Early Wednesday night, the Fox News Channel’s The Five dedicated a full segment to the latest hit study from the MRC’s Research Director Rich Noyes, which showed a massive statistical disparity in heavily positive network evening news coverage of President Biden’s early days in the White House versus incredibly negative coverage of then-President Trump in 2017.
Co-host Greg Gutfeld stated it plainly off the top:
A new study proves that the media is in the tank for Joe Biden. It compared how network news handled the first 100 days for Biden and for Trump. And finds 89 percent negative coverage for Trump’s first few months and 59 positive coverage for Biden. No surprise.
After a video mash-up of news clips, Gutfeld explained his “theory behind this media bias” in which they don’t (or at least no longer) “see the world as left versus right” but instead one of “right versus wrong” where the “right opinion[s]” are the only ones that are accepted, whereas “wrong opinions don’t deserve equal time.”
So on issues like “climate change and police reform,” Gutfeld said the media would insist that anyone holding contrary views should be labeled “a denier or racist.”
Co-host Dana Perino pointed out how the liberal media have worked to help the Biden administration on the issue of infrastructure (click “expand”):
The other thing they do, Greg, is they cherry pick polling data. Now, campaigns do the same, right? So, they'll look for, like, the best little nugget of their campaign and try to make that a bigger narrative. What they do here, for examples, this is The New York Times. So, they did this whole thing about infrastructure and they said do you like what Biden’s proposing to do with roads and bridges? And everyone’s like yeah, we love it.
And it doesn't say anything else about the fact that, you know, that’s just a third of the bill. It doesn't say anything about all the expansion of other things. And then The Times has this little caveat. “The Times survey did not ask about other components of Biden's plan” But that’s never going to make it. But that’s never going to make it.
As we saw in our study, Perino’s analysis was well-founded as ABC, CBS, and NBC evening shows gave Biden 63 percent positive coverage on his multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure package.
Watters World host Jesse Watters facetiously replied that Biden “clearly...deserves very great coverage” seeing as how “he’s united the country,” “he’s extremely empathetic and he doesn't lead and tweet and created a safe space for us Americans to focus on the real enemy, which is [Gutfeld], Tucker, and Candace Owens.”
Though a pundit, Watters correctly emphasized that “objective journalism” was still possible by taking each issue separately and evaluating the administration, but when they have an entire ideology and host of allies to defend, they’ve chosen not to.
Gutfeld attempted to say the Biden presidency has felt like a case of where the media only “look at [Biden’s] words” instead of his deeds following a presidency where it felt like “Trump’s words” were all that mattered, but liberal co-host Juan Williams wasn’t having it and suggested Biden’s positive coverage and the negative onslaught on Trump were both justified.
With time running out before a break, rotational co-host Dagen McDowell made the most of it by describing Biden as a “broken, busted tchotchke” that the American people will have to live with for the next three-plus years:
Well, these makeup-wearing TV hucksters are the ones that sold the American people this broken, busted tchotchke for a president. So, they’ve got to spend the next three and a half years trying to con those Americans into believing that Biden isn't totally useless. You know what? You get an extractor for Christmas and it breaks? At least you could put it on the mantel and it looks like art.
To see the relevant FNC transcript from April 21, click “expand.”
FNC’s The Five
April 21, 2021
5:35 p.m. Eastern [TEASE]JUAN WILLIAMS: Straight ahead new claims of media bias after a new study says President Biden is getting very favorable coverage. Next on The Five.
(....)
5:40 p.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: A Tale of Two Presidencies; RPT: Press Praises Biden, Trashes Trump in 1st 100 days]
GREG GUTFELD: A new study proves that the media is in the tank for Joe Biden. It compared how network news handled the first 100 days for Biden and for Trump. And finds 89 percent negative coverage for Trump’s first few months and 59 positive coverage for Biden. No surprise. It’s no wonder with glowing takes like this.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Media’s Glowing Coverage in Biden’s First 100 Days]
RACHEL MADDOW [on 03/12/21]: The President is good at articulating empathy.
DAVID CHALIAN [on 01/19/21]: It’s almost like extensions of Joe Biden's arms embracing America.
CECILIA VEGA [on 03/25/21]: There is a sense of humanity that he is talking about here saying this is who we are.
JAKE TAPPER [on 01/20/21]: We saw the steely determination and compassion of President Joe Biden.
JOY REID [on 01/21/21]: What a great love story between Jill and Joe Biden. [SCREEN WIPE] We haven't had a love story in the White house in four years.
