There was as an overload of absurd, obnoxious and over-top outbursts from leftist journalists during their coverage of the Democratic National Convention. The NewsBusters team worked literally day and night to track them down.
On the first night of the DNC, ABC weekend anchor Linsey Davis disgustingly linked the KKK to Donald Trump. MSNBC host Alex Wagner, on the second night, proclaimed Trump and his supporters were fearful of a President Kamala Harris ending their “white patriarchy.”
On the third night, CNN host Erin Burnett actually suggested Harris was maybe better off to ignore interview requests from her fellow colleagues. On the final night, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow hailed Harris’s acceptance speech as “an inflection point in history.”
The following are the worst outbursts from leftist journalists during the Democratic National Convention:
ABC’s Davis Disgustingly Links Trump to KKK
“Former President Donald Trump is expected to go campaign in Howell, Michigan tomorrow. Many people are aware that a month ago, in Howell, KKK protesters marched in the streets with the white robes on and suggested that they support Donald Trump. I’m curious if you make anything about that connection and him going in particularly to Howell tomorrow.”
— ABC World News Tonight Sunday anchor Linsey Davis to Governor Gretchen Whitmer on ABC’s Your Voice/Your Vote: Democratic National Convention, August 19.
Trump and His Supporters Fear a President Harris Will End “White Patriarchy”
“So nobody’s ready to write the epigraph for the Trump years, but I do think, you know, it’s a powerful suggestion, right? That Barack Obama is the future. That Kamala Harris is the future and that Donald Trump is the past. And indeed, that demographic reality lies at the core of so much of Donald Trump’s power over his audience, right? The idea that a multicultural inclusive America is actually the road we’re heading down, and that the sort of white patriarchal society that allowed Donald Trump to profiteer as much as he has is going into the rear view, right? That’s a powerful, distressing idea if you are part of the white patriarchy like Donald Trump. And the supporters who see change, who see people like Barack Obama, who see people like Kamala Harris, you know, multi-ethnic, multi-racial progressive leaders, and are scared of that vision, right? The idea that this might be the norm. And that Trumpism and MAGAism are the things of yesterday, veering their heads for one last gasp? Man, that’s powerful stuff.”
— MSNBC host Alex Wagner on night two of MSNBC’s live coverage of the Democratic National Convention, August 20.
Journalist Against Journalism: Maybe Harris Should “Ignore” Our Interview Requests?
“Everybody has to come on your radio show. She [Kamala Harris] hasn’t done a big interview in a while here and certainly not since announcing. Are you going to talk to her soon? What do you think? What do you think she should do? Or does she do better to ignore all those calls to talk and just keep doing what she’s doing?”
— Erin Burnett to radio/podcast host Charlamagne tha God on CNN’s The Situation Room, August 21.
“You Will Remember Where You Were” When Kamala Spoke, “An Inflection Point In History”
“All right, you will remember where you were when you heard the speech tonight from the Vice President of the United States. Kamala Harris really introducing herself to the nation. Speaking as much to Republicans and independents as she was to the Democrats who are nominating her tonight. Asking Americans to remember how great their country is and to fight for its values. You are going to remember where you were on this night. This is an inflection point in history.”
— Host Rachel Maddow on MSNBC’s live coverage of night four of the Democratic National Convention, August 22.
Harris “Closed the Door” On Trump “Ever Passing the Commander In Chief Test”
“I think what she did tonight was disqualify Donald Trump from ever being the country’s commander-in-chief. She said this, ‘fellow Americans, this election’s not only the most important election in our lives, it is the most important in the life of our nation. And you take her speech and you take some of these lines from former secretary of defense Leon Panetta, who said every president since World War II, Republican and Democrat has shared the belief in America must protect democracy in the world. Every president has honored our veterans’ sacrifices. Every president, but one. And you add Adam Kinzinger and congressman Ruben Gallego and their indictments of Donald Trump’s disrespect and disregard for members of the military, especially those who have been injured or died in service to the country. They were scathing. They were elevated on this biggest stage in American politics and I think they closed the door in the minds of anyone watching on Donald Trump ever passing the commander in chief test again.”
— MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace on MSNBC’s live coverage of night four of the Democratic Convention, August 22.
“Moderate” Kamala Sounded Like Reagan, Thatcher
Co-host George Stephanopoulos: “As I look at who this speech was aimed at last night, I think of a lot of m-words: moderates, middle class, middle America.”
Chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl: “Absolutely. And a direct response to the way Donald Trump has tried to define her….They talk about her, the Republicans, the Trump Republicans, as a San Francisco liberal, as a radical. They call her ‘Comrade Kamala,’ but she gave a speech, George, that, if you take out the section on abortion rights, much of this speech could have been delivered at a Republican convention, a Republican convention before Trump. This is a Kamala Harris that sounded a little bit more like Maggie Thatcher or Ronald Reagan, especially on national security, than like Bernie Sanders.”...
Stephanopoulos: “There was more talk about Ronald Reagan at the Democratic convention than Republican convention.”
— ABC’s Good Morning America, August 23.
Kamala’s Speech Was a “Call” to Defend America From “Peril” of Trump
“What she [Kamala Harris] delivered was not just her record and not just a very strong indictment of Donald Trump and his positions, but a definition of America, and an America out of which….she grew….A middle-class America surrounded by nurses, firefighters, a blended family. One of the best lines…‘None of the family bound by blood but all of them bound by love.’ A family bound by love. She defined the America she came out of, and then is basically prosecuting the case to defend that America….The idea of her story could only happen in America and her argument is, and unless we defend that America will go away….That is a call to be inspired by her story, but it also contains that other part which is the peril.”
— Correspondent John Dickerson on CBS’s live coverage of night four of the Democratic National Convention, August 22.
Kamala’s “Powerful” “Remarkable” Speech of “Unifying Rhetoric”
“It was a speech of progressive politics and unifying rhetoric. A speech with many, many shots across the bow of Donald Trump, her opponent. And a speech in which she sought to portray herself as a credible commander-in-chief, patriotic, firm, confident, and credible….It was a remarkable address, one that I’ve never seen her give quite like this before. A very, very powerful speech. You gotta go back, I think, to Barack Obama in 2008 for a Democratic speech like this, perhaps even a speech like this at all.”
— Host Jake Tapper on CNN’s live coverage of night four of the Democratic National Convention, August 22.
Don’t Believe the Hype! Harris-Walz are the Jordan and Pippen of Politics?
“I’m Hallie Jackson, live at the home of the Chicago Bulls! And if Vice President Harris hopes to be the new political Michael Jordan for Democrats, tonight we’re gonna hear from the guy you could call her Scottie Pippen.”
— Correspondent Hallie Jackson on NBC News Now’s live coverage of the night three of the Democratic National Convention, August 21.
Hiding Kamala’s Leftist Politics: She’s Been “Misunderstood,” She’s Actually “Pragmatic”
“I do think she’s been very misunderstood politically for quite some time. In the primary in 2020, she had to run to the left. But when I covered her then, I talked to a lot of people who covered her in her Senate race and in the years before she even became a politician in the true sense. They view her in a very different way, as a pretty pragmatic person. As somebody who has progressive beliefs but is not an ideologue.”
— Correspondent Abby Phillip on CNN’s live coverage of night four of the Democratic National Convention, August 22.
PBSer Prefers “USA” Chants from Democrats, It Sounds “Menacing” From Republicans
“I’ve been looking at ‘USA’ signs, people holding them up, and I will tell you, for years, when I would hear ‘USA, USA’ chanted, particularly at Republican rallies, it felt menacing. Because those folks made it clear that ‘USA,’ I was not meant to be a part of it. And I think with Democrats holding up the signs, they are saying no, no, no, ‘USA’ applies to us.”
— Washington Post columnist/PBS contributor Jonathan Capehart on PBS’s live coverage of night three of the Democratic National Convention, August 21.
