ABC, NBC Fawn Over Michelle’s ‘Raw and Powerful Takedown’ of Trump

October 13th, 2016 10:48 PM

First Lady Michelle Obama was in New Hampshire Thursday to campaign for Hillary Clinton. While there she unloaded on GOP nominee Donald Trump, “And I can't believe that I'm saying that a candidate for president of the United States has bragged about sexually assaulting women.” Both ABC and NBC couldn’t get enough of it. “And right before Donald Trump took the stage today, we heard from First Lady Michelle Obama… and condemning Trump's comments about women in a raw and powerful takedown. Declaring “enough is enough,”” hyped Anchor Lester Holt on NBC Nightly News.

Clinton fangirl, and NBC reporter, Andrea Mitchell seemed to be just as enthralled by Mrs. Obama. “The first lady speaking with emotion and moral outrage about Donald Trump's language on that tape,” Mitchell started off saying before letting her admiration poke through, “Perhaps the toughest political attack from a first lady.

She went on the describe Mrs. Obama’s speech as “exposing an anger rare and personal,” while noting that the Clinton campaign had been looking forward to it for a long time. “As she was at the democratic convention, Michelle Obama once again, Hillary Clinton's most powerful advocate,” Mitchell continued to tout.

A similar sentiment was shared by ABC’s master hype, Anchor David Muir on World News Tonight, who introduced the segment saying the first lady was “one of Hillary Clinton's most powerful weapons.” He continued to hype announcing, “The first lady saying Trump's worlds have shaken her to the core.

As the segment was coming to a close, Muir inquired to ABC reporter Cecilia Vega about the latest batch of 2,000 e-mails released by WikiLeaks, but he only wanted to know about one in particular. “And tonight, new information about what campaign advisers were saying to each other about getting Hillary Clinton to apologize about the e-mails, the private server,” he asked. “One adviser writing, quote, “Everyone wants her to apologize and she should. Apologies are like her Achilles heel.” Well, she did end up apologizing,” Vega replied.

Of course it would be an e-mail about minimizing the controversy of her private e-mail server. What else could be expected when World News Tonight only discovered the WikiLeaks flood days after it started?

The hype for Mrs. Obama’s speech also extended to Spanish-language network Telemundo with Anchor Jose Diaz-Balart stating, “Who reacted with all her fury today was First Lady Michelle Obama who asked to say "Enough!" to the treatment Trump gives to women that she called gross and unacceptable. All of this comes while some supporters of the mogul are proposing in social media to annul the female vote.” 

Transcript below:

NBC
Nightly News
October 13, 2016
7:06:33 PM Eastern [2 Minutes 28 Seconds]

LESTER HOLT: And right before Donald Trump took the stage today, we heard from First Lady Michelle Obama, campaigning for Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire and condemning Trump's comments about women in a raw and powerful takedown. Declaring “enough is enough.” We get her message tonight from NBC's Andrea Mitchell.

[Cuts to video]

ANDREA MITCHELL: The first lady speaking with emotion and moral outrage about Donald Trump's language on that tape.

MICHELLE OBAMA: I have to tell you that I--I can't stop thinking about this. It has shaken me to my core in a way that I couldn't have predicted.

MITCHELL: Michelle Obama pointedly refusing to use Trump's name.

OBAMA: And I can't believe that I'm saying that a candidate for president of the United States has bragged about sexually assaulting women.

MITCHELL: Perhaps the toughest political attack from a first lady.

OBAMA: It wasn't just locker room banter. This was a powerful individual speaking freely and openly about sexually predatory behavior.

MITCHELL: Mrs. Obama exposing an anger rare and personal.

OBAMA: The shameful comment about our bodies, the disrespect of our ambitions and intellect, the belief that you can do anything you want to a woman, it is cruel. It's frightening. And the truth is, it hurts.

MITCHELL: A case aides say the first lady has been wanting to make for some time.

OBAMA: Here we are in 2016, and we're hearing these exact same things every day on the campaign trail. We are drowning in it. Now is the time for all of us to stand up and say enough is enough. This has got to stop right now. To dismiss this as everyday locker room talk is an insult to decent men everywhere.

MITCHELL: As she was at the democratic convention, Michelle Obama once again, Hillary Clinton's most powerful advocate.

Tell the Truth 2016

OBAMA: I'm with her.

MITCHELL: Especially with millennials.

