ABC’s Chief White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega appeared on The View Monday, to laughably suggest the White House press corps would be just as tough on President Biden as they were on President Trump.
After Whoopi Goldberg praised Vega for being the first Latina to be promoted to chief White House correspondent for an English-speaking network, fellow co-host Sara Haines asked her:
“President Trump would actually call the mainstream media the ‘enemy of the people,’ you’ve been on the receiving end of that, and fake news whenever he was challenged during a press briefing. Do you think the media will hold President Biden to the same level of scrutiny?”
The obvious answer: No, of course not. But Vega pretended like the media had lost no credibility under the Trump administration and and would be “tough” on Biden too (though she did add that she hoped Biden would be less combative with the press):
I do. You know, President Trump did that not just when we were questioning him, but this was his M.O., he said he tried to discredit us because it helped him politically. I don't think you're going to see that from Biden. That's just not his personality.
But, she added, Biden wouldn’t get a “free pass:”
[B]ut that doesn't mean -- so in that way, things will be different with the relationship with the press, but that doesn't mean he's in any way going to get any kind of free pass or even frankly a honeymoon. He’s got some very serious questions he needs to face and answer to about his agenda going forward, you know, whether he can actually pull this off. How realistic is it that he's going to get Republicans to come on board? He campaigned on unity, and reaching across the aisle, and he's already got Republicans and even some Democrats who have major questions about his plan. So it remains to be seen just how much he's going to compromise and how much he can make good on this campaign promise, but I don't think it's going to be as antagonistic relationship as the one we’ve seen in the past. I hope not anyway.
But we already know how the press will behave with Biden, and it’s anything but tough. Remember how they swept Biden’s scandals under the rug during his campaign, or how the WH press behaved under President Obama? Not to mention the softball-filled press conferences we've already had with Biden Press Secretary Jen Psaki. She even hinted at the kind of tough kitten and ice cream questions she expects.
On top of that, Vega herself gushed on inauguration day, that President Biden had taken back “truth” and “reclaimed facts.” Fellow White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor also hailed the Biden administration as “truth-telling,” and a “big departure” from the previous administration. The Washington Post's fact-checker even admitted they have no plans to tally up President Biden's fibs as they did with President Trump's. So if the press wants people to believe this administration will never lie, then what reason have they to push back or investigate, as reporters are supposed to do?
Read the transcript below:
The View
1/25/2021
SARA HAINES: Congratulations. President Trump would actually call the mainstream media the ‘enemy of the people,’ you’ve been on the receiving end of that, and fake news whenever he was challenged during a press briefing. Do you think the media will hold President Biden to the same level of scrutiny?
CECILIA VEGA: I do. You know, President Trump did that not just when we were questioning him, but this was his M.O., he said he tried to discredit us because it helped him politically. I don't think you're going to see that from Biden. That's just not his personality, but that doesn't mean -- so in that way, things will be different with the relationship with the press, but that doesn't mean he's in any way going to get any kind of free pass or even frankly a honeymoon. He’s got some very serious questions he needs to face and answer to about his agenda going forward, you know, whether he can actually pull this off. How realistic is it that he's going to get Republicans to come on board? He campaigned on unity, and reaching across the aisle, and he's already got Republicans and even some Democrats who have major questions about his plan. So it remains to be seen just how much he's going to compromise and how much he can make good on this campaign promise, but I don't think it's going to be as antagonistic relationship as the one we’ve seen in the past. I hope not anyway.
