On Wednesday morning, President-Elect Joe Biden’s inaugural committee announced that it would be producing a live, celebrity-packed, prime-time special on the evening of January 20 – just hours after Biden and Kamala Harris are sworn into office – and that the Democratic Party’s compliant media allies at ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, and CNN would all happily air the 90-minute event.
“The Presidential Inaugural Committee has a new announcement this morning. They’re calling something Celebrating America, it’s an event that will be airing live next Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. Eastern, so the evening after Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are inaugurated,” co-host Tony Dokoupil excitedly told viewers on Wednesday. He then listed the cavalcade of liberal Hollywood stars who would participate: “It’s going to be hosted by Tom Hanks. Ant Clemons, Jon Bon Jovi, Demi Lovato, Justin Timberlake will all have a part in it.”
While touting how the leftist press would dutifully do Biden’s bidding by giving the celebratory event a national platform, Dokoupil seemed to lament that not every news outlet was following suit: “It’ll be airing on CBS, but also ABC, CNN, NBC, MSNBC. There’s a notable network missing from that list.” Fellow co-host and Democratic donor Gayle King fretted: “So FOX isn’t gonna run it, but everybody else is?” Dokoupil replied: “I do not see FOX’s name on this list.”
Dokoupil also promoted the special – which will be produced by some of the same partisans who produced the largely virtual Democratic National Convention in August – as if it were completely non-political: “And it’s being described as a showcase of the American people’s resilience, heroism, and unified commitment to coming together as a nation to rebuild and heal. We could use some of that.”
King chimed in: “I like that....It’s a great lineup.” Fellow co-host Anthony Mason seconded: “...that is a great lineup and great purpose, it’s all about unity.”
During an interview on NBC’s Today show with one of the inauguration special performers, Justin Timberlake, co-host Carson Daly declared: “I want to ask you a little bit about maybe some breaking news....we’re excited that you’re gonna be performing at the Inauguration, called Celebrating America.”
Timberlake responded by describing how he was “super excited” to participate in the event designed to celebrate the beginning of the Biden administration and that “it feels like, hopefully, the theme of 2021 is redemption.”
Daly touted the lineup and urged viewers to tune in:
Our friend Jon Bon Jovi also performing, Demi Lovato. Tom Hanks will host this 90-minute special, Celebrating America, it will be on most of the networks....And you can catch that special Inauguration night event, Celebrating America, that we mentioned, that’s next Wednesday, right here on NBC.
This is not the first time that networks like NBC have been actively involved in producing an inauguration for a Democratic president. In January of 2013, the Today show actually bragged about how then-correspondent Chelsea Clinton (who had a brief and highly overpaid stint with the network) was playing a role in President Obama’s second inaugural.
Time will tell how partisan or non-partisan the prime-time special will be, but the very idea that a Democrat being sworn into office is somehow synonymous with “Celebrating America” shows just how blatantly sycophantic the left-wing media have become.
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Here is a transcript of the January 13 coverage on CBS This Morning:
8:34 AM ET
TONY DOKOUPIL: I got a little bit of breaking news here. Not news-news, not capital-N news, but interesting Talk of the Table news. The Presidential Inaugural Committee has a new announcement this morning. They’re calling something Celebrating America, it’s an event that will be airing live next Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. Eastern, so the evening after Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are inaugurated. It’s going to be hosted by Tom Hanks. Ant Clemons, Jon Bon Jovi, Demi Lovato, Justin Timberlake will all have a part in it. It’ll be airing on CBS, but also ABC, CNN, NBC, MSNBC. There’s a notable network missing from that list. And it’s being described as a showcase of the American people’s resilience, heroism, and unified commitment to coming together as a nation to rebuild and heal. We could use some of that.
GAYLE KING I like that. So FOX isn’t gonna run it, but everybody else is?
DOKOUPIL: I do not see FOX’s name on this list.
KING: It’s a great lineup.
ANTHONY MASON: Probably still developing, but that is a great lineup and great purpose, it’s all about unity.
Here is a transcript of the coverage on NBC’s Today show:
8:40 AM ET
(...)
CARSON DALY: Also this morning, I want to ask you a little bit about maybe some breaking news. You’re excited about the film coming out, but also we’re excited that you’re gonna be performing at the Inauguration, called Celebrating America. What can you tell us about that?
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE: Yeah, I’m super excited about that. Yeah, between the film and the Inauguration, it feels like, hopefully, the theme of 2021 is redemption. You know? So, yeah, I’m very excited, there’s a song that I wrote with a new artist who was just nominated for a Grammy, Ant Clemons. We wrote a song called Better Days, and we’re gonna be performing it at the Inauguration. So I’m incredibly excited, what an honor. Got the phone call –
DALY: It looks like a good special.
TIMBERLAKE: Yeah, we got the phone call to be asked for that. And I was like, ah, yes. [Laughter]
HODA KOTB: The answer is yes.
DALY: Our friend Jon Bon Jovi also performing, Demi Lovato. Tom Hanks will host this 90-minute special, Celebrating America, it will be on most of the networks. So that’s cool, man.
(...)
8:44 AM ET
DALY: And you can catch that special Inauguration night event, Celebrating America, that we mentioned, that’s next Wednesday, right here on NBC.
(...)