ASHLEY PARKER: I think she's sort of the best messenger you can have for this, and she put it in such personal terms.

[Cuts back to live]

MITCHELL: Hillary Clinton, who has struggled to make that connection with millennials, tweeting tonight to Michelle Obama, “I'm in awe. Thanks for putting into words what's in so many of our hearts.” Lester?

HOLT: Andrea Mitchell. Andrea, thank you.

...

ABC
World News Tonight
October 13, 2016
6:38:32 PM Eastern [2 Minutes 40 Seconds]

DAVID MUIR: And one of Hillary Clinton's most powerful weapons, Michelle Obama, was on the trail today. And the first lady took aim at Trump, his words about women, the first lady saying Trump's worlds have shaken her to the core. ABC's Cecilia Vega tonight.

[Cuts to video]

CECILIA VEGA: Today in New Hampshire, Michelle Obama had something she needed to get off her chest.

MICHELLE OBAMA: I can't believe that I'm saying that a candidate for president of the United States has bragged about sexually assaulting women. And I have to tell you that I -- I can't stop thinking about this. It has shaken me to my core in a way that I couldn't have predicted.

VEGA: Her first public comments since the now infamous Donald Trump video emerged.

OBAMA: This was not just a lewd conversation. This wasn't just locker room banter. This was a powerful individual speaking freely and openly about sexually predatory behavior. And actually bragging about kissing and groping women. Using language so obscene that many of us are worried about our children hearing it when we turn on the TV.

VEGA: Campaigning for Hillary Clinton, but spending most of her time on stage blasting Donald Trump.

OBAMA: The shameful comments about our bodies, the disrespect of our ambitions and intellect. The belief that you can do anything you want to a woman? It is cruel. It's frightening. And the truth is, it hurts. It hurts.

VEGA: Today, Hillary Clinton leaving the hard hits to her surrogates, while she rallied campaign volunteers.

HILLARY CLINTON: We not just going to win, we are going to take the confidence, the optimism, and yes, the love and kindness with us to the White House.

[Cuts back to live]

MUIR: And Cecilia Vega with us live tonight. We saw that Hillary Clinton tweeted the first lady after that speech today, but there is another headline tonight, another drop of those WikiLeaks e-mails, about 2,000 of them, many from inside the Clinton campaign. And tonight, new information about what campaign advisers were saying to each other about getting Hillary Clinton to apologize about the e-mails, the private server?

VEGA: That's right, David. It goes back to an interview she did about that private server. One adviser writing, quote, “Everyone wants her to apologize and she should. Apologies are like her Achilles heel.” Well, she did end up apologizing. And that aide also wrote, quote, “At least she didn't sound like a” -- and then, David, she went onto use a word we won't use on TV.

MUIR: Alright, Cecilia on the Clinton campaign for us. Cecilia, thanks you as well.

TELEMUNDO
NOTICIERO TELEMUNDO
10/13/16
6:34:26 PM - 6:36:49 PM EST

JOSÉ DÍAZ-BALART, ANCHOR, TELEMUNDO: Who reacted with all her fury today was First Lady Michelle Obama who asked to say "Enough!" to the treatment Trump gives to women that she called gross and unacceptable. All of this comes while some supporters of the mogul are proposing in social media to annul the female vote. Rogelio Mora-Tagle explains.

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: [in English] This is not something we can ignore...

ROGELIO MORA-TAGLE, CORRESPONDENT, TELEMUNDO: Michelle Obama's speech was emotive and personal, but above all, damning and against Donald Trump.

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: [in English, with Spanish subtitles] This was a powerful individual speaking freely and openly about sexual predatory behavior and actually bragging about kissing and groping women, using language some obscene that many of us were worried about our children hearing it when we turn on the TV.

ROGELIO MORA-TAGLE, CORRESPONDENT, TELEMUNDO: This was the first appearance by Obama since the revelation Friday of the vulgar comments Trump made back in 2005.

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: [in English, with Spanish subtitles] ... and I know that this is a campaign, but this isn't about politics. It's about basic human decency, it's about right and wrong.

ROGELIO MORA-TAGLE, CORRESPONDENT, TELEMUNDO: The First Lady attended an event to support Hillary Clinton's campaign, with [Clinton] being on the other side of the country.

HILLARY CLINTON, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: [in English] When they go low, we go high!