During an appearance on ABC’s This Week, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel leveled the media by calling out their hypocrisy in blacking out the rape accusation against Joe Biden, while they had tried to eviscerate Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The rebuke was so potent that fill-in host Martha Raddatz appeared unable to make eye contact and avoided looking at the camera while defending her network’s coverage.
Possibly citing a Media Research Center study exposing the liberal media’s on-air blackout of the rape accusation against presumed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, McDaniel called out them out. “And then this week, we’ve seen him really be challenged for the first time in five weeks on allegations that many in the media have ignored. And finally, those are coming to light,” she said.
After getting called out, Raddatz seemed to refuse to look up at the camera as she defended her network and the rest of the industry. “Well, I know we here at ABC have not ignored and many in the media have not ignored it. We haven't ignored it,” she claimed. But that was a lie.
As NewsBusters reported last Thursday, that day was the first time any of the broadcast evening newscasts had covered the rape allegation from former Biden Senate staffer Tara Reade. Thursday was the first time ABC covered the story at all, with Good Morning America giving it some airtime after ignoring it for over a month. That night was also the first time NBC had covered it on-air.
Raddatz’s next question did shift to the allegation, but it was to note that the RNC was using it in an “attack ad” they were running against Biden. “And how far will you go with these attack ads,” Raddatz demanded to know.
McDaniel wasn’t having any of Raddatz’s nonsense and hit back hard by calling out the blatant and “appalling” double standard:
I'm going to take issue with the media ignoring this. It has been appalling the hypocrisy, as to how Brett Kavanagh was treated versus Joe Biden. Brett Kavanaugh, every accuser was put on TV, it was wall-to-wall coverage. They went into his high school yearbook. They said he needed an FBI investigation. Michael Avenatti was on TV accusing him of gang rape, from an accuser who never ven met Brett Kavanaugh.
Going further, she pointed out that the double standard fell in Biden’s favor because of which party he was a part of. “And then you go to Joe Biden, five weeks of silence. 19 interviews without a single question,” McDaniel decried. “It from #MeToo, #MeToo, #MeToo to move on, move on, move on in a nanosecond because he's a Democrat.”
“And the hypocrisy is appalling and it’s not just from the Democrats, it’s from the media. And I'll tell you, I think any outlet that conducted those 19 interviews and didn't ask a single question should be disqualified from conducting any part of a presidential debate,” she added in a very serious tone.
The other part of Raddatz’s question was about why President Trump said he would “stick up for” Biden. McDaniel noted that it was because Republicans believed in due process under the law for all, a standard the Democrats and the media thought only applied to them.
“But they threw it out the window when it came to Brett Kavanagh. And so did the media. And the hypocrisy has been appalling. We need to do some self-reflection as to how Kavanaugh was treated versus how Biden is being treated right now,” she declared just before Raddatz ended the interview abruptly.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s This Week
May 3, 2020
9:21:32 a.m. Eastern(…)
RONNA MCDANIEL: And we’ve seen Joe Biden hiding. He's not been vetted. People haven’t seen the 2020 version of Joe Biden, who's shifted so far left on many of his policies. And then this week, we’ve seen him really be challenged for the first time in five weeks on allegations that many in the media have ignored. And finally, those are coming to light.
MARTHA RADDATZ: Well, I know we here at ABC have not ignored and many in the media have not ignored it. We haven't ignored it. But I want to turn to those accusations.
You put out an ad, an attack ad against Joe Biden, but the President has also been accused of sexual harassments, sexual misconduct, sexual assault by more than a dozen women. And in a radio interview on Thursday, President Trump said while Tara Reade, the accuser, sounds credible, “I would just say to Joe Biden, just go out and fight it.” Adding, “I guess in a way you could say I'm sticking up for him.” Is he sticking up for Joe Biden? And how far will you go with these attack ads?
MCDANIEL: I'm going to take issue with the media ignoring this. It has been appalling the hypocrisy, as to how Brett Kavanagh was treated versus Joe Biden. Brett Kavanaugh, every accuser was put on TV, it was wall-to-wall coverage. They went into his high school yearbook. They said he needed an FBI investigation. Michael Avenatti was on TV accusing him of gang rap, from an accuser who never even met Brett Kavanaugh.
And then you go to Joe Biden, five weeks of silence. 19 interviews without a single question. He won’t let people go in his records in the University of Delaware. They're calling on the DNC to do the investigation. It from #MeToo, #MeToo, #MeToo to move on, move on, move on in a nanosecond because he's a Democrat.
And the hypocrisy is appalling and it’s not just from the Democrats, it’s from the media. And I'll tell you, I think any outlet that conducted those 19 interviews and didn't ask a single question should be disqualified from conducting any part of a presidential debate.
RADDATZ: So, why did the President say he was “in a way sticking up for him?”
MCDANIEL: Because due process and the presumption of innocence has no longer been the standard in this country when it comes to Republicans. Now, Democrats are suddenly embracing those legal standards that we have made the cornerstone of our country when it comes to Joe Biden. But they threw it out the window when it came to Brett Kavanagh. And so did the media. And the hypocrisy has been appalling. We need to do some self-reflection as to how Kavanaugh was treated versus how Biden is being treated right now.
RADDATZ: Okay, thank you very much for joining us.
(…)