Kamala to Call Out the “Fake” MAGAs That Stole “Family Values,” “Football” and “Freedom”
“I’m reminded of the song Public Service Announcement by Jay Z....He says, ‘My homie dude told me finish your breakfast. Let me tell you what I do to protect this. Shoot at you actors like movie directors.’ Which is not only a double entendre, it’s calling out his opponents, his foes as actors, as inauthentic while he’s the real deal.…I’m expecting her tonight to speak on these actors, these phonies, these fakes, not only Donald as a person but the part of the MAGA movement that has tried to steal and fake that they represent, quote, ‘real America,’ or ‘family values,’ or ‘football,’ or ‘freedom.’”
— Host Ari Melber on MSNBC’s live coverage of night four of the Democratic National Convention, August 22.
Tim Walz “Knocked It Out of the Park,” “Electric,” Like a “Friday Night Lights” Episode
Co-host Gayle King: “I have a friend of mine, a grown ass man who said to me, I haven’t put on my jersey in years, but this guy made me want to put on my football jersey and suit up and get out there and do something. I thought that was very funny. Talk about the importance of Tim Walz to this campaign, because he knocked it out of the park, according to the people in this room last night.”
Chief campaign and election correspondent Robert Costa: “Oh, it was electric in here for Democrats, and they believe that Tim Walz makes this about something bigger than politics. It’s almost like an episode of Friday Night Lights.”
— CBS Mornings, August 22.
“Powerful” Obamas Put the “Party” Back In Democrat Party, “Transcend Politics”
“A very big night at the Democratic National Convention. Did you stay up late? Yes, you did, with the powerful speeches by former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama, they made their cases for the Harris-Walz ticket to a crowd that was, shall we say, ecstatic to see them...It seems like they are putting the party back in Democratic Party. Michelle and Barack Obama were the one-two punch, and people could say best guest of the party last night….She always seems to transcend politics….The energy was infectious. I mean, literally people got out of their beds and were cheering last night.”
— Co-host Gayle King on CBS Mornings, August 21.
Obama Speeches Providing Needed “Nourishment”
“In 2012 I was in the Obama campaign headquarters. And they were feeling a little low, and staffers used to watch his old speeches on their computers as nourishment. These two speeches by the Obamas are going to serve that purpose.”
— Correspondent John Dickerson on CBS News America Decides, August 20.
So-Called Journalists: No Need to Talk Policy, It’s a Vibes Election!
Host Erin Burnett: “You hear the criticism, ‘Oh, she [Michelle Obama] has to do more interviews. She has to talk about policy.’ Interesting from insiders, you’re speaking to, there’s sort of like, ‘No.’...
Correspondent Manu Raju: “They’re concerned about her doing that could potentially trip her up and give Trump some ammunition. In fact, a lot of those Democrats I spoke to today said, avoid those policy prescriptions....There’s belief that perhaps if you put more ideas on paper, that’s a bad idea. But the question is, voters want to see some of those ideas?”
Host Kasie Hunt: “Maybe. If you go with the vibes, it’s a vibes election!”
Burnett: “That’s right!”
— CNN’s The Lead, August 22.
This Convention Happier Than That Republican One
Host Jake Tapper: “This is one of the best-produced events, in terms of a political event, that I have ever attended. And right now, the energy is palpable. American flags all over the entire arena. It’s pretty remarkable.”...
Correspondent Abby Phillip: “They’ve gotten it together, big-time….We were all at the RNC, we’re at the DNC now. The RNC was an electrifying environment for many of those nights, but this is different, tonight, I think. It feels to me like there is an enormous amount of energy and happiness in this room, which is a bit of a contrast from what we saw about four weeks ago at the RNC, which was a little more solemn times.”
— CNN’s live coverage of night four of the Democratic National Convention, August 22.
“Speed-Dating” Harris Having a “Love Affair” with Voters!
“It’s a very interesting thing. Joe Biden dropped out of this race 30 days ago, and that is played very much to Kamala Harris’s advantage. She’s had this kind of speed dating relationship with voters and so far, it’s a love affair!”
— Chris Wallace on CNN’s The Situation Room, August 20.
Gayle King Endorses “Uniquely Qualified” Harris
“When I hear people say I’m going to vote for Kamala Harris because she’s a black woman, she is so much more than that. She is so uniquely qualified to be President of this country.”
— CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King on CBS News live coverage of night three of the Democratic National Convention, August 21.
