All three Thursday network evening newscasts led off with their respective recaps and analysis of the second Republican presidential debate, but NBC Nightly News stood out in proclaiming that the event “expos[ed] disconnects within the Republican Party” on issues such as Iraq in addition to defending Hillary Clinton from Fiorina’s “fierce attack” against her and Planned Parenthood.
In the program’s opening tease, anchor Lester Holt previewed Clinton correspondent and MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell’s report in ruling that there were “questions about whether some of the truth got lost in all the attacks.”
Before that, however, correspondent Hallie Jackson had a recap of the debate’s big moments with her touting it as a negative and painting a picture of doom and gloom for the GOP: “The divide on stage ran deeper than what we saw on the TV screen, exposing disconnects within the Republican Party still litigating the Iraq War, the critics low-fiving.”
Turning to Mitchell, she gushed that Clinton was “in New Hampshire today” despite being “down in the polls” and “reaching out to women voters” following what Mitchell deemed “a fierce attack from Carly Fiorian targeting Planned Parenthood.”
While Clinton didn’t respond, Mitchell pressed her about the matter while at a campaign stop: “Mrs. Clinton, can you respond to Carly Fiorina calling you a liar last night?”
Mitchell also played defense for Planned Parenthood against Fiorina, parroting their claims that the horrifying videos released by the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) are “heavily edited” and that Fiorina was the true liar.
Continuing to sound the proverbial alarm among liberals about a conservative push to defund the abortion provider, Mitchell lamented: “[C]onsidering Republicans in Congress are threatening to shut down the government by the end this month over the Planned Parenthood funding, so this issue is not going away[.]”
Over on the CBS Evening News, the second of three segments on the debate focused on Fiorina as congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes played up her loss in the 2010 election for California Senate seat to Barbara Boxer that was “hurt by her rocky tenure at Hewlett-Packard and her image as a failed CEO.”
This allowed Cordes to tee up an undated anti-Fiorina advertisement in which the narrator and two people explained:
NARRATOR IN ANTI-FIORINA AD: Fiorina laid off 30,000 people.
WOMAN IN ANTI-FIORINA AD: And she shipped our jobs to China.
MAN IN ANTI-FIORINA AD: And India.
While CBS and NBC each had three blocks devoted to recapping the debate, ABC’s World News Tonight found time for only one with correspondent Tom Llamas and anchor David Muir spending 29 second harping on the hot temperatures the candidates dealt with on stage with bright lights hanging just above their heads.
After a round-up of various exchanges from the night, Llamas ended his report by informing viewers: “The candidates say they were incredibly close to them. It got so bad, at one point during a commercial break, Senator Marco Rubio had to share handkerchiefs with the some of the other candidates.”
The relevant portions of the transcript from September 17's NBC Nightly News can be found below.
NBC Nightly News
September 17, 20157:00 p.m. Eastern [TEASE]
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE CAPTION: Game Changer?]
LESTER HOLT: Tonight, game changer? Front-runner Donald Trump gets piled on while Carly Fiorina breaks out from the pack, but tonight, questions about whether some of the truth got lost in all the attacks.
(....)
7:01 p.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE CAPTION: Fight Night]
HOLT: It was passionate, at times personal and certainly colorful, but more than anything, it was a physical endurance contest. Last night's three-hour long debate among the Republican front-runners had the candidates sweating it out and that was before some of the night's most heated exchanges. The early view among the pundits is that more than a few solid punches landed firmly on front-runner Donald Trump and that Carly Fiorina had a strong night, but the larger question of how they did is a subject that itself is up for debate this evening. We begin with NBC's Hallie Jackson.
HALLIE JACKSON: In a debate defined by the split screen, Donald Trump's face said it all as Carly Fiorina responded to comments about hers.
(....)
JACKSON: One of the most talked about moments of the three-hour marathon as Fiorina rocketed nearly to the top of the social media standings along with Donald Trump, Jeb Bush and Ben Carson. The divide on stage ran deeper than what we saw on the TV screen, exposing disconnects within the Republican Party still litigating the Iraq War, the critics low-fiving.
(....)
JACKSON: Trying to claw their way into the spotlight and while Trump hit back, it was Fiorina who was the biggest hit. So confident, she skipped the usual ritual of spinning reporters afterwards. Her mic-dropped moment with momentum on her side. Nearly 23 million people watched the debate. CNN's highest rated show ever. It’s about as many viewers as American Idol's first season finale and the person taking credit for all of that? Donald Trump, who’s drawing a crowd of thousands here in New Hampshire tonight. Lester?
HOLT: Hallie Jackson tonight, thanks. And let's drill down now on two of the key exchanges from last night's debate that are generating a lot of talk today. One concerning a major fight brewing over funding for Planned Parenthood....Tonight, Andrea Mitchell taking a closer look how the candidates address those issues and how their answers stand up to the facts.
ANDREA MITCHELL: Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire today, down in the polls, reaching out to women voters after a fierce attack from Carly Fiorina targeting Planned Parenthood. [TO CLINTON] Mrs. Clinton, can you respond to Carly Fiorina calling you a liar last night?
MITCHELL: It was one two of hot button issues in the debate.
FIORINA: I dare Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama to watch these tapes. Watch a fully-formed fetus on the table. Its heart beating, its legs kicking.
MITCHELL: Today, the women’s health group said Fiorina was a liar, sending her a letter saying saying, “Your claims are completely false.” The group says the videos were heavily edited and that one fetus came from a Pennsylvania woman who miscarried and that they charge only to cover cost to provide fetal tissue to medical researchers.
(....)
MITCHELL: And considering Republicans in Congress are threatening to shut down the government by the end this month over the Planned Parenthood funding, so this issue is not going away[.]
