The cast of Saturday’s edition of ABC’s Good Morning America had nothing but glowing reviews for the recently concluded Democratic National Convention. They falsely claimed that having Republicans address the convention was rare, hyped Oprah Winfrey as an independent, asserted Kamala Harris is “not a big progressive,” and claimed GOP criticisms that Democrats are light on policy are hypocritical, all in less than two minutes.
Co-host Gio Benitez declared to chief White House correspondent and fellow co-host Mary Bruce, “When you look at Kamala Harris's speech, it really seems like it was directed at moderates and independents, even Republicans.”
Bruce agreed, “Yeah, it certainly was. She really was making that appeal to the key independent voters, who, of course, are going to be the ones to determine this race. Look, for both parties, the bases are pretty cooked… I think you also heard from Republicans every single night of the convention, which, of course, is intentional, trying to reach out to those Republicans who aren’t satisfied with Donald Trump.”
Benitez interrupted to add, “And so incredibly rare.”
It isn’t. Republicans address the DNC and Democrats address the RNC all the time, as both parties try to paint the other as extremists. In July, the Teamsters president addressed the RNC.
As for Bruce, she continued, “You had superstars like Oprah Winfrey coming out and reminding folks she too is an independent, and as [White House correspondent] MaryAlice [Parks] was saying, they're now reaching out to RFK Jr.'s voters, so they are certainly hoping that they can ride the momentum and get more independents and get those key voters, get some Republicans to come onto the Harris team.”
She can call herself whatever she wants, but that doesn’t make it so. Oprah is not politically independent enough to ever consider endorsing a Republican.
The third co-host of the day, Whit Johnson, then turned to Parks and wondered, “And speaking of Republicans, let's go back to MaryAlice here, because we saw Republicans attacking the Democrats' message of joy and hope, saying that it doesn't pay the bills at the end of the day. So what more can you tell us about the GOP plans to counter that message from Democrats.”
Parks replied that the GOP plan is “exactly that,” but warned, “That's a double-edged sword because, as much as Republicans might criticize Democrats for being light on policy, they too have been light on economic policy, and the reality is a lot of Republican speeches are also focused on cultural issues.”
She further added that both parties will probably feel the need to provide more details about their economic plans, but “it was interesting to watch Harris, you know, be pretty light on the economy. She did not come out and sound like a big progressive there on that stage. When she talked about the economy, she talked about things in terms of Trump, saying things like she would make sure to protect the Affordable Care Act.”
The reason why Harris is light on substance is because she is trying to hide from her far-left record, which she relies on ABC to help cover up.
Here is a transcript for the August 24 show:
ABC Good Morning America
8/24/2024
7:34 AM ET
GIO BENITEZ: When you look at Kamala Harris's speech, it really seems like it was directed at moderates and independents, even Republicans.
MARY BRUCE: Yeah, it certainly was. She really was making that appeal to the key independent voters, who, of course, are going to be the ones to determine this race. Look, for both parties, the bases are pretty cooked. We certainly saw a big display of Democratic unity there, so she was, you know, in that speech, casting herself as the change agent and making a direct appeal. I think you also heard from Republicans every single night of the convention, which, of course, is intentional, trying to reach out to those Republicans who aren’t satisfied with Donald Trump.
BENITEZ: And so incredibly rare.
BRUCE: Yes, and, you know, you had superstars like Oprah Winfrey coming out and reminding folks she too is an independent, and as MaryAlice was saying, they're now reaching out to RFK Jr.'s voters, so they are certainly hoping that they can ride the momentum and get more independents and get those key voters, get some Republicans to come onto the Harris team.
WHIT JOHNSON: And speaking of Republicans, let's go back to MaryAlice here, because we saw Republicans attacking the Democrats' message of joy and hope, saying that it doesn't pay the bills at the end of the day. So what more can you tell us about the GOP plans to counter that message from Democrats.
MARYALICE PARKS: Yeah, exactly that, and look, voters have told us all along the economy is the most important issue in this race and I think we’re going to hear Republicans continue to say that for all this talk of good will, about protecting freedoms, that doesn't pay the bills but, but look, that's a double-edged sword because, as much as Republicans might criticize Democrats for being light on policy, they too have been light on economic policy, and the reality is a lot of Republican speeches are also focused on cultural issues, so I think there's going to be a lot of pressure on both of these campaigns to explain more in detail about what exactly they will do if they win the White House again and it was interesting to watch Harris, you know, be pretty light on the economy. She did not come out and sound like a big progressive there on that stage. When she talked about the economy, she talked about things in terms of Trump, saying things like she would make sure to protect the Affordable Care Act.
