We’ve come to expect former Obama officials getting off easy when they appear on the morning shows. However, sometimes the complete lack of any sort of impartial standard really is shocking. That was the case Tuesday when former Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett came on ABC’s Good Morning America to promote her new memoir called "Finding My Voice." The Democrat operative received the star treatment from the hosts, who couldn’t stop gushing about her friendship with the Obamas and her positive “light,” while inviting her to tear into President Trump and Republicans as evil.
Robin Roberts opened the interview praising Jarrett’s “remarkable story” going “from a little girl growing up in Iran to a single mom in Chicago, all the way to the White House” to become a “political powerhouse" who was like a “big sister” to the Obamas. Roberts spun an incident where top female officials complained they weren't heard by the president, was "easily solved" before quickly moving on to let Jarrett tear into Republicans and the current administration:
“That problem proved easy to solve. Others in the White House were more difficult. Especially relationships with Republicans,” she intoned. Jarrett sneered that Republicans were “diabolical” with no real pushback from Roberts:
VALERIE JARRETT: For the entire eight years President Obama was there, it was this short-term political strategy that I considered diabolical and not in the best interest of our country.
ROBERTS: You believe that.
JARRETT: I believe it was a very, very political, raw political strategy and then to what end?
If a Democrat official being invited to talks smack about her political opponents wasn’t bad enough, Roberts then asked Jarrett to criticize the current administration.
ROBERTS: What are your thoughts when you look at the political landscape today, 2019?
JARRETT: I think the political landscape today in some ways is depressing. I think tone does start at the we look to the President of the United States to be the leader, to be a role model particularly for young people and I think some of the rhetoric has been profoundly disappointing and troubling to me.
Roberts brought up the birther conspiracy surrounding Obama, attributing it to President Trump while Jarrett claimed that Trump “incited hatred” against the former president:
ROBERTS: Jarrett also writes about the one time she met Donald Trump... Long before he was running for office but he was very much a part of the birther controversy. What was that meeting like?
JARRETT: The driving force behind the birther controversy.
ROBERTS: So tell me about that meeting and I could just tell just in how you responded with that that that is something that has stayed with you.
JARRETT: Well, I think it's unconscionable and I think it incited hatred and I think it put President Obama and his family in harm's way and for what purpose?
The GMA team wrapped up the interview with more fawning over Jarrett’s relationship with the Obamas.
“It's liberating for her -- can you imagine for eight years for eight years you're at the side of the President of the United States,” Roberts exclaimed. Co-anchor George Stephanopoulos praised their friendship staying intact: “Amazing, under those pressures, their relationship which had started so far before really strengthened!”
After gossipping whether Jarrett would advise another Democrat candidate for 2020, co-anchor Lara Spencer weirdly complimented Jarrett:
“Yeah. You can feel that light!” she gushed.
“I know, exactly!” Roberts agreed.
4/2/19
Good Morning America
8:41:49-8:43:37AM EST
ROBERTS: That problem proved easy to solve. Others in the White House were more difficult. Especially relationships with Republicans.
VALERIE JARRETT: For the entire eight years President Obama was there, it was this short-term political strategy that I considered diabolical and not in the best interest of our country.
ROBERTS: You believe that.
JARRETT: I believe it was a very, very political, raw political strategy and then to what end?
ROBERTS: What are your thoughts when you look at the political landscape today, 2019?
JARRETT: I think the political landscape today in some ways is depressing. I think tone does start at the we look to the President of the United States to be the leader, to be a role model particularly for young people and I think some of the rhetoric has been profoundly disappointing and troubling to me.
ROBERTS: Jarrett also writes about the one time she met Donald Trump.
ROBERTS: You said in 2011 the first time you met him.
JARRETT: Only time.
ROBERTS: Only time you met him was at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Long before he was running for office but he was very much a part of the birther controversy. What was that meeting like?
JARRETT: The driving force behind the birther controversy.
ROBERTS: So tell me about that meeting and I could just tell just in how you responded with that that that is something that has stayed with you.
JARRETT: Well, I think it's unconscionable and I think it incited hatred and I think it put President Obama and his family in harm's way and for what purpose? So I did try to duck him when I saw him at the correspondents' dinner but he was coming right at me and it was just a brief exchange but what I really remember about that night is that, you know, everybody is joked about and I wish President Trump had laughed.
…
8:44:35-8:45:26 AM EST
ROBERTS: That zigzag, exhilarating. It's liberating for her -- can you imagine for eight years for eight years you're at the side of the President of the United States.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Amazing, under those pressures, their relationship which had started so far before really strengthened.
ROBERTS: Because it could go either way. And it really strengthened it. It did. We did hear from Barack Obama. He said to us, “Valerie Jarrett's voice has often inspired me and I know her memoir will inspire others to lift their voices too.” That's really what she wants to do. She is in the private sector now still working somewhat with Michelle and Barack Obama.
SPENCER: And other candidates.
ROBERTS: Wouldn't say which ones. Tried to get that but she wouldn’t say which ones. They want to hear from her and she really wants to lend her voice to others and to young people especially.
LARA SPENCER: Yeah. You can feel that light.
ROBERTS: I know, exactly.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Now you can read the book.
ROBERTS: That’s right, because it's out this morning and you can read an excerpt on our website.
