On Monday night and Tuesday morning, ABC used its flagship newscasts World News Tonight and Good Morning America to play the role of White House communications office and cheer President Biden’s last visits outside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to promote the bipartisan infrastructure law and a narrative of competence ahead of a possible 2024 reelection bid.
World News Tonight anchor David Muir framed the tease as Biden working for each and every American: “Is infrastructure money coming to your community? President Biden hitting the road now with billions from that bipartisan infrastructure package for crumbling roads, bridges, and upgrades to train travel all on the way.”
Muir did the same bit in introducing senior national correspondent Terry Moran’s reading of White House talking points:
We're going to turn next to this question: is the infrastructure money coming to your community? Well, President Biden now hitting the road with billions from that bipartisan infrastructure law to upgrade, roads, bridges, and train travel all across the country. The President at the scene of a crumbling rail tunnel in Baltimore today, built 150 years ago, saying fixing it will create more than 20,000 jobs in that region alone.
Moran didn’t waste time sucking up: “For President Biden in Baltimore, it was a victory lap.”
After explaining his visit to Baltimore was to draw attention to funding for the crumbling and dilapidated Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel, Moran hyped that the replacement will “create an estimated 20,000 new construction jobs” and is “one of over 7,000 projects launching in the coming months with funds from this massive bill”.
Moran also presumably alluded to the Inflation Reduction Act as Biden will unveil “funding” for “green energy and high-tech manufacturing” that’ll “lay the groundwork for the next American economy, hopefully, without fueling inflation.”
Good Morning America presented more of the same. Co-host and former Clinton official George Stephanopoulos bragged: “Now to President Biden hitting the road ahead of next week's state of the union to highlight the bipartisan package to upgrade America’s infrastructure that he signed into law 15 months ago.”
Moran returned to gush that Biden was “trying to get the word out that things are actually getting done with all the money from that giant, $1.2 trillion infrastructure law.”
In this report, he added that Biden will unleash “a coming cascade of new federal spending, not just infrastructure, but green energy spending, semiconductor manufacturing spending Biden says will reboot the American economy in the coming years.”
Only at the end of this second report did Moran mention pushback: “But Republicans are warning about inflation and they are saying they will hold up legislation to hold the debt ceiling unless deep spending cuts are made.”
Over the last year, GMA has frequently debased itself to the Biden narrative of the day. Along with repeated attempts to spin his documents scandal (see here and here), they cheered Biden as “passionate” on gun control in contrast to Republicans who might not care about dead kids, held Biden up as talking tough against oil companies (see here, here, and here), and ridiculously claimed soaring inflation was “good news”.
And if anyone is willing to give the ever-inept Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre a softball interview, that’s a strong tell you’re on Team Biden.
Tuesday’s state-run media reports were brought to you by advertisers such as Ashley Homestore and Nature’s Bounty. Follow the links to see their contact information at the MRC’s Conservatives Fight Back page.
To see the relevant transcripts from January 30 and 31, click “expand.”
ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir
January 30, 2023
6:32 a.m. Eastern [TEASE][ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Billions to Fix Crumbling Infrastructure]
DAVID MUIR: Is infrastructure money coming to your community? President Biden hitting the road now with billions from that bipartisan infrastructure package for crumbling roads, bridges, and upgrades to train travel all on the way. Terry Moran reporting.
(....)
6:44 p.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Billions to Fix Crumbling Infrastructure]
MUIR: We're going to turn next to this question: is the infrastructure money coming to your community? Well, President Biden now hitting the road with billions from that bipartisan infrastructure law to upgrade, roads, bridges, and train travel all across the country. The President at the scene of a crumbling rail tunnel in Baltimore today, built 150 years ago, saying fixing it will create more than 20,000 jobs in that region alone. Here's our senior national correspondent Terry Moran tonight.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Breaking News; Billions to Fix Crumbling Infrastructure; Biden Visits Baltimore to Tout Rebuilding Projects]
TERRY MORAN: For President Biden in Baltimore, it was a victory lap.
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: This is a 150-year-old tunnel. You wonder how in the hell it's still standing. And with the bipartisan infrastructure bill, we'll be finally getting it done.
MORAN: The decrepit Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel, crucial to both passenger and freight rail transport on the east coast, is now being rebuilt, with up to $4.7 billion from the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law. This project alone projected to create an estimated 20,000 new construction jobs. It's just one of over 7,000 projects launching in the coming months with funds from this massive bill, including repairing the Lake Charles Bridge in Louisiana, extending the Purple Line in Los Angeles, and shoring up the Brent Spence Bridge in Kentucky, a $1.6 billion commitment announced in a rare moment of bipartisanship between Biden and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.
BIDEN [on 01/04/23]: We can work together. We can get things done.
MORAN: The White House says all this spending on infrastructure, plus massive bills funding green energy and high-tech manufacturing will lay the groundwork for the next American economy, hopefully, without fueling inflation. Tomorrow, President Biden travels to New York City, where he'll announce funding to repair a bridge under the Hudson. And on Friday, he's in Philadelphia, talking about removing lead pipes. All part of this new U.S. industrial policy, where the hope is massive federal spending will spur more private investment and create more jobs across the country. David?
MUIR: All right, Terry Moran at the White House tonight. Terry, thank you.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABC’s Good Morning America
January 31, 2023
7:10 a.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: New This Morning; President’s Infrastructure Push; Biden Hits the Road to Tout Bipartisan Package]
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Now to President Biden hitting the road ahead of next week's state of the union to highlight the bipartisan package to upgrade America’s infrastructure that he signed into law 15 months ago. Senior national correspondent Terry Moran is at the White House. Good morning, Terry.
TERRY MORAN: Good morning, George. President Biden’s trying to get the word out that things are actually getting done with all the money from that giant, $1.2 trillion infrastructure law. In Baltimore yesterday at the decrepit, 150-year-old Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel, which is so crucial to freight and passenger rail transport on the east coast, now being rebuilt with up to $4.6 billion in federal funding, will create as many as 20,000 new construction jobs. Today, he's in New York City announcing federal funding for a new tunnel under the Hudson River and on Friday, he'll be in Philadelphia talking about replacing lead pipes. These are just some of the 7,000 projects that are going to be launching in the coming months under that massive spending bill. And it's all part of a coming cascade of new federal spending, not just infrastructure, but green energy spending, semiconductor manufacturing spending Biden says will reboot the American economy in the coming years. But Republicans are warning about inflation and they are saying they will hold up legislation to hold the debt ceiling unless deep spending cuts are made, George.
STEPHANOPOULOS: And President Biden’s going to be meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tomorrow. Debt limit top of the agenda.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: New This Morning; High-Stakes White Hose Meeting; President Biden to Sit Down with Speaker McCarthy]
MORAN: That is a showdown, no question about it and ABC News obtained a memo the White House put out to show what Biden wants to do. He wants to confront Kevin McCarthy with two question: will you commit to avoid a catastrophic default on the U.S. debt? Will you commit, as Mitch McConnell has, that there will be no default? And Biden wants McCarthy and the Republicans to put their cards on the take and show their budget, what their spending cuts would actually look like. George.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Terry Moran, thanks.
