Becky Quick, was discussing the state of the economy. Murray, who had appeared on the show earlier that day for a segment about a docuseries, approached the hosts and asked Hassett to say the words, 'My dog just died.' Murray stated his intention was to see what would happen to Hassett's smile.
Hassett, who was appearing remotely, questioned whether it was his dog or Murray's dog. After Murray clarified it was Hassett's dog, Hassett said, 'My dog just died.' The exchange concluded with Kernan exclaiming, 'You did it,' and Murray stating they would call off a plan to take Hassett's blood. Hassett had recently been in the news for calling the affordability crisis in the U.S. a 'myth'.
Disagreement on Hassett's smile
Variety reported that Murray had 'had enough of the grinning mug of Kevin Hassett.' The Wrap stated Murray 'Tries to Break His Smile.' Raw Story reported Murray 'mocks Trump's grinning adviser to his face.' However, The Independent and The Independent (US) reported that Murray asked Hassett to say the words 'in an attempt to get him to stop smiling,' without stating that Hassett was smiling at the time of the interruption. NBC News and digestwire.com reported Murray asked Hassett to say the words 'to wipe smile off his face,' also without stating Hassett was smiling.
What the coverage left out
None of the left or centre-rated reports mentioned Kevin Hassett's recent comments calling the affordability crisis in the U.S. a 'myth,' which Variety included in its full report. No right-rated outlet ran this story.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 2 Nov 2026, 23:45, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
7 rated outlets
- Seven left-rated reports led on the interruption and Murray's request. Variety, The Independent, The Independent (US), The Wrap, and digestwire.com all highlighted Murray asking Hassett to say 'My dog just died' to affect his smile. Raw Story focused on Murray mocking Hassett's 'grinning' adviser. Newser's headline stated Murray made an 'Odd On-Air Ask of White House Advisor.' All seven reports mentioned that Murray had appeared on CNBC earlier that day for an interview about a docuseries.
Centre
2 rated outlets
- Two centre-rated reports focused on the interruption and Murray's interaction with Hassett. The Hill's headline stated Bill Murray 'crashes Kevin Hassett’s CNBC interview' and questioned 'Why is that man always smiling?'. Reality Tea reported Bill Murray 'Wipes the Smile Off Donald Trump's Economic Adviser's Face' and noted the actor challenged Hassett to deliver upsetting news without smiling. Both reports mentioned Murray's earlier appearance on CNBC to discuss his golf travel show.
Right
1 rated outlet
We have not written our reading of the right coverage of this story. The right-rated outlets that ran it are listed below.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Bill Murray asks Kevin Hassett to say 'My dog just died'?
- Of the 10 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 70% are rated left, 20% are rated centre, 10% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 11. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Bill Murray asks Kevin Hassett to say 'My dog just died' left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 10 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Bill Murray asks Kevin Hassett to say 'My dog just died' biased?
- Bill Murray asks Kevin Hassett to say 'My dog just died' is one event reported by 11 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Bill Murray asks Kevin Hassett to say 'My dog just died'?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Bill Murray asks Kevin Hassett to say 'My dog just died'?
- 11 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What did Bill Murray ask Kevin Hassett to say on CNBC?
- Bill Murray asked Kevin Hassett, a top economic adviser to Donald Trump, to say the words 'My dog just died.' Murray stated his intention was to see if this would affect Hassett's smile during a live CNBC interview.
- Did Kevin Hassett say the words Bill Murray asked him to?
- Yes, Kevin Hassett said the words 'My dog just died' without smiling, after Bill Murray asked him to say them during a live CNBC interview. Hassett appeared remotely for the interview.
- Why did Bill Murray interrupt the interview?
- Bill Murray interrupted the CNBC interview with Kevin Hassett because he wanted to see if asking Hassett to say 'My dog just died' would make him stop smiling. Murray had been on the show earlier that day for a different segment.
Read it at the source
11 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
7- Bill Murray Has Odd On-Air Ask of White House Advisor (opens Newser in a new tab)
- Bill Murray gets Trump economic adviser Kevin Hassett to say ‘my dog just died’ on CNBC (opens NBC News in a new tab)
- Bill Murray gatecrashes CNBC studio with bizarre question (opens The Independent (US) in a new tab)
The Independent (US) — is The Independent (US) biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Bill Murray gatecrashes CNBC studio with bizarre question (opens The Independent in a new tab)
The Independent — is The Independent biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Bill Murray Asks Trump’s Top Economic Adviser to Say ‘My Dog Just Died’ to Wipe Smile Off His Face in Bizarre Exchange on CNBC (opens Variety in a new tab)
- Bill Murray mocks Trump's grinning adviser to his face: 'I'm a little concerned' (opens Raw Story in a new tab)
- Bill Murray Crashes 'Squawk Box' Interview With Kevin Hassett, Tries to Break His Smile: 'Say the Words 'My Dog Just Died'' (opens The Wrap in a new tab)
Centre
2Right
1Not rated
1How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
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