As the broadcast networks are prone to do (and did earlier this year here, here, and here), ABC and NBC used their flagship Tuesday morning news shows to fawn over a stacked room of far-left hooligans wreaking havoc at a town hall held by Congressman Mike Flood (R-NE). They predictably painted it as a harbinger of things to come with the Big, Beautiful Bill now law.
On Good Morning America, ABC chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce was ecstatic in cheering on the “tense and chaotic scene” as “frustrated and furious” voters delivered “a barrage of pushback” and “earful” to Flood on Trump’s entire agenda.
Bruce kept it all negative on the bill, going full doom and gloom (click “expand”):
BRUCE: The bill, the cornerstone of Trump’s agenda, is projected to cost more than 10 million Americans to lose their health care coverage over the next decade due to its cuts to Medicaid.
FLOOD: If you choose not to work, you do not get free health care. [CROWD BOOS] You do not get free health care. [CROWD BOOS]
BRUCE: A new analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office now estimates the legislation will add more than $4 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, up from the previous estimate of $3.4 trillion. The increase due in part to the roughly $4 trillion in tax cuts, mostly for the wealthiest Americans included in the final bill.
CROWD: Tax the rich! Tax the rich!
BRUCE: But it wasn’t just the legislation sparking outrage. One man pointing to the January 6 attack on the Capitol and Trump’s pardon of more than 1,500 people involved.
LIBERAL QUESTIONER AT FLOOD TOWN HALL: You said in Seward you are not a fascist. Your actions state otherwise. [CROWD CHEERS] Have you ever spoken out against this administration?
[SCREEN WIPE]
[CROWD BOOS]
FLOOD: Sir, I want to be very clear with you. [SCREEN WIPE] Give me a chance to answer the question, I’d be happy to. Fascists don’t hold town halls with open question and answer series. [CROWD BOOS]
“Now, the congressman was pressed on everything from the controversy over Jeffrey Epstein to the President’s firing of the top official in charge of the jobs report and cuts to the education department. Now, after a contentious 90 minutes, that town hall ending with chants of ‘vote him out,’” she joyfully concluded.
Former NewsBusters intern Greg Price flagged this portion, showing how cartoonishly unrepresentative the crowd was of the country (or Flood’s R+6 district):
NBC’s Today only had a partial segment, but added an opening tease. Co-host Craig Melvin touted the “town hall tension” as “a rowdy crowd press[ed] a GOP lawmaker on President Trump’s agenda and its impact on the economy.”
Joining Bruce in treating this stacked crowd as a national bellwether, Melvin said in the lead-in that “voters are expressing new concerns about the state of the economy and President Trump’s trade war” with “frustrations now spilling over at town halls with Republican lawmakers.”
Chief White House correspondent Peter Alexander took it from there:
After showing one of many hostile exchanges, Alexander suggested they’re valid because “a new AP poll this morning shows that Americans are concerned about the economy and rising prices” with “[a]bout half those polled consider the cost of groceries to be a major source of stress and almost 20 percent of those people have used deferred payment services to fund groceries at some point.”
Today was so tickled pink by this that they again had a partial segment in the second hour (click “expand”):
LAURA JARRETT: Now to these growing concerns over the state of the economy and President Trump’s trade war. Frustrations erupting at town halls with Republican lawmakers. NBC’s chief White House correspondent Peter Alexander joins us with more on all of this. Peter, good morning.
ALEXANDER: Laura, good morning. This political debate, all the fireworks, they’ve now moved from here in Washington to lawmakers’ home districts where they’re coming face-to-face with constituents who are all pressing for answers on a series of topics. High among them, the President’s policies and its impact on their wallets. There was one town hall overnight in particular, the Republican Mike Flood of Nebraska was confronted with tough questions on this very issue. Listen.
LIBERAL QUESTIONER AT FLOOD TOWN HALL: Why does it seem like, when you’re making your voting decisions, they’re based on capital rather than the working class.
FLOOD: With all due respect, sir, the — [SHOUTING] — the Republican party now more than ever represents the heart and soul of the working class. [BOOS]
ALEXANDER: You hear the boos in that room. One big take-away here? Americans are anxious about the economy right now and about rising prices. There’s a new Associated Press poll that shows half of those polled consider the cost of groceries to be a major source of stress.
To see the relevant transcripts from August 5, click here (for ABC) and here (for NBC).
