The media love to mock conservatives and Republicans as kooks who are prone to all sorts of conspiracy theories. Yet Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris is sounding like the most extreme anti-vaxxer and journalists are trying to give her a pass. The three networks on Tuesday downplayed or offered no critique of her attempts to turn Americans against a COVID vaccine.
On Good Morning America, Cecilia Vega highlighted a “Trump administration vaccine” and played a clip of Harris spouting conspiracy theories about the completion of one: “It would have to be a credible source of information that talks about the efficacy and the reliability of whatever he's talking about. I will not take his word for it.”
Vega offered no objection to this silly image of Dr. Trump on the White House lawn with viles and beakers, encouraging people to take something that he personally came up with. Over on the Today show, Geoff Bennett sounded a similar theme: “But when asked if he would take a vaccine produced under the Trump administration, Biden said yes.” As to Harris, the journalist uncritically described: “His running mate, Kamala Harris taking a sharper tone.”
That's it? Taking a sharper tone? Bennett then played a clip of the Democrat running down the vaccine effort: “I would not trust his word. I would trust the word of health experts, but not Donald Trump.”
Yet, when Today co-host Savannah Guthrie interviewed Albert Bourla, she quizzed the Pfizer CEO about Trump politicizing a vaccine: “The President said yesterday 'We are going to have a vaccine very soon, maybe even before a very special day,' which was an illusion apparently to election day. How concerned are you about a comment like that?”
Harris and her anti-vaxxer comments NEVER came up during the interview. Bourla made the obvious point about any vaccine: “I want to say in this pledge we will only submit for authorization when we have evidence of safety and efficacy that are coming from a well-designed Phase 3 start.” So maybe Harris shouldn’t be portraying whatever the government comes up with as some sort of Trump-created chemical cocktail.
So it’s no surprise that CBS This Morning on Tuesday found that Americans are becoming skeptical about a vaccine. Co-host Anthony Mason explained:
Latest CBS News poll finds the majority of Americans are skeptical about a vaccine. 65 percent say if one became available this year they would consider it rushed and 58 percent say they would consider getting one but wait to see what happens.
Why might that be? Perhaps because the vice presidential nominee of one of the two main parties is pushing unproven conspiracy theories? Instead, co-host Tony Dokoupil offered moral equivalence: “Each accused the other of politicizing the development of a COVID vaccine.”
If people don’t take a vaccine because the Democrats want to deny Donald Trump a win, Americans could die. But apparently that doesn’t matter to ABC, CBS and NBC.
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Partial transcripts are below. Click "expand" to read more.
Good Morning America
9/8/2020
7:15 AM ET
CECILIA VEGA: Kamala Harris was asked if she would trust a Trump administration vaccine.
KAMALA HARRIS: It would have to be a credible source of information that talks about the efficacy and the reliability of whatever he's talking about. I will not take his word for it. He wants us to inject bleach. No, I will not take his word.
VEGA: Whether Joe Biden would take it?
JOE BIDEN: Only if it was completely transparent. Other experts in the country could look at it. Only if we knew all of what went into it. Because so far nothing he's told us has been true.
CBS This Morning
9/8/2020
8:03 AM ET
TONY DOKOUPIL: Election day is eight weeks from today. And two major candidates for president spent Labor Day taking shots at one another with the coronavirus a big point of contention. Democratic nominee Joe Biden was in the swing state of Pennsylvania. President Trump spoke to reporters from the White House’s North Portico. It's believed to be one of the few times a sitting president has done that. Each accused the other of politicizing the development of a covid vaccine.
JOE BIDEN: He's said so many things that aren't true. I'm worried if we do have a vaccine people will be reluctant to take it.
DONALD TRUMP: Biden and his very liberal running mate, should immediately apologize for the reckless anti-vaccine rhetoric that they are talking right now, talking about endanger lives and it undermines science.
ANTHONY MASON: Latest CBS News poll finds the majority of Americans are skeptical about a vaccine. 65 percent say if one became available this year they would consider it rushed and 58 percent say they would consider getting one but wait to see what happens.
Today
9/8/2020
7:11 AM ET
JOE BIDEN: Part of the problems with the way he is playing with politics. I'm worried if we do have a vaccine, people are going to be reluctant to take it.
GEOFF BENNETT: But when asked if he would take a vaccine produced under the Trump administration, Biden said yes.
JOE BIDEN: If I can get a vaccine tomorrow, I'd do it. If it cost me an election, I'd do it. We need a vaccine right now.
BENNETT: His running mate, Kamala Harris taking a sharper tone.
HARRIS: I would not trust his word. I would trust the word of health experts but not Donald Trump.
DONALD TRUMP: Okay, let’s disparage the vaccine. That’s so bad for this country. That’s so bad for the world to even say that.
…
7:36
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to ask you. The President said yesterday “We are going to have a vaccine very soon, maybe even before a very special day,” which was an illusion apparently to election day. How concerned are you about a comment like that?
ALBERT BOURLA (Pfizer CEO): Look, I don't want to comment on what the President says. I want to say in this pledge we will only submit for authorization when we have evidence of safety and efficacy that are coming from a well-designed Phase 3 start.
