Following a full report on Monday’s Today show denouncing President Trump’s criticism of Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings, fill-in co-host and NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt fretted that Trump had a new target: “Hallie, the President’s also going after longtime civil rights advocate Al Sharpton this morning. Do we know why?”
Correspondent Hallie Jackson replied: “We do, Lester. Sharpton is set to speak with members of the media later today in Baltimore, along with former Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele.” Amazingly neither her nor Holt identified Sharpton as an MSNBC anchor or Steele as an MSNBC contributor.
Jackson added that the scheduled press conference, “has seemed to irritate the President, who this morning says Sharpton is simply showing up to complain and accusing him of hating white people and police officers.”
Over on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski treated their “good friend” Sharpton to a softball interview in which they all took turns slamming the President as “racist.”
Even Britain’s The Independent rushed to Sharpton’s defense with this headline: “Trump launches unprovoked attack on beloved black civil rights leader Al Sharpton after days of racist Baltimore insults.” The article made no mention of the “beloved” Sharpton’s past anti-Semitic comments or him falsely accusing four white men of rape in the infamous Tawana Brawley case.
The Today show skipped those unflattering biographical details about Sharpton as well.
NBC and MSNBC have made a habit of promoting partisan political events hosted by the controversial PoliticsNation host. In June, the news organization secured a deal to air exclusive coverage of a South Carolina 2020 Democratic candidate forum moderated by Sharpton and fellow MSNBC host Joy Reid. In April, MSNBC repeatedly touted Sharpton welcoming nearly all the Democratic contenders to his annual National Action Network conference.
Here is transcript of the exchange on the July 29 Today show:
7:10 AM ET
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LESTER HOLT: Hallie, the president’s also going after longtime civil rights advocate Al Sharpton this morning. Do we know why?
HALLIE JACKSON: We do, Lester. Sharpton is set to speak with members of the media later today in Baltimore, along with former Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele. That has seemed to irritate the President, who this morning says Sharpton is simply showing up to complain and accusing him of hating white people and police officers. Sharpton has responded already, pointing out in 2006, the president said he respected Sharpton’s work. Much more to come on this story.
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