The last few days have seen liberal journalists objecting to Donald Trump using the term “lynching” in regard to politics, something that Democrats have definitely done in the past.
After news came out that more than a half dozen prominent Democrats made similar comments as they defended President Bill Clinton from impeachment in 1998, the networks tried to downplay Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's own history while ignoring the other Democrats.
By contrast, several Fox News shows have informed their viewers not only of Biden's blatantly hypocritical history, but also showed clips of former Senator John Kerry, and several others including current Congressmen Gregory Meeks and Danny Davis. Tuesday morning, Fox and Friends co-host Steve Doocy recalled that President Trump "tweeted something out that has gotten a lot of attention because he uses the word 'lynching.'"
The Fox News host then read President Trump's tweet:
So someday, if a Democrat becomes President, and the Republicans win the House, even by a tiny margin, they can impeach the President without due process, or fairness or any legal rights. All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here -- a lynching. And we will win!
After Doocy noted the negative reaction from Democrats, co-host Ainsley Earhardt read former Vice President Biden's response condemning the President via Twitter: "Impeachment is not 'lynching.' It is part of our Constitution. Our country has a dark, shameful history with lynching, and to even think about making this comparison is abhorrent. It is despicable."
Setting up old clip of then-Senator Biden from 1998, co-host Brian Kilmeade sarcastically commented: "He took a principled stand. And, of course, in his lifetime, he would never, ever say anything like that. After all, he's been In this business for 50 years. Never would he stoop so low except for this time."
Then came a clip of then-Senator Biden defending then-President Clinton on CNN in 1998:
Even if the President should be impeached, history is going to question whether or not this was just a partisan lynching or whether or not it was something that, in fact, met the standard -- the very high bar that was set by the founders as to what constituted an impeachable offense.
Earhardt soon read a second statement from Biden in which the former Vice President desperately tried to argue that it was worse for President Trump to use the word "lynching" than it was for him: "This wasn't the right word to use, and I'm sorry about that. Trump on the other hand chose his words deliberately today in his use of the word lynching and continues to stoke racial divides in this country daily."
Unlike the other networks, Kilmeade dismissed Biden's lame attempt to cover for himself, and then Doocy cited a Washington Post article to list several other prominent Democrats who accused Republicans of "lynching" President Clinton.
Additionally, on Monday night, FNC's The Ingraham Angle and Fox News at Night with Shannon Bream ran video of several of these Democrats using the word "lynching," also including former Senator and former Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry.
On the other networks, only Biden's hypocrisy was noted as most shows still managed to go soft on him. On CNN's morning show, New Day, co-host John Berman on Tuesday had brought up the tweet and invited then-guest House Democratic Whip Jim Cyburn to condemn Trump, but, on Wednesday morning, the CNN show only just barely mentioned that Biden had made similar comments.
Below is a transcript of the relevant portions of the Wednesday, October 23, Fox and Friends on FNC. Click "expand" to read more.
STEVE DOOCY: He tweeted something out that has gotten a lot of attention because he uses the word "lynching." He tweeted out: "So someday, if a Democrat becomes President, and the Republicans win the House, even by a tiny margin, they can impeach the President without due process, or fairness or any legal rights. All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here -- a lynching. And we will win!"
And because the President used that terrible word, he was condemned by not only Democrats, but Republicans, and Joe Biden, who said this.
AINSLEY EARHARDT: "Impeachment is not 'lynching.' It is part of our Constitution. Our country has a dark, shameful history with lynching, and to even think about making this comparison is abhorrent. It is despicable."
BRIAN KILMEADE: He took a principled stand. And, of course, in his lifetime, he would never, ever say anything like that. After all, he's been In this business for 50 years. Never would he stoop so low except for this time.
SENATOR JOE BIDEN (D-DE) (FROM 1998): Even if the President should be impeached, history is going to question whether or not this was just a partisan lynching or whether or not it was something that, in fact, met the standard -- the very high bar that was set by the founders as to what constituted an impeachable offense.
(…)
KILMEADE: He brought up and used that term. I don't remember any outrage after he used that term.
DOOCY: Well, and, in fact, the Washington Post has got an item today that talks about how at least five House Democrats compared Clinton's impeachment to lynching back in '98.
EARHARDT: So then Biden was forced to make a comment after that video was released of him using the exact same term about impeachment. And this is what he is now saying.
"This wasn't the right word to use, and I'm sorry about that. Trump on the other hand chose his words deliberately today in his use of the word lynching and continues to stoke racial divides in this country daily."
KILMEADE: Well, it's a terrible word, but don't act there and condemn the President and say, "Well, the big difference is, I used it on live television and he used it in a tweet as he used it deliberately." He looked pretty sure of himself when he used that term. He had 22 years to walk it back. He hasn't yet.
DOOCY: According to the Washington Post, Jerry Nadler used the term "lynch mob" three times. Also Gregory Meeks, Democrat from New York, Charlie Rangel, Jim McDermott, and Danny Davis, a Democrat from Illinois, all who were critical of Mr. Trump's tweet.
