Over the last two weeks, North American truck drivers (and supporters) set out for the Canadian capital of Ottawa to protest the far-left country’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for truckers, culminating in a rally and convoy on Saturday that spanned dozens of miles and included tens of thousands of people with many insisting they’ll be staying put until their demands are met.
Of course, none of this was of interest to two of the three major broadcast networks as, since the convoys started on January 23, CBS and NBC have yet to acknowledge this massive resistance on their flagship morning or evening newscasts. Though, if they did cover it, it’s safe to say they would be scorned as some sort of far-right invalids.
ABC wasn’t any better. The only mention on Good Morning America or World News Tonight was from the former thanks to a 22-second news brief by anchor Whit Johnson on January 29:
A massive convoy of about 50,000 trucks protesting vaccine mandates for truck drivers gathering in Canada's capital. The trucks stretching over 40 miles. Unvaccinated Canadian drivers are required to take a COVID-19 test and quarantine when driving back from the U.S. Some truckers from the U.S. have also reportedly joined the protest.
Well, at least Johnson didn’t call them disgusting, a “fringe minority,” and/or an “insult to truth” like Liberal Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did.
Though we at NewsBusters don’t include them in our studies, America This Morning — one of two overnight shows on ABC — had a 23-second brief on Tuesday courtesy of fill-in co-host Andrea Fujii (who happens to be Johnson’s wife):
And in Canada — what started as a convoy of truckers protesting vaccine mandates has grown into a movement with thousands of people rallying against restrictions. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the protesters’ behavior disgusting Monday, the same day he announced he himself tested positive for COVID.
Despite attempts by Trudeau, fellow left-wingers in Canada, and American journalists to stifle this protest (whereas left-wing gatherings were welcomed) and kick dirt on those who help clothe and feed people across North America, it’s received support from other Canadian officials and, in the U.S., backers ranged from other truckers to Republicans (see here and here) to Joe Rogan.
To their credit, the BBC had respectable summary of the movement (click “expand”):
It's been dubbed the Freedom Convoy, and it's got the country talking.
The movement was sparked by a vaccine mandate for truckers crossing the US-Canada border, implemented by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government earlier this month.
Upset with the new measure that would require unvaccinated Canadian truckers crossing the two nations' boundary to quarantine once they've returned home, a loose coalition of truckers and conservative groups began to organise the cross-country drive that began in western Canada.
It picked up steam and gathered support as it drove east. Many supporters, already opposed to Mr. Trudeau and his politics, have grown frustrated with pandemic measures they see as political overreach.
Social media and news footage showed trucks and companion vehicles snaking along highways, cheered on by people gathered on roadsides and overpasses, often waving Canadian flags and signs disparaging Mr. Trudeau.
Despite warnings of violence and claims from the likes of Toronto’s Global and Mail that “calling the Ottawa protests ‘peaceful’ downplays non-violent danger” and the presence of some repugnant images such as the Confederate flag and Nazi symbols, the BBC said Monday it was “mostly peaceful” aside from “the behaviour of some members of the crowd,” which The Guardian said includes desecrating the National War Memorial.
To see more on the convoy, our friends at the Daily Caller, Daily Wire, and FoxNews.com have been following this story from the beginning, which you can read by follow the links.
To see the relevant ABC transcripts from January 29 and February 1, click “expand.”
ABC’s World News Tonight
January 29, 2022
6:49 p.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Massive Protest]
WHIT JOHNSON: A massive convoy of about 50,000 trucks protesting vaccine mandates for truck drivers gathering in Canada's capital. The trucks stretching over 40 miles. Unvaccinated Canadian drivers are required to take a COVID-19 test and quarantine when driving back from the U.S. Some truckers from the U.S. have also reportedly joined the protest.
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ABC’s America This Morning
February 1, 2022
4:04 a.m. EasternANDREA FUJII: And in Canada — what started as a convoy of truckers protesting vaccine mandates has grown into a movement with thousands of people rallying against restrictions. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the protesters’ behavior disgusting Monday, the same day he announced he himself tested positive for COVID.
