As news broke Monday morning of the passing of former Secretary of State and Joint Chiefs Chairman Colin Powell, on NBC’s Today show, correspondent Andrea Mitchell jumped at the chance to exploit his death to bash Republicans. However, in her ghoulish rush to do so, she got her facts wrong when she falsely claimed he was “booed” at the 2000 GOP National Convention.
“I was on the floor of the convention in 2000 in Philadelphia when Republicans booed him,” Mitchell proclaimed while calling in to the morning show to share her thoughts on Powell. She even went so far as to argue that moment began the late General’s shift to the Democratic Party years later: “But he has stood out from his Republican Party even back in 2000 at that convention for speaking up for black rights and eventually did endorse Barack Obama, as you know.”
Later, on her 12:00 p.m. ET hour MSNBC show, Mitchell recalled what supposedly upset the GOP crowd: “I remember being on the floor of the convention, the GOP convention in Philadelphia...in 2000...he was booed from the floor because he spoke about Affirmative Action.” She again declared: “And that was the beginning of a public break, you know, internally for him with the Republican Party.”
Mitchell then fondly remembered: “And so, the endorsement on Meet the Press, with Tom Brokaw in 2008, of Barack Obama, the black candidate, was such a momentous occasion in politics...”
Despite Mitchell’s unchallenged assertions about Powell being derided by Republicans in 2000, an examination of C-SPAN’s coverage of the GOP Convention that year does not show him being booed at all. In fact, during the passage of his speech dealing with Affirmative Action – which Mitchell specifically cited – only cheers and applause were heard. The footage shown on screen displayed people on the convention floor celebrating Powell’s address.
Perhaps Mitchell heard a small smattering of boos from her spot in the convention hall while covering the event, but there certainly wasn’t any sign of that for someone watching on television.
Mitchell’s mythical claims of Powell being booed were brought Today show viewers by Lincoln and to MSNBC viewers by ServPro. You can fight back by letting these advertisers know what you think of them sponsoring such content.
Here are transcripts of Mitchell’s October 18 coverage:
Today
8:13 AM ET(...)
ANDREA MITCHELL: He has been a long-standing spokesperson, as you know, as well, for minority rights and for the African-American community. He was so proud of when he sponsored the Colin Powell Institute at City College in New York, at CCNY. Savannah, you know all of the extraordinary history of this man. I was on the floor of the convention in 2000 in Philadelphia when Republicans booed him. Because he had been though of – at one point he thought of running for president and decided not to even make that challenge. But he has stood out from his Republican Party even back in 2000 at that convention for speaking up for black rights and eventually did endorse Barack Obama, as you know.
(...)
Andrea Mitchell Reports
12:44 PM(...)
ANDREA MITCHELL: I remember being on the floor of the convention, the GOP convention in Philadelphia in 2002 [sic], and he spoke, and at the time, you know, it was only a few years after he had been – the Republicans had talked to him and wanted him to run against Bill Clinton in the second term and he had rebuffed them for a lot of reasons. And then in 2000 – when he was on the floor of the convention – I was on the floor, he was obviously at the podium speaking – he was booed from the floor because he spoke about Affirmative Action. And that was the beginning of a public break, you know, internally for him with the Republican Party. And so, the endorsement on Meet the Press, with Tom Brokaw in 2008, of Barack Obama, the black candidate, was such a momentous occasion in politics...
(...)
