While both ABC's Good Morning America and CBS's Early Show on Tuesday gave due credit to Senator Marco Rubio for catching former First Lady Nancy Reagan as she tripped at Reagan Library event, NBC's Today strangely avoided making any mention of the Florida Republican being present, even as video footage clearly showed him holding Reagan's arm. [Audio available here; Video follows page break]
In a news brief on Today, Natalie Morales reported: "And a scary moment for former First Lady Nancy Reagan, who tripped over a post used for crowd control during an event last night at the Ronald Reagan Library. As you see there, even as she was escorted to her seat. The 90-year-old Mrs. Reagan was not hurt." Co-host Ann Curry followed by noting how, "It's good somebody was there to make sure she was caught," but still skipped the fact that Rubio was that "somebody."
In contrast, on Good Morning America, Bianna Golodryga announced that Reagan "was being escorted to her seat by Florida Senator Marco Rubio. Luckily, the senator caught her before she hit the ground and Mrs. Reagan was not hurt." On the Early Show, Jeff Glor explained: "She was walking with Florida Senator Marco Rubio at an event last night at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California when she lost her balance. Rubio did manage to catch her."
In her report, Morales did manage to mention that Reagan "was fortunate though, because each year a half million older Americans are hospitalized after falling. "
