In a viral moment from an auto plant in Detroit Tuesday, a raging Joe Biden lashed out and threatened to assault (slap) an autoworker who confronted him about his support for curtailing Second Amendment rights. The threat was omitted by all the broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) and Univision, with CNNEE and Telemundo ignoring the incident altogether. But what NBC Nightly News did was particularly deceptive in that they completely cut around Biden’s threat of physical violence.
In the NBC coverage of the “tense confrontation,” correspondent Gabe Gutierrez actually noted that Biden did want to ban so-called “assault weapons” before boasting that the former Vice President “pulled no punches.” He then played the manipulated video:
BIDEN: We’ll take your AR – your AR-14s away.
AUTOWORKER (talking about Biden sticking a finger in his face): This is not okay. [Transition] You’re working for me, man.
BIDEN: I'm not working for you. Gimme a break, man. Don’t be such a horse’s ass.
Here’s a close-up video of Joe Biden yelling in a union worker’s face today.
— Samuel D. Finkelstein II (@CANCEL_SAM) March 10, 2020
Biden is not well.
Nominating him would be a disaster.
There’s no way he could beat Trump. pic.twitter.com/0gNkApKEah
The marked “transition” was where Biden can be heard in unedited video saying “Don't tell me that, pal, or I'm going to go out and slap you in the face.” The whole confrontation can be watched here (or above, NBC's report is below) with the edited portion starting at the 1:03-second mark. The edit was intentional because the comment only lasted less than four seconds (thus there was no time crunch), and NBC reporter Jonathan Allen noted the threat in an online report.
Both ABC’s World News Tonight and CBS Evening News didn’t dare get close to that portion of the video and downplayed Biden’s actions. CBS politics reporter Ed O’Keefe simply suggested: “Biden got testy when a man who asked why he wants to take away guns.”
Over on ABC, senior national correspondent Terry Moran reported that “along with the chants and cheers, an angry confrontation with one autoworker, who confronted Biden on guns.” Moran even included a sizable soundbite of Biden lying about his position on taking away guns:
BIDEN: No. No. Shush, shush. I support the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment just like right now if you yelled fire, that's not free speech. From the very beginning, I have a shotgun, I have a 20-gauge, a 12-gauge. My sons hunt. Guess what? You're not allowed to own any weapon. I am not taking your gun away at all. Do you need 100 rounds? No.
AUTOWORKER: When you said you're going to take our guns.--
BIDEN (yelling over him): I did not say that! I did not!
None of the English or Spanish-language networks mentioned that Biden had also told a female campaign staffer to “shush” after she tried to defuse the situation and move him away.
The Transcripts are below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s World News Tonight
March 10, 2020
6:50:07 p.m. Eastern(…)
TERRY MORAN: But along with the chants and cheers, an angry confrontation with one autoworker, who confronted Biden on guns.
AUTOWORKER: You are actively trying to take away our Second Amendment right and take away our guns.
FMR. VP JOE BIDEN: You're full of [ bleep ].
FEMALE BIDEN STAFFER: Okay, thank you, guys.
BIDEN: No. No. Shush, shush. I support the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment just like right now if you yelled fire, that's not free speech. From the very beginning, I have a shotgun, I have a 20-gauge, a 12-gauge. My sons hunt. Guess what? You're not allowed to own any weapon. I am not taking your gun away at all. Do you need 100 rounds? No.
AUTOWORKER: When you said you're going to take our guns.--
BIDEN (yelling over him): I did not say that! I did not!
(…)
CBS Evening News
March 10, 2020
6:50:04 p.m. Eastern(…)
ED O’KEEFE: Touring an auto plant in Detroit earlier in the day, Biden got testy when a man who asked why he wants to take away guns.
FMR. VP JOE BIDEN: You’re full of sh[Bleep]. I did not.
BIDEN: No. No. Shush, shush. I support the Second Amendment.
[Transition]
AUTOWORKER: You say you’re going to take our guns--
BIDEN: I did not say that, that’s not, I did not say that.
(…)
NBC Nightly News
March 10, 2020
7:21:58 p.m. EasternLESTER HOLT: Back now with a big day and an important night for both Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden with primaries in six states. But also grabbing headlines, Biden's response today when he was questioned by a union worker about guns. Here's NBC's Gabe Gutierrez.
[Cuts to video]
GABE GUTIERREZ: On primary day in battleground Michigan, a tense confrontation. Joe Biden cursing at an autoworker who went after his views on guns.
AUTOWORKER: You are actively trying to diminish our Second Amendment right and take away our guns.
FMR. VP JOE BIDEN: You’re full of sh[ Bleep ].
FEMALE BIDEN STAFFER: Okay, thank you, guys.
BIDEN: No, No, shush, shush. I support the Second Amendment. [Transition] I'm not taking your gun away at all. You need 100 rounds?
GUTTIERREZ: Biden, who supports banning assault weapons, pulled no punches as he toured a Detroit auto plant.
BIDEN: We’ll take your AR – your AR-14s away.
AUTOWORKER (talking about Biden sticking a finger in his face): This is not okay. [Transition] You’re working for me, man.
BIDEN: I'm not working for you. Gimme a break, man. Don’t be such a horse’s ass.
(…)
