Appearing on Wednesday’s Megyn Kelly Today, NBC anchor Savannah Guhtrie assured her colleague that she was “trying to stay as fair-minded and neutral” as possible in her coverage of the Trump administration’s immigration policy. That pronouncement came in the wake of Guthrie’s Today show repeatedly touting video earlier that morning of left-wing activists screaming profanity at Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.
“I really do – I mean, you’re a lawyer, I’m a lawyer – I really enjoy and try to understand all the arguments on each side because I want to – I just want to understand it,” Guthrie told Kelly. She then added: “But whatever side you’re on, in terms of the policies or what we should do about immigration, the answer just can never be take children from their parents, it just can’t be.”
Moments later, Guthrie proclaimed: “I’m trying to stay as fair-minded and neutral as I possibly can because I think we need more of that just in our coverage, period.” Kelly agreed: “We do.” Guthrie then reiterated: “But it’s just, you can’t be taking children from their parents. That just can never be the answer.”
In addition to promoting profane attacks on a prominent member of the Trump administration, Wednesday’s Today show also featured correspondent Gadi Schwartz hyping how Guatemalans were denouncing the United States for perpetrating a “barbaric atrocity” against illegal immigrants.
On Tuesday, the NBC morning show repeatedly touted comparisons of immigration detention centers in the U.S. to Nazi concentration camps.
Where exactly was the “fair-minded and neutral” coverage that Guthrie was promising?
An updated Media Research Center study released on Wednesday found that all three broadcast networks combined have devoted over five hours of air time to the immigration issue over the course of one week. NBC led the way, with a whopping 135 minutes of coverage, much of which has been decidedly negative, not neutral.
Here is a transcript of Guthrie’s June 20 exchange with Kelly:
9:10 AM ET
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SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: I really do – I mean, you’re a lawyer, I’m a lawyer – I really enjoy and try to understand all the arguments on each side because I want to – I just want to understand it. What do you say? What do you say? Okay, who’s got the better argument? But whatever side you’re on, in terms of the policies or what we should do about immigration, the answer just can never be take children from their parents, it just can’t be. And I think that members of Congress on both sides of the aisle say that. Even the president says that, although it is his administration’s policy that’s allowing this to happen.
MEGYN KELLY: He says it, but he’s not doing anything about it. He isn’t doing anything about it.
GUTHRIE: Well, right. I’m saying I’m trying to stay as fair-minded and neutral as I possibly can because I think we need more of that just in our coverage, period.
KELLY: We do.
GUTHRIE: But it’s just, you can’t be taking children from their parents. That just can never be the answer.
(...)
