On the same day that the CBS President admitted that Donald Trump’s “circus” is “damn good for the network,” reporter Major Garrett blamed Marco Rubio for “obscuring” the debate on the businessman. All three networks on Monday slammed the Republican primary as “ugly,” “strange” and hitting “new lows.”
But it was CBS This Morning that put some of the responsibility for a lack of investigating Trump on Rubio’s shoulders. Garrett chided, “For better or worse, Marco Rubio has discovered his inner Donald Trump, the instinct to hurl personal insults, grab attention and see what happens. It is a successful model for Trump.”
He complained, “One potential downside, it obscures a potentially more important conversation about Trump, tolerance and the future of the Republican Party.” Is it not possible to cover both the campaign and Trump’s recent refusal to denounce the KKK?
Clearly, the corporate chiding from CBS is insincere. President Les Moonves said as much on Monday:
“Who would have thought that this circus would come to town?” Les Moonves told investors today at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference. “It may not be good for America, but it’s damn good for CBS. The money is rolling in” to the company’s local TV and radio stations.
Most of the ads so far are not about issues, he adds. “They’re like the debates: ‘He did this or did that.’…It’s a terrible thing to say, but bring it on, Donald.” Moonves says he’s not taking sides, but “for us, Donald’s place in this election is a good thing.”
Not mentioned in Moonves’s glee about Trump’s candidacy was the news that a reporter was choke-slammed at the businessman’s event.
Over on ABC’s Good Morning America, Tom Llamas derided the GOP fight. He fretted, “And overnight, things continued to get ugly.” Regarding personal insults hurled between Rubio and Trump, the reporter added, “Fair to say the Republican race in a very strange spot right now.”
On NBC’s Today, Peter Alexander trumpeted, “The relentless attacks now reaching new lows.” He huffed, “If you were hoping for a campaign of ideas, this was clearly a disappointing weekend, including attacks over who wets their pants and who sweats too much.”
A study by the Media Research Center found that the networks were not interested in covering Trump’s decades long history of liberalism.
A transcript of the CBS This Morning segment is below:
2/29/16
7:06:43 toJEFF GLOR: The presidential candidates making one last big push to Super Tuesday today. A new national poll this morning shows Trump, Donald Trump is supported by 49 percent of voters who are leading the Republicans. Trump leads Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz by 30 points. They are bombarding Trump with personal attacks. And Major Garrett is in Atlanta where Rubio campaigns later today. Major good morning to you.
MAJOR GARRETT: For better or worse, Marco Rubio has discovered his inner Donald Trump, the instinct to hurl personal insults, grab attention and see what happens. It is a successful model for Trump. One potential downside, it obscures a potentially more important conversation about Trump, tolerance and the future of the Republican Party.
MARCO RUBIO: He doesn't sweat because his pores are clogged from the spray tan that he uses.
GARRETT: Last night at a rally in Virginia, Marco Rubio got a lot more personal in his attacks against Donald Trump.
RUBIO: He is always calling me little Marco. And I’ll admit he is taller than me. He is like 6'2 which is why I don't understand why his hands are the size of someone who is 5'2. Have you seen his hands? And you know what they say about men with small hands? You can't trust them. You can’t trust ‘em.
GARRETT: This weekend, the GOP frontrunner continued his own attacks on Rubio, pointing to his performance in the February 6 debate.
DONALD TRUMP: So, I’m looking at little Marco. And I say, “Man, there is something happening with him.” And he’s, like, melting.
GARRETT: Trump campaigned as he faced new questions about making space in his movement for white supremacists. In the past, Trump has retweeted support of messages from white supremacists and even retweeted a quote over the weekend from World War II fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. On Sunday, Trump hesitated when asked about former Ku Klux Klan David Duke's endorsement and hate groups generally.
TRUMP: I know nothing about David Duke. I know nothing about white supremacists. I don't know what group you're talking about. You wouldn't want me to condemn a group that I know nothing about.
GARRETT: Trump knew enough about Duke to say this Friday in Fort Worth.
TRUMP: I didn't know he endorsed me. David Duke endorsed me? Okay. I disavow, okay?
GARRETT: His rivals were quick to pounce. Marco Rubio called Trump’s waffling dangerous to the GOP.
MARCO RUBIO: How are we going to grow our party with a nominee who refuses to condemn the Ku Klux Klan?
GARRETT: In Massachusetts, John Kasich said Trump must explain.
JOHN KASICH: Donald Trump refused to disassociate himself and condemn white supremacist. Every day, it's another thing.
GARRETT: Ted Cruz took to Twitter. “We should all agree racism is wrong. KKK is abhorrent.” Trump also picked up the endorsement of Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions in what can only be interrupted as a blow to Cruz. You see, Norah, Cruz often invoked Sessions’s name as an ally in the 2013 fight against Rubio and comprehensive immigration reform.
