Since Friday, the liberal media had been foaming at the mouth after President Trump made a series of comments arguing that athletes who disrespected the American flag by kneeling should be either fired or suspended. Come Sunday, two of the Big Three Networks (ABC and NBC) were eager to smear the President with claims of racism and assertions that he was on the wrong side of the issue.
“And of course, all of this is playing out against the backdrop of a new ABC News/Washington Post poll showing 66 percent of Americans say that Donald Trump has done more to divide this country,” announced ABC Co-Anchor Paula Faris at the start of Good Morning America.
As the anchors handed the report off to White House Correspondent Mary Bruce, the reporter snidely remarked that “over the last 24 hours, he's added fuel to the fierce debate in the country over race, intolerance, politics, and sports.” “Now, he's again inserting himself into the debate over race in America,” she sneered.
Part way through the 10 minutes dedicated to the topic of Trump’s comments on kneeling, ABC Co-Anchor Dan Harris brought the discussion to racism. “Ryan, it's hard to ignore the racial component here. The President went on this jag on Friday night in front of a largely white audience,” he told ESPN reporter Ryan Smith, who helped push Harris’ accusation:
Well, I think there's a lot of talk now about coded language. You think about what he said. Disrespecting “OUR” heritage. “WE,” to that largely white crowd. I think there’s a lot of folks out there and look at this and say: “What are you really trying to say here? When you talk about if somebody doesn't do what I think they should be fired. If they're speaking a point of view, peacefully protesting, they should be fired?”
“So I think a lot of people today are responding to the idea of his coded language,” Smith added. “Not too long ago, he was respecting the opinions of others in Charlottesville that many people felt were using very divisive terms. Holding different items that were very scary for many people.”
Out of ABC’s solid 10 minutes of kneeling coverage, only 15 seconds of it were dedicated to those who agreed with the President. That’s despite the fact that Harris briefly mentioned a poll that showed roughly half of the population agreed with Trump (5 seconds). They only played two clips of average people voicing their support, at 5 seconds each. The analysis shows that 99.98 percent of their coverage was critical of Trump on this issue.
Even with the .02 percent of ABC’s coverage going to people who agree with Trump, that’s better than NBC’s Sunday Today which failed to concede that Trump had support on the subject.
In fact, Anchor Willie Geist brought on Meet the Press Moderator Chuck Todd to assert the President was on the wrong side of the issue. “The White House likes this fight. They think it is ultimately good politics for them. They think they're on the right side of this and that somehow it will be the left or some of the players that overstep,” Todd chided. “I don't know. We'll see. This feels like a culture war that's exploding right before our eyes.”
And to top off their attacks, both networks were excited to see how NFL players would respond as they hyped the anticipated kneeling protests against the President.
Transcripts below:
ABC
Good Morning America
September 24, 2017
8:02:44 AM Eastern(…)
PAULA FARIS: And of course, all of this is playing out against the backdrop of a new ABC News/Washington Post poll showing 66 percent of Americans say that Donald Trump has done more to divide this country. Yet, that poll also showing Trump’s approval ratings have gone up slightly.
(…)
MARY BRUCE: Over the last 24 hours, he's added fuel to the fierce debate in the country over race, intolerance, politics, and sports.
[Cuts to video]
This morning, the President versus the players. As Trump sparks a political war with professional sports.
(…)
BRUCE: Now, he's again inserting himself into the debate over race in America.
(…)
RYAN SMITH: You know, at stadiums like these, Sundays are for football, but after President Trump's comments and criticisms, todays about so much more. Stars across the sports world are speaking out about what one called the President's divisive rhetoric.
[Cuts to video]
This morning, the President's fiery words setting off a national firestorm.
LEBRON JAMES: He's now using sports as the platform to try to divide us. For him to try to use this platform to divide us even more is not something I can stand for and is not something I can be quiet about.
(…)
PERSON ON THE STREET 1: For our president to say anything that everyone should stand for the flag would be ridiculous.
PERSON ON THE STREET 2: Stand up for your flag. It's your country. Be proud of it.
PERSON ON THE STREET 3: We have a first amendment in the country. And I think that allows people to express how they feel in the way they need to express it.
PERSON ON THE STREET 4: I agree with the President. We should be more respectful of the flag.
(…)
DAN HARRIS: Jay, let me bring you in. This has been a somewhat lonely quest for Colin Kaepernick. One poll shows that nearly half of Americans oppose what he's been doing. He's been unable to get a job, as a consequence, many people feel. But are we at a point where because of Donald Trump, actually, we could see people streaming to Colin Kaepernick?
JAY WILLIAMS: Yes. I do. I think first off, he's galvanized the whole sports community.
(…)
HARRIS: Let’s go back to Ryan for a second. Ryan, it's hard to ignore the racial component here. The President went on this jag on Friday night in front of a largely white audience. What’s your view of the racial component here?
SMITH: Well, I think there's a lot of talk now about coded language. You think about what he said. Disrespecting “OUR” heritage. “WE,” to that largely white crowd. I think there’s a lot of folks out there and look at this and say: “What are you really trying to say here? When you talk about if somebody doesn't do what I think they should be fired. If they're speaking a point of view, peacefully protesting, they should be fired?”
(…)
So I think a lot of people today are responding to the idea of his coded language, that, just because you're making a lot of money, you don't have the right to say what you want to say. Whereas, at the same time, not too long ago, he was respecting the opinions of others in Charlottesville that many people felt were using very divisive terms. Holding different items that were very scary for many people.
(…)
...
NBC
Sunday Today
September 24, 2017
8:09:15 AM Eastern(…)
WILLIE GEIST: All right. Let's talk about his feud now with the NFL, with the league, with the players who protested around the NFL. He's up tweeting again this morning encouraging owners to fire or suspend players who protest today. We've set ourselves up for a remarkable day in the United States today.
CHUCK TODD: I think so too.
GEIST: With these football games across stadiums, across the country what's it going to look like, Chuck?
(…)
TODD: But let me tell you something else here Willie. The White House likes this fight. They think it is ultimately good politics for them. They think they're on the right side of this and that somehow it will be the left or some of the players that overstep. I don't know. We'll see. This feels like a culture war that's exploding right before our eyes.
GEIST: And he's really, Chuck, this week leaned into this culture war.
(…)
