Democratic Party mouthpiece and CBS political correspondent Ed O’Keefe was so nervous about the enthusiasm gap between former Vice President Joe Biden and President Trump, that he spent part of his Monday segment on CBS Evening News boasting about Biden (an accused sexual assaulter) paling around with rapper Cardi B, who has admitted to drugging and robbing men (with accusations of rape).
Of course, this happened while the liberal media were ignoring the demands of Biden sexual assault accuser Tara Reade, who wanted the press to grill his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) on whether or not she believed his accusers.
Amid all his other gushing for Democratic convention speakers, O’Keefe touted his candidate’s efforts to pander to young and minority voters. “Biden himself sat down with rapper Cardi B, a former Sanders supporter, in hopes of convincing her millions of fans to get out and vote,” he noted.
O’Keefe later added: “That appearance with Cardi B and interviews that Kamala Harris gave over the weekend to women's publications are all designed to motivate younger, minority, and female voters that Democrats know they will need in order to win in November.”
But last year, old video emerged of Cardi B talking about how she would drug and rob men when she was a stripper. “Whether or not they were poor choices at the time, I did what I had to do to survive,” she said, defending her actions.
The BBC noted at the time that “#SurvivingCardiB” was treading on Twitter and “Some users compared the rapper to disgraced comedian Bill Cosby, who was sentenced to jail in 2018 after being accused of drugging and assaulting women.” Thus, the accusations of rape.
O’Keefe also did his job of defending Biden from accusations of cognitive decline by ignoring how Biden had misremembered how many grandkids he had. Biden told Cardi B that he had five grandkids when he actually had seven.
CBS also dropped the ball when it came to the media’s gaslighting about Biden’s purported “moderate” label. While noting that former First Lady Michelle Obama and Sen. Bernie Sanders would “bear witness to Joe Biden's character,” O’Keefe admitted the later would “talk about Biden's open-mindedness and willingness to embrace more progressive ideas.”
So much for all that work they put into falsely branding he and Harris.
On top of all that, much of O’Keefe’s report played out like an advertisement of the convention as he hyped the speakers (Click “expand”):
O’KEEFE: In prerecorded remarks the former First Lady says Biden has what it takes.
(…)
O’KEEFE: Biden's top primary rival Bernie Sanders, who campaign hope can convince skeptical progressives, will also speak; as will four Republicans set to encourage other GOP voters to switch sides and defeat the President.
(…)
O’KEEFE: Biden got a boost today when Republican Miles Taylor, a former senior Trump administration official endorsed him and excused Mr. Trump of using his office purely for political purposes, including trying to cut wildfire relief funding for California because voters there opposed him in 2016.
O’Keefe’s report just further cemented his role as a Biden campaign propagandist in what appeared to be an audition for a position in a hypothetical Biden administration.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CBS Evening News
August 17, 2020
6:32:15 a.m. EasternNORAH O’DONNELL: Good evening, and thank you for joining us, we're going to begin with the first night of the Democratic National Convention and what will be an unorthodox political event brought on by an unprecedented pandemic.
The coronavirus crisis is not only changed how tonight's speeches will be given, but what they will focus on. Over the next four nights, Democrats will appear virtually without the pomp and circumstance we're used to seeing, where they will argue that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are uniquely qualified to take on President Trump and the pandemic.
Tonight, which will feature a speech by former First Lady Michelle Obama comes just as a new CBS News Battleground Tracker poll shows Joe Biden leading the President among likely voters. Not only who will vote this November but how they will cast their ballot will also be front and center tonight.
(…)
Well, there’s a lot of new reporting to get to tonight and our team of correspondents has all of latest news. CBS's Ed O’Keefe is going to lead off our coverage with a preview of the big night ahead. Good evening, Ed.
ED O’KEEFE: Good evening, Norah. Tonight, Democrats were supposed to be gathering for the first night of their convention in the battleground state of Wisconsin. Instead, they’ll be participating virtually. You'll hear from party leaders all across the country.
[Cuts to video]
Instead of thousands of cheering Democrats, balloon drops and rousing speeches, the party will kick things off virtually tonight showcasing one of its biggest stars, Michelle Obama.
MICHELLE OBAMA: I know Joe.
O’KEEFE: In prerecorded remarks the former First Lady says Biden has what it takes.
(…)
O’KEEFE: Biden's top primary rival Bernie Sanders, who campaign hope can convince skeptical progressives, will also speak; as will four Republicans set to encourage other GOP voters to switch sides and defeat the President.
(…)
O’KEEFE: Biden got a boost today when Republican Miles Taylor, a former senior Trump administration official endorsed him and excused Mr. Trump of using his office purely for political purposes, including trying to cut wildfire relief funding for California because voters there opposed him in 2016.
(…)
O’KEEFE: Biden leads the President in most national polls, but the latest CBS News Battleground Tracker shows Democrats still lag Republicans when it comes to enthusiasm about voting, something the party hopes to address this week.
They’re relying on female prime time TV stars including Eva Longoria and Julia Louis-Dreyfus to MC each night of the convention. Biden himself sat down with rapper Cardi B, a former Sanders supporter, in hopes of convincing her millions of fans to get out and vote.
JOE BIDEN: Your generation and the young millennials beyond that, they can own this. They can own this outcome.
O’KEEFE: President Trump will counter each day of the Democratic convention with his own political event. He barnstormed through Minnesota and Wisconsin today.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Nobody is going to want to cover sleepy Joe. We'll end up with one very boring socialist country that will go to Hell.
[Cuts back to live]
O’DONNELL: And Ed joins us now with more on that question, how is the Democratic Party hoping to address that enthusiasm gap that exists?
O’KEEFE: Well Norah, tonight at least they will be relying on the former First Lady and Bernie Sanders to bear witness to Joe Biden's character. The former first lady expected to talk about what she saw over his eight years as vice president to her husband, and Sanders is expected to talk about Biden's open-mindedness and willingness to embrace more progressive ideas.
That appearance with Cardi B and interviews that Kamala Harris gave over the weekend to women's publications are all designed to motivate younger, minority, and female voters that Democrats know they will need in order to win in November. Norah.
O’DONNELL: Ed O’Keefe, thank you.
