'Today' show host slammed for 'sham' interview with 'MAGA hat' teen from viral video

Savannah Guthrie is receiving backlash from all sides for an interview she conducted with Nick Sandmann.

On the "Today Show," Guthrie sat down with the teenager who was attacked all over social media last week. His crime was that he had smirked at an elderly man while wearing a MAGA hat.

Nick Sandmann and Nathan Phillips went viral after a clip of them staring each other down was shared online. Philips, a native American, was beating a drum on the streets of Washington, DC.

Sandmann, 16, walked up to him and stood there smiling, or smirking as many perceived his expression. Both parties claimed they were trying to deescalate things.

It didn't matter who was right when it came to Guthrie's interview, however. She was either blasted for giving a voice to the teenager or for grinding him too hard. People saw it as either unnecessary or unfair.

In part of the interview, Guthrie asked Sandmann, a Covington Catholic High Schooler, if he thinks he should apologize for anything.

He responded:

"I can't say I'm sorry for listening to him and standing there. [...] I wish I would have walked away."

Sandmann got to tell his side of things. Many minorities wondered if their people would have gotten the same chance. History reflects that that would not be the case.

Sandmann continued:

“People have judged me based on one expression, which I wasn't smirking, but people have assumed that and they've gone from there to titling me and labeling me as a racist person."

Viewers saw the interview as being way too soft on the young man. For most, he simply shouldn't have been there in the first place.

Those on the other side thought otherwise. They believed the interview was too much for a teenager. They contrasted it with Phillips' interview with Guthrie.

In that interview, Phillips was supposedly treated as the victim. The questions for each side were notably distinct. Either way, Guthrie lost.

As for Sandmann, he is willing to speak to Phillips again:

“As far as standing there, I had every right to do so. My position is that I was not disrespectful to Mr. Phillips. I respect him. I'd like to talk to him."

We're not sure if Sandmann will get the chance to talk to the former marine and Omaha elder. However, we hope that both sides were genuine and that the experience taught Sandmann and the other students how to behave if a similar situation arises.

The students were at a pro-life rally when things turned south last week. Hebrew Israelites were also having an event at the time.

The religious group spewed more hatred than Sandmann's expression could though it was the former who received the most hate online.