Kamala’s “Muscular Patriotism”
“I haven’t seen so many ‘USA, USA!’ [chants]. There is a muscular patriotism associated with Kamala Harris. There’s a musculature to what she’s saying. She wants to fight! She’s not afraid.”
— Contributor Van Jones on CNN’s live coverage of night three of the Democratic National Convention, August 21.
Walz Is “Attack Dog” But Somehow Still “Joyful and Jolly”
“He [Tim Walz] can be an attack dog and do it with a smile on his face….When Walz took the stage, he said ‘We have a heck of a lot more energy than they did at their convention. And there’s one guy who’s going to be sad, sad, sad about it.’ So he has a way of attacking. But, doing it so, you know, coming across as joyful and jolly.”
— Correspondent Weijia Jiang on CBS News live coverage of night three of the Democratic National Convention, August 21.
Hailing Hillary’s “Bittersweet,” “Star Performance” In “Suffragette White”
Host Andrea Mitchell: “Hillary Clinton in a star performance, hoping her loss in 2016 may have paved the way for America to finally accept a woman as president….Clinton, dressed in suffragette white, said that [Kamala] Harris is now the one to break that ultimate glass ceiling….She feels and other women feel and male analysts, that she paved the way, she made it more acceptable for men and women to think of a woman as commander-in-chief.”...
Washington Post senior national correspondent Ashley Parker: “I was also reminded again of just what a professional she is….She is coming out at a convention where she wanted to be, she wanted to break that glass ceiling….It has to be so bittersweet to appear before this crowd not as the nominee….She was just calm and eloquent and unruffled in a way that I think it would be difficult for any other politician, male or female, to maintain.”
— MSNBC Andrea Mitchell Reports, August 20.
A Tearful Goodbye to Biden, One of the “Most Successful Political Careers” of All-Time
“I’m expecting there to be also a lot of tears. This [Joe Biden’s convention speech] in many ways represents the kind of denouement, the kind of end of one of the longest and most successful political careers of any politician in U.S. history. Joe Biden has been in politics since the 1970s. Since 1972, when he was the youngest United States Senator at 29 years old. He was the AOC, basically, of his time.”
— MSNBC host Joy Reid on MSNBC’s live coverage of the Democratic National Convention, August 19.
Bye-Bye Biden Night: “Kleenex Boxes” for “People Crying,” “Babies Yelling for Joe!”
“He’s [Joe Biden] going to do one of the most beautiful acts of political leadership; to step back so somebody else can step forward….You’re going to have Kleenex boxes from up there, over there of people watching someone do something honorable. And it’s going to make people want to fight that much harder, that his sacrifice is not in vain.”
— Contributor Van Jones on CNN News Central, August 19.
“I heard the word ‘bitter’ way too many times. Because this is not bitter for Joe Biden….This is a prideful night because there’s going to be so many ‘Thank you, Joe’s!’ in this place. There are going to be people crying, there are going to be babies yelling for Joe Biden.”
— Contributor Bakari Sellers on CNN’s The Situation Room, August 19.
Pushing the Party Line: No One “Forced” Biden Out
“As much as this is a celebration of the Democratic nominees Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, tonight is also really equally a celebration of President Joe Biden. Plan A for President Biden was of course that he would be speaking on the final night of the convention, accepting his party’s nomination for a second term on Thursday night. But in a truly astonishing, once-in-a-lifetime sacrifice that he did not have to make, that no one forced him to make, nor that could anyone force him to make it, a sacrifice of his own ambitions for the good of the country, for the prospects of his party. President Biden instead chose a Plan B, that we will see manifest tonight as he keynotes Night One of the Democratic convention. A keynote address like none other in American history.”
— MSNBC host Rachel Maddow on MSNBC’s live convention coverage of night one of the Democratic Convention, August 19.
It’s a Democratic Dance Party!
“Just the ecstasy that just happened. I’ve seen a lot of roll calls; I’ve never seen anything like that. I tell you, it was the best party I’ve been to in a while….And the significance of that is the energy they will need to fight….What they know is going to be a fiercely fought election.”
— Correspondent Terry Moran on ABC’s Your Voice/Your Vote: Democratic National Convention, August 20.
