NBC’s Tom Brokaw and CBS’s Bob Schieffer appeared near the conclusion of the hour-long Republican National Convention (RNC) specials on their respective networks and after they whined about the “dark” and “divisive” first night, they went off the rails to complain about Republicans “work[ing] up a big hate for Hillary” and “accused of everything from who'd a thought it to the diphtheria epidemic.”
Brokaw was commenting about the likelihood that Donald Trump would change his demeanor now that the’s the Republican presidential nominee when he ruled that he wouldn’t change because “they think that [Clinton is] very vulnerable, especially after the attorney general decided prosecute based on the FBI investigation, but there was enough in there for them to keep it up.”
Speaking to the divide in the GOP between those supporting and opposing Trump, he fretted about their common adversary of Hillary Clinton uniting them together to summon “a big hate” against her: “The fact that she’s been around a long time and in that crowd, even people who don’t like Trump necessarily, they can work up a big hate for Hillary, and keep that in mind.”
As for Schieffer, he began his commentary by stating the somewhat obvious that “[t]his is different than any political convention I have ever attended and this is my 24th” and thereafter bemoaning the number of times that Clinton’s name was invoked by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in his speech:
When Mike Pence, Donald Trump's new running mate, told a group today the primaries are over, it's time to come together, from all the speeches that we heard this afternoon, before we came on the air at 10:00, they were more about Hillary Clinton than they were about Donald Trump. Mitch McConnell, for example, mentioned Hillary Clinton 26 times in his speech. He mentioned — Donald Trump six times.
Lacking any sense of irony that this was what liberals and their allies in the media have been doing for the past eight years to George W. Bush, Schieffer took issue with the GOP “accus[ing] Hillary of everything”:
I mean, she was accused of everything from who'd a thought it to the diphtheria epidemic or something. I mean, if there was anything she was not accused of, I missed it and that is what was so unusual because Scott, American campaigns are usually won by the most optimistic candidate and The Economist magazine just this week cited Ronald Reagan as being the best and most recent example of that.
The relevant portions of the transcript from NBC’s Republican National Convention coverage on July 19 can be found below.
The relevant portions of the transcript from NBC’s Republican National Convention coverage on July 19 can be found below.
NBC Republican National Convention
July 19, 2016
10:55 p.m. Eastern
LESTER HOLT: And Tom, for those of use who keep expecting some dramatic change of general election, Donald Trump on the primary, are we —
TOM BROKAW: Oh no, this is — we're going to hear that more and more and more because they think that she's very vulnerable, especially after the attorney general decided prosecute based on the FBI investigation, but there was enough in there for them to keep it up. The fact that she’s been around a long time and in that crowd, even people who don’t like Trump necessarily, they can work up a big hate for Hillary, and keep that in mind.
The relevant portions of the transcript from CBS’s Republican National Convention coverage on July 19 can be found below.
CBS Republican National Convention
July 19, 2016
10:55 p.m. EasternSCOTT PELLEY: Well, when the recipe calls for sage, we call on Bob Schieffer. Bob?
BOB SCHIEFFER: Thank you very much, thank you so much. This is different than any political convention I have ever attended and this is my 24th. When Mike Pence, Donald Trump's new running mate, told a group today the primaries are over, it's time to come together, from all the speeches that we heard this afternoon, before we came on the air at 10:00, they were more about Hillary Clinton than they were about Donald Trump. Mitch McConnell, for example, mentioned Hillary Clinton 26 times in his speech. He mentioned — Donald Trump six times. Over and over. I mean, she was accused of everything from who'd a thought it to the diphtheria epidemic or something. I mean, if there was anything she was not accused of, I missed it and that is what was so unusual because Scott, American campaigns are usually won by the most optimistic candidate and The Economist magazine just this week cited Ronald Reagan as being the best and most recent example of that. Mike Pence today went to great trouble to sort of catalog all the similarities between Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump. Now Donald Trump, I admit he has his strengths, but if they're going to try to sell him and say this is another Ronald Reagan, I'm sorry, I think that's going to be a hard sell.
