Things got heated on Sunday’s Meet the Press after the president’s counsel, Kellyanne Conway, confronted NBC’s Chuck Todd on his, and media’s, bias against Donald Trump. Todd was up in arms because Press Secretary Sean Spicer claimed that Trump’s inauguration crowd was the largest ever. “That now calls into question everything the press secretary will say from here on out,” Todd insisted. But Conway countered with the media’s own history of reporting false information on the Trump administration.
She argued that such divisive language from the press served to drive a wedge between the president and the public. “You want them to hear that. You want them to hear that I’m not answering your questions, which I’m doing. You want them to hear that they can’t trust our press secretary,” she stated.
It seemed to be something Todd didn’t want his viewers to hear as he continuously talked over Conway as she tried to say, “I think that is a very dangerous statement to make.”
“What was the motive for the ridiculous litigation of crowd size,” Todd angrily snapped.
“Respectfully your job is not to call things ridiculous that are said by our press secretary and our president,” she reprimanded him, “That’s not your job. You're supposed to be a news person, you’re not an opinion columnist.” Todd was relentless in his pursuit to find out why Spicer said what he said:
CONWAY: I’ll answer it this way. Think about what you just said to your viewers. That is why we feel compelled to go out and clear the air and put alternative facts out there.
TODD: So it’s a political tactic? It’s a political tactic to come up with alternative facts and try to set up the press as your enemy?
CONWAY: No, I didn’t say that at all.
Conway stuck it to the NBC moderator, declaring “You want to talk about provable facts?! … you’ve got a 14 percent approval rating in the media that you earned!” A fuming Todd against started talking over his guest demanding to get an answer. “Tell me why you just referred to us as ridiculous? Tell me why we were lied about with the MLK bust,” she demanded in return.
Apparently, soon after the press was invited into the Oval Office to observe the president sign executive orders on ObamaCare a false report was spread around that purported that the bust of Martin Luther King Jr. was removed from the office. “NBC covered that false report. As did 3,000 other articles that are still up online,” she informed Todd.
Todd’s self-righteous indignation for the truth is humorous if you examine his record. When Congressman John Lewis claimed Trump was an illegitimate president Todd didn’t push back, instead, he played along asking “what should be done.” He has even been called out on his own show, by a colleague, for picking sides in the election. And let’s not forget that he failed to disclose to his viewers that his wife’s political strategy firm received $1.992 million dollars from the Bernie Sanders campaign.
Transcript below:
<<< Please support MRC's NewsBusters team with a tax-deductible contribution today. >>>
NBC
Meet the Press
January 22, 2017
10:47:11 AM EasternTODD: I want to go back to a question that you continue to deflect. Why was it necessary to send out the press secretary on his first day in office to utter a provable falsehood that now calls into question everything the press secretary will say from here on out?
KELLYANNE CONWAY: No it doesn’t.
TODD: It will for many Americans.
CONWAY: No it doesn’t. You want them to hear that. You want them to hear that I’m not answering your questions which I’m doing. You want them to hear that they can’t trust our press secretary. I think that is—
TODD: What was the motive then?
CONWAY: -- a very dangerous statement to make.
TODD: What was the motive for the ridiculous litigation of crowd size?!
CONWAY: And now you’re casting it—
TODD [Over Conway]: What was the motive?
CONWAY: Your job is not to give your opinion Chuck.
TODD [Over Conway]: What was the motive?
CONWAY: Respectfully your job is not to call things ridiculous that are said by our press secretary and our president. That’s not your job. You're supposed to be a news person, you’re not an opinion columnist.
TODD: Can you please answer the question? Why did he do this? You have not answered it. It’s only one question.
CONWAY: Let me answer it this way—I’ll answer it this way. Think about what you just said to your viewers. That is why we feel compelled to go out and clear the air and put alternative facts out there.
TODD: So it’s a political tactic? It’s a political tactic to come up with alternative facts and try to set up the press as your enemy?
CONWAY: No, I didn’t say that at all.
…
CONWAY: You want to talk about provable facts? You’ve missed it all along America doesn’t really—I mean look, you’ve got a 14 percent approval rating in the media that you earned. You want to push back on us, yet you have a 14 percent approval rating.
TODD [Over Conway]: All I’m looking for is an answer to a simple question. You never answered—You never answered why or the motivation of what was necessary about doing that yesterday.
CONWAY: Tell me why you just referred to us as ridiculous? Tell me why we were lied about with the MLK bust.
TODD: I said the debate was ridiculous. And I did not say anything about ML— Your deflect—Look, you’re deflecting in order to avoid—
CONWAY: NBC covered that false report.
TOOD: answering the question.
CONWAY: NBC covered that false report. As did 3,000 other articles that are still up online. Chuck, you can't have a press coming into the Oval Office on day one of the administration-- We welcomed them in to be open and gracious and to have a great relationship with the press. They came in and a press pooler wrote a false about the removal of the bust of Marin Luther King Jr. days after President Trump met with Martin Luther King III, Marin Luther King Jr.’s son in New York City.
Had a very constructive open conversation where Martin Luther king Jr.'s son said we have to unify and help heal the country together. And boom, any snarky attempt to try to undercut this president in Oval Office while he’s doing the business of the country. We can't have this kind relationship.
…
