It's common for the media to analyze commercials and speeches during a campaign. However, there's a big difference between dissecting a few soundbites and just letting partisan propaganda play uninterrupted, in what amounts to a campaign infomercial.
This is what CNN Newsroom did Tuesday morning when it ran a segment on Michelle Obama’s “closing argument for Joe Biden.” Co-host Poppy Harlow gushed over the speech: “...she said no matter what party you are part of, you know, basically think about voting for Joe Biden.”
Earlier in the morning, the former First Lady released a 24-minute video giving her argument as to why Joe Biden should be President. CNN ran the clip where she pleaded: “Search your hearts and your conscience and then vote for Joe Biden like your lives depend on it.” This was just one of the many appeals made to left-wing voters, including numerous attacks on President Trump.
The entire segment lasted 6 minutes and 30 seconds. 3 minutes and 58 seconds of the report were devoted to just playing clips from Obama’s video. That is literally 61% of the segment. The rest of the 2 minutes and 32 seconds focused on gushing over Mrs. Obama and why the voters should listen to her. This segment was not journalism, it provided no critical analysis of what she said. It was nothing more than a Biden campaign commercial.
It should come as no surprise, a Media Research Center study conducted by Rich Noyes has shown that the leftist media routinely gives Joe Biden largely favorable news coverage compared to 90% unfavorable coverage for the President.
Throughout the entire 9:00 a.m. ET hour in which the Michele Obama segment ran, there was not a single positive mention of the President, nor were any of his campaign videos or speeches shown.
Twenty-nine minutes before the segment began, Joe Biden tweeted out a video of the speech and thanked Obama for her words. This was a sentiment that was shared by Newsroom co-host and former Obama administration official Jim Sciutto: “...the former First Lady Michelle Obama is not holding back in a video just released, which criticizes President Trump on his approach to the coronavirus and makes a passionate case for Joe Biden and his approach.”
This was a blatant push for Biden from CNN, which has long abandoned even the appearance of objectivity. And it wasn't the last one. New Day on Monday featured Trump hater Anthony Scaramucci vehemently cried out “… what we have to do is just get out there, good Americans, men and women have to get out there, explain how crazy this is, and work tirelessly over the next 28 days to defeat him.”
This Biden campaign commercial was sponsored by Priceline and Coventry. Click on the links to let them know what you think.
A transcript of the October 6 coverage is included below:
CNN Newsroom
10/06/20
9:27 AM ETJIM SCIUTTO: Well, the former First Lady Michelle Obama is not holding back in a video just released which criticizes President Trump on his approach to the coronavirus and makes a passionate case for Joe Biden and his approach.
POPPY HARLOW: That's right. Ms. Obama urging Americans to vote for Biden, like, quote, your lives depend on it. Let's go to MJ Lee she has more on this video. Remember in those big speeches she never said Trump's name, she just said we go high, they go low etc. and she doesn't love politics, but she is digging in on that one.
MJ LEE [CNN Political Correspondent]: That's right. I mean, if we could get a sign that we are just four weeks out from the election and it really is game time for the Biden campaign, this taped message from former First Lady Michelle Obama is direct to camera, it is almost 24 minutes long and it really is an urgent plea to the American people to get out and vote, not just for anyone, but of course for Joe Biden, and making the case in not mincing her words at all against President Trump and the state of the country under President Trump. Remember the former First Lady is one of the most popular and well-known national Democrats in the country and when she gave that speech at the Democratic National Convention it was one of the most memorable speeches of the week. I just want you to take a listen to a part of her speech where she talks about chaos in the country and a President who she says isn't up to the job.
MICHELLE OBAMA [Former First Lady]: Believe it or not, the election is right around the corner. Votes are already being cast and if you're still deciding who to vote for or whether to vote at all, I wanted to take a moment to remind you what's at stake. And to urge you to make a plan to vote today. Because let's be honest, right now our country is in chaos because of a President who isn't up to the job. And if we want to regain any kind of stability, we've got to ensure that every eligible voter is informed and engaged in this election. Because the stakes are on display every day, not just in the headlines, but in our families. If you are a parent like me, you are feeling the consequences of this President's failure to take this pandemic seriously, from his constant down playing of the importance of masks and social distancing, to his relentless pressure on schools to open without offering a clear plan or meaningful support to keep students and teachers safe. Look, our daughters are in college now and luckily they're taking classes from home this semester, but in just a few weeks since schools have resumed many of their friends to returned to campus have either tested positive or are living with someone who has.
LEE: Now, the former First Lady also addressed the racial tensions in the country and said that under President Trump the country will continue to spiral out of control. Here is a little bit more from her speech.
OBAMA: So I want to appeal for some empathy here, too. I want everyone who is still undecided to think about all those folks like me and my ancestors, the moms and dads who worked their fingers to the bone to raise their kids right, the teenagers who wear hoodies while working hard to get their diplomas, the millions of folks who look like me and fought and died and toiled as slaves and soldiers and laborers to help build this country. Put yourselves in our shoes for just a moment. Imagine how it feels to wake up every day and do your very best to uphold the values that this country claims to hold dear, truth, honor, decency, only to have those efforts met by scorn, not just by your fellow citizens, but by a sitting President. Imagine how it feels to have suspicion cast on you from the day you were born, simply because of the hue of your skin. To walk around your own country scared that someone's unjustified fear of you could put you in harm's way. Terrified of what four more years of this kind of division might mean for the safety of you and those you love. Living with the knowledge that no matter how hard we try, how much good we do in the world, there will be far too many who will never see our humanity, who will project on us their own fears of retribution for centuries of injustice and thus only see us as a threat to be restrained. And we know what happens next. A racial slur from a passing car, a job promotion that never comes, a routine traffic stop gone wrong, maybe a knee to the neck. Racism, fear, division, these are powerful weapons and they can destroy this nation if we don't deal with them head-on. So I want to ask every single American, no matter what party you normally vote for, to please take a moment to pause, click off the news, think about how you felt over these last four years, how quickly things have turned and then think about what the next four years could mean for our country's future. The message we will send to our children about who we are and what we truly value. Think about what would possibly compel you to accept this level of chaos, violence and confusion under this President and be willing to watch our country continue to spiral out of control. Because we can no longer pretend that we don't know exactly who and what this President stands for. Search your hearts and your conscience and then vote for Joe Biden like your lives depend on it.
LEE: So you just saw a long and impassioned speech from Michelle Obama. I will also just note that Joe Biden himself is going to be traveling to Gettysburg today, obviously a place of symbolic and historic significance. The theme of that speech today is going to be about unity and bringing the country together. Jim and poppy.
SCIUTTO: Totally, MJ and Poppy, and it’s notable that the President had considered Gettysburg for his RNC acceptance speech, ultimately chose the White House. Joe Biden going there, all the history in Gettysburg, the division, racial division in this country, it's quite a decision.
HARLOW: Yeah, and Lincoln and it was interesting in that video, MJ, that she said no matter what party you are part of, you know, basically think about voting for Joe Biden. I thought that was notable.
