CBS’s coverage of the aftermath of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump has been awful throughout, but Chief White Correspondent Nancy Cordes may have just plumbed a new low.
Today, there was a brief pause in the media’s ongoing lecture about “tone” and “rhetoric”. Watch as CBS’s Nancy Cordes channeled the Biden campaign’s relief at the shift in campaign focus- away from discussions about Biden’s cognitive decline and questions of his continued viability, either as a candidate or as president:
CBS SPECIAL REPORT
7/14/24
2:10 PM
MAURICE DUBOIS: You don't want to overstate it but just 24 hours ago, Nancy, the question was: could he function? Was his mental acuity up to the job? And now we're in a whole different phase right now. He's moved on to Commander-in-Chief and so forth. What are they saying, if anything, behind the scenes?
NANCY CORDES: No question that the focus has shifted. And, you know, you're not going to find many campaign officials who are disappointed about that though, of course, they wish that they were not in this situation they are in now where you have at least one individual who has passed away, others still fighting for their lives, and a former president and a current candidate who is wounded himself. So what we're told from the campaign is that they've taken down their ads. They’ve paused campaigning for now. They had plans to roll out a couple different things today, like a new Republicans for Trump operation that is obviously -- Republicans for Biden, rather, operation that has now been put on hold as they try to show their respect in the wake of an assassination attempt.
DUBOIS: OK. Nancy Cordes at The White House, thank you so much.
Of course the unnamed campaign officials regret the loss of life and actual, literal attack against our democracy. Or, at least, Cordes makes sure to get that in there. Very strong "But how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?" vibes.
In the event that this is an actual off-the-record quote, and not Cordes projecting, why even say that on the air? What value does this add? How does this contribute to the overall “cooling down” we keep being lectured about?
It sure doesn’t, but it reminds us that, even in times of national emergency, there are those in the media who must always and at all times Protect the Precious. This, too, has contributed to the current toxic climate.
Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned segment as aired on CBS’s special coverage of President Biden’s Roosevelt Room address on Sunday, July 14th, 2024:
MAURICE DUBOIS: Let’s bring in Chief White House Correspondent Nancy Cordes right now. Nancy, what are you learning about (President Biden’s) schedule this weekend? I know there are going to be some changes. Obviously, to what has happened, he is now in a whole different role than he was 24 hours ago.
NANCY CORDES: Well, most notably, Maurice, we just learned from the president himself that he plans to give an Oval Office address tonight. That is something that is very rare, usually withheld for the most serious situations in this country. So, very notable that he's made that choice to do so tonight. He was planning to head to Texas tomorrow. He was going to be attending an event at the LBJ (Presidential) Library in Austin where he was scheduled to make remarks on the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act passage. That has been canceled. Postponed, rather, because he says he’s going to do it 10 days from now. So he'll be here at The White House continuing to get briefings from his national security advisers, some of whom you saw there in the room with him for that speech. Not only the Vice President, but also the Attorney General and the Homeland Security secretary. Maurice?
DUBOIS: You don't want to overstate it but just 24 hours ago, Nancy, the question was: could he function? Was his mental acuity up to the job? And now we're in a whole different phase right now. He's moved on to Commander-in-Chief and so forth. What are they saying, if anything, behind the scenes?
CORDES: No question that the focus has shifted. And, you know, you're not going to find many campaign officials who are disappointed about that though, of course, they wish that they were not in this situation they are in now where you have at least one individual who has passed away, others still fighting for their lives, and a former president and a current candidate who is wounded himself. So what we're told from the campaign is that they've taken down their ads. They’ve paused campaigning for now. They had plans to roll out a couple different things today, like a new Republicans for Trump operation that is obviously -- Republicans for Biden, rather, operation that has now been put on hold as they try to show their respect in the wake of an assassination attempt.
DUBOIS: OK. Nancy Cordes at The White House, thank you so much.