DONNY DEUTSCH [on 03/12/21]: He was sleepy Joe. He’s MoJo Joe now.
GUTFELD: MoJo Joe? Dana, would you like to hear my theory behind this media bias?
DANA PERINO: Of course.
GUTFELD: Okay. The media bias story doesn't make a ripple in the media because they don't see the world as left versus right. They see it as right versus wrong. So, why would you balance your right opinion with the wrong opinion? Wrong opinions don't deserve equal time. They do this with climate change and police reform. If you are on the other side, right, you’re a denier or racist. There is no equal time.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Press Praise; RPT: Biden Gets 59% Positive Coverage in First 100 Days]
PERINO: Yeah. You can definite — yeah. The denier piece in particular.
GUTFELD: Yeah.
PERINO: Watch for that the next 48 hours as the president has the big summit. The other thing they do, Greg, is they cherry pick polling data. Now, campaigns do the same, right? So, they'll look for, like, the best little nugget of their campaign and try to make that a bigger narrative. What they do here, for examples, this is The New York Times. So, they did this whole thing about infrastructure and they said do you like what Biden’s proposing to do with roads and bridges? And everyone’s like yeah, we love it. And it doesn't say anything else about the fact that, you know, that’s just a third of the bill. It doesn't say anything about all the expansion of other things. And then The Times has this little caveat. “The Times survey did not ask about other components of Biden's plan” But that’s never going to make it. But that’s never going to make it.
GUTFELD: You know, Jesse, I went on Twitter and Jesse Jr. was on Twitter and he tweeted: “Bottom line, journalists have become activists. They don't do stories, they push causes.” How old is your kid? It’s amazing.
WATTERS: Yeah, I mean, he should be napping right now. We’re going to have to take the phone away from him. You did make a good point at the top about right and wrong. I’m going to have to steal that for Watters World and claim that as my own. But, Greg —
GUTFELD: Again?
WATTERS: — clearly, Joe Biden deserves very great coverage. I mean, he’s united the country. He’s extremely empathetic. And he doesn't lead and tweet and created a safe space for us Americans to focus on the real enemy, which is you, Tucker, and Candace Owens. But in all seriousness, I want to — I want to give the media a little lesson in objective journalism. Me, Jesse Watters —
GUTFELD: Yes.
WATTERS: — will deliver this message. You can say objectively you can give Joe Biden high marks for continuing Operation Warp Speed and the vaccinations. He gets high marks for providing COVID relief to many Americans but he gets low marks for the border and, look, very low marks for killing jobs in the energy sector. You can say Russia has kicked America out of the Black Sea and has restarted Nordstream II and Joe Biden spent two hours on phone with the Chinese leader and never even brought up where COVID came from. So, you can objectively criticism and give him high marks. Gas prices are high, bad. Stock market is up, good. So, Joe doesn't have a heavy schedule. He does, like, one event and day and barely says anything. So, you’ve got to look at the results of his policies and that's how you cover him. The results of his policies.
GUTFELD: Mmhmm. Juan, to Jesse's point, Jesse is saying, hey, we look at the deeds. It always feels like, though, the Democrats just look at the words. So they hated Trump's words so much but what we do is we look at the deeds.
WILLIAMS: You know, yeah, look at the deeds and you understand why Biden’s getting not only good coverage but the American people. I think it’s like, you know, 59 percent approve of him. So, maybe this is accurate coverage. Come on, guys, this is so wild to me. You guys are so ignoring the larger context. Remember Trump came into office and immediately was telling lies about the size of his inauguration crowd and then there was all the backstabbing and all the leaks coming out of the White House.
GUTFELD: You mean the phony Russian story?
WILLIAMS: Kushner, Bannon — remember that?
WATTERS: Juan, he came into the White House —
GUTFELD: The phony Russian story?
WILLIAMS: Oh my gosh.
WATTERS: — and he was framed as a Russian agent.
WILLIAMS: All of this —
GUTFELD: Oh my.
WILLIAMS: — was it. He was feeding — he was feeding the press all of this stuff and don't forget. Just like baby Jesse, he had the phone and 2 a.m. He all the crazy tweets and then you say you cover them, oh, that's negative coverage. What a difference.
GUTFELD: Dagen?
DAGEN MCDOWELL: Well, these makeup-wearing TV hucksters are the ones that sold the American people this broken, busted tchotchke for a president. So, they’ve got to spend the next three and a half years trying to con those Americans into believing that Biden isn't totally useless. You know what? You get an extractor for Christmas and it breaks? At least you could put it on the mantel and it looks like art.
GUTFELD: Exactly.
