On Wednesday night’s The Kelly File, Fox News hosts Megyn Kelly and Howard Kurtz took the media to task for literally chasing down Hillary Clinton’s campaign van in Iowa earlier this week.
During the discussion, Kelly joked that the reporters running after Clinton reminded her of the recent video of Arizona police chasing after escaped llamas: “[t]he police did their best to try to capture and elusive subject, and the reporters did the same. Not comparing the subjects to one another, I want to underscore that. But these reporters, how embarrassing.”
Media Buzz host Howard Kurtz went one step further and argued that the “hyperventalizing over every Hillary hiccup is just cringe worthy” before he scolded “sophisticated” journalists who obsessed over Ms. Clinton’s order at Chipotle:
And you see these sophisticated journalists, these experienced correspondence and analysts saying, well, she ordered the chicken burrito, was this a play for the Latino vote. Why didn’t she shake every hand in the restaurant?
And now there’s a new scandal emerging on Twitter, she didn’t leave a tip at a fast food joint. That calls for a special prosecutor. It’s humiliating to be put in this position of having to chase after these mere scraps that Hillary is handing out to the press corps.
In fact, the morning after Kurtz and Kelly’s discussion, Politico produced an additional 1,000 words on the Chipotle visit entitled “The everyday people who made Hillary Clinton’s burrito bowl” which detailed the lives of the men and women involved in making the Democrat’s lunch.
Later in the segment, Kelly acknowledged that “the reason that we are embarrassing ourselves” was because Clinton has yet to make herself available to the media since she officially announced her candidacy. Kurtz agreed and suggested that Clinton’s “diss” of the media was deliberate given her longstanding distrust of the press:
She didn’t give a speech, she did the video. And I think it’s a giant diss at the press. We all know she has little love for the press corps, and it is of course a way while she tries to project this everyday American image and sits down with five or six or seven Iowans, of insulating herself from any difficult questions that would upset the script.
While Kurtz had no problem scolding the media for embarrassing itself over the Chipotle incident, he pointed out that Clinton is “reinforcing the questions about, does she really have a message because she’s not putting herself in a position to answer anything more substantive than her menu choices.”
See relevant transcript below.
Fox News’ The Kelly File
April 16, 2015
MEGYN KELLY: Joining me now, Howie Kurtz who is the host of Media Buzz right here on FNC. Howie, I’m sorry, but when I see those reporters chasing after their subject who remained so elusive, who despite their best efforts they cannot seem to pin down, the reporters there reminded me of the reporters here. Remember this? [Clip of people chasing llamas] The police. They look like the police. Look at the police. The police did their best to try to capture and elusive subject, and the reporters did the same. Not comparing the subjects to one another, I want to underscore that. But these reporters, how embarrassing.
HOWARD KURTZ: I am so grateful I didn’t have to chase the Scooby-Doo van. And look, the hyperventilation over every Hillary hiccup is just cringe worthy. And you see these sophisticated journalists, these experienced correspondence and analysts saying, well, she ordered the chicken burrito, was this a play for the Latino vote. Why didn’t she shake every hand in the restaurant? And now there’s a new scandal emerging on Twitter, she didn’t leave a tip at a fast food joint. That calls for a special prosecutor. It’s humiliating to be put in this position of having to chase after these mere scraps that Hillary is handing out to the press corps.
KELLY: Right. And yet the reason that we are embarrassing ourselves like this is because, where is Hillary? It’s like, I get that she’s hugely famous, right? But, this is -- she’s running for president. So now we have to have access to her. Now everything she says is once again going to be news. Why is she so silent? And how long can this possibly continue?
KURTZ: And why is she hiding in that van? Well look, I mean, I’ve been on lots of campaign trails with Republican and Democratic presidential candidates who went days and days without holding a news conference and the press was kept arm’s length. Hillary didn’t invent that, but she just had her role out. She didn’t give a speech, she did the video. And I think it’s a giant diss at the press. We all know she has little love for the press corps, and it is of course a way while she tries to project this everyday American image and sits down with five or six or seven Iowans, of insulating herself from any difficult questions that would upset the script.
KELLY: She’s been totally insulated. I mean, to his credit, Rand Paul puts himself out there. He goes on with, you know, venues that may not be that friendly toward his message, but he took his licks. You know, she, the only lick she was having is over at Chipotle.
--
KURTZ: We’re learning so much about her. Look, you know, she could do these events, obviously she wants to go small, she wants to be humble, she doesn’t want to be flying around in the equivalent of a 747.
But had she just walked over to the press for what was termed an availability according to Ed Henry, and actually answered a couple of questions, then we wouldn’t be sitting here and saying, that she’s completely walled herself off. And I guess, eventually she will do some interviews. But it just seems to me that she’s reinforcing the questions about, does she really have a message because she’s not putting herself in a position to answer anything more substantive than her menu choices.
KELLY: And it’s tough to feel connected to her when you feel like she’s keeping you in arm’s length. Howie, great to see you.
KURTZ: Same here.
