CBS Evening News did their due diligence as a Democratic Party press shop Thursday, as they quickly lauded President Biden for the work a bipartisan group of lawmakers did in putting together a massive infrastructure package. “The road to this deal has been bumpy,” as senior White House correspondent Ed O’Keefe put it. But he abdicated his duty to report on how Biden had opened up a sinkhole and swallowing that road with a push for “human infrastructure.”
“The road to this deal has been bumpy, but President Biden said the bipartisan plan unveiled today will create millions of new jobs and help rebuild broken relationships,” O’Keefe praised as he dove into some of the details the lawmakers agreed on:
The $375 billion plan has new money for bridges, airports, train stations, public transit, and to expand broadband internet or rebuild power grids. Congress would pay for it in part by boosting the IRS’s budget to go after tax cheats, diverting billions in unused COVID relief funds, and by selling some of the nation’s strategic oil reserve.
He noted that “some Democrats aren't happy” because the bill didn’t include the massive spending progressives wanted on their pet projects.
“The President said that's his plan and remains optimistic it will happen,” O’Keefe noted before playing this soundbite of Biden expressing why he was confident both would pass:
O’KEEFE: What is it about the conversations you’ve had recently with the Republicans that’s gave you so much hope?
BIDEN: The people I was with today are people that I trust. I don't agree with them on a lot of things, but I trust them when they say this is a deal, we'll stick to the deal.
But what O’Keefe failed to mention was that Biden’s new plan had caused some Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to sour on the infrastructure deal because it went against the agreement.
Surprisingly, that’s where ABC congressional correspondent Rachel Scott came, pointing out Biden’s blunder on World News Tonight. “And President Biden says he won't give up on the so-called ‘human infrastructure,’ funding for child care and education that progressives want. He says he will push that through with just Democrat votes,” she told viewers.
Scott then played this soundbite of herself pressing Biden on how he might have already sunk the bill:
SCOTT: So by moving forward with this two-track system, are you putting the bipartisan bill in jeopardy?
BIDEN: Everybody tells me what my party is, my party's divided. Well, my party is divided. My party's divided, but my party is also rational. If they can't get every single thing they want, but all that they have in the bill before them is good, are they going to vote no? I don't think so.
“The President made it clear he will not sign one of these bills without the other,” Scott warned as she was wrapping up the segment. “Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell calling that strategy ‘head-spinning,’ saying it completely undermines the bipartisan agreement that was just reached.”
CBS’s generous spin for President Biden was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from CarFax and Febreze. Their contact information is linked so that you can tell them about the biased news they fund. CBS Evening News has also asked people to text anchor Norah O’Donnell at this number: (202)217-1107.
The transcripts are below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s World News Tonight
June 24, 2021
6:47:23 p.m. Eastern(…)
RACHEL SCOTT: The plan would not raise taxes. And President Biden says he won't give up on the so-called “human infrastructure,” funding for child care and education that progressives want. He says he will push that through with just Democrat votes.
So by moving forward with this two-track system, are you putting the bipartisan bill in jeopardy?
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Everybody tells me what my party is, my party's divided. Well, my party is divided. My party's divided, but my party is also rational. If they can't get every single thing they want, but all that they have in the bill before them is good, are they going to vote no? I don't think so.
[Cuts back to live]
SCOTT: The President made it clear he will not sign one of these bills without the other. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell calling that strategy “head-spinning,” saying it completely undermines the bipartisan agreement that was just reached. Bottom line here, David, still a long road ahead.
CBS Evening News
June 24, 2021
6:44:26 p.m. EasternNORAH O’DONNELL: And we’re going to have more on the search and the heroes here in a moment. But we're also following breaking news out of Washington where, tonight, there is a rare bipartisan deal on a sweeping package to overhaul the country's roads and bridges. CBS's Ed O’Keefe reports tonight from the White House.
[Cuts to video]
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: We have a teal.
ED O’KEEFE: The road to this deal has been bumpy, but President Biden said the bipartisan plan unveiled today will create millions of new jobs and help rebuild broken relationships.
BIDEN: This reminds me of the days we used to get an awful lot done in the United States Congress.
O’KEEFE: The $375 billion plan has new money for bridges, airports, train stations, public transit, and to expand broadband internet or rebuild power grids. Congress would pay for it in part by boosting the IRS’s budget to go after tax cheats, diverting billions in unused COVID relief funds, and by selling some of the nation’s strategic oil reserve. The President and negotiators agreed on the details but --
BIDEN: Neither side got everything they wanted in this deal, that's what it means to compromise.
SEN. ROB PORTMAN (R-OH): We didn't get everything we wanted.
SEN. KYRSTEN SINEMA (D-AZ): No one got everything they wanted in this package. We all gave some to get some.
O’KEEFE: And some Democrats aren't happy.
SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): Paltry. Pathetic.
O’KEEFE: Says they'll only support the new plan if Congress passes a more expensive Democratic budget resolution full of proposals like expanding childcare.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): There won't be an infrastructure bill unless we have a reconciliation bill.
O’KEEFE: The President said that's his plan and remains optimistic it will happen.
What is it about the conversations you’ve had recently with the Republicans that’s gave you so much hope?
BIDEN: The people I was with today are people that I trust. I don't agree with them on a lot of things, but I trust them when they say this is a deal, we'll stick to the deal.
[Cuts back to live]
O’DONNELL: And Ed is back with us from the White House. So Ed, I have to ask you, does this mean there may be movement on other agenda items that have stalled?
O’KEEFE: Yeah, Norah, with the July Fourth holiday recess coming up, there appears to be eagerness to demonstrate bipartisan progress. Tonight, Democrats and Republican negotiating a major police reform bill say they also have an agreement in principle and will work out the details in the coming weeks. Norah.
O’DONNELL: All right. Ed O’Keefe at the White House, thank you.
