Guest Good Morning America co-host David Muir on Friday hyped Hillary Clinton as “fed up” when she screamed at a Bernie Sanders supporter. Meanwhile, Muir also spouted Clinton talking points and demanded to know just how pro-choice Sanders really is. Citing the Vermont senator’s response to Trump’s abortion comments, Muir highlighted a Clinton complaint: “She pointed out that you said Trump's words were shameful, but that you then said it's a distraction from serious discussion.”
Muir pressed, “Bottom line, you do believe it's a serious issue?” The co-host also tried to turn a campaign applause line into a negative. Regarding Sanders’s assertion that “if we win here in New York we're going to make it to the White House,” Muir demanded, “If you don't win here in New York, is it over?”
In a previous segment, ABC played video of Clinton screaming at a protester: “I am so sick of the Sanders campaign lying about me! I'm sick of it!” Rather than refer to it as shrill Muir spun, “Hillary Clinton is fed up.” Reporter Cecilia Vega hyped the moment as Clinton “taking on a Sanders protester.”
During his interview, Muir attempted to turn Clinton screaming at someone into a positive:
MUIR: Senator, I wanted to ask about that moment. It appeared to be a Sanders supporter. When Secretary Clinton was if she would honor a pledge not to take fossil fuel money for her campaign. Let's take another look at her reaction here.
HILLARY CLINTON: I am so sick of the Sanders campaign lying about me. I'm sick of it.
MUIR: Your reaction to that this morning?
Back on February 22, GMA’s George Stephanopoulos prognosticated smooth sailing for Clinton over Sanders: “That path for Hillary Clinton with South Carolina and Super Tuesday coming up, she can build up a huge, almost impregnable lead.” It hasn’t quite worked out that way.
A transcript of the April 1 GMA segment is below:
7am tease
DAVID MUIR: Donald Trump all smiles after meeting with party leaders while Hillary Clinton is fed up.
HILLARY CLINTON: I am so sick of the Sanders campaign lying about me. I'm sick of it.
7:07am ET
DAVID MUIR: Well, this morning, he’s right here with us now. Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders back on GMA. Great to have you back.
BERNIE SANDERS: Great to be with you.
MUIR: Senator, to the headlines about Donald Trump. What he said about abortion, punishment and women, if it’s banned. Later reversing himself. But you heard Hillary Clinton there. She pointed out that you said Trump's words were shameful but you said it's a distraction from serious discussion.
SANDERS: David, I said a lot during that. Let’s put it into the context.
MUIR: But bottom line, you do believe it’s a serious issue?
SANDERS: Do I believe it’s a serious issue? I've been spending my entire political life fighting for the right of women to control her own body. I have 100 percent voting record, pro-choice voting record and if elected president, not only will I continue to defend the woman's right to choose, I will take on those Republican governors all over this country who are trying restrict and take away that right. What Secretary Clinton did is take things of context. I'm 100 percent pro-choice and will defend women’s right to choose.
MUIR: You talk about taking on the Republican governors and I wanted to talk about a promise you made before in the campaign saying, quote, you’re looking at someone who has never run a negative TV ad in his life, never will.
SANDERS: Right.
MUIR: If you get this nomination and you're running against Donald Trump you're not going to run a negative ad up against Trump?
SANDERS: What I will do is contrast my record to Republicans who want to cut Social Security, want to cut Medicare believe that climate change is a hoax, want to give hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks to the top one tenth of one percent. So I will contrast my record but I think the ane want to hear about the issues relevant to their lives, not about savage attacks against other people. The middle class is disappearing. Almost all new income is going to the top one percent. People are working longer hours for lower wages. They want change. They want a president who will is going to take on the one percent, take on Wall Street. That’s what our campaign is about.
MUIR: Senator, I wanted to ask about that moment. It appeared to be a Sanders supporter. When Secretary Clinton was if she would honor a pledge not to take fossil fuel money for her campaign. Let’s take another look at her reaction here.
HILLARY CLINTON: I am so sick of the Sanders campaign lying about me. I'm sick of it.
MUIR: Your reaction to that this morning?
SANDERS: Well, I'm not crazy about disrupting people meetings but the fact of the party is Secretary Clinton has taken significant sums of money from the fossil fuel industry. She raises her money with a super PAC. She gets a lot of from Wall street. She gets a lot of money from the drug companies, from the fossil fuel industry. On the other hand, we received over six million individual campaign contributions averaging $27 apiece. I'm proud of the way we are raising money.
MUIR: The Clinton camp celebrates their individual donations too, as you know. Wisconsin is next, then new York.
SANDERS: By the way, we have twice as many individual donations.
MUIR: Twice as many. For the record. You were born here in New York.
SANDERS: Yes, I was.
MUIR: Secretary Clinton was senator here. This is going to be quite a fight. We heard you say just moments ago, “if we win here in New York we're going to make it to the White House.” If you don't win here in New York, is it over?
SANDERS: Oh, God no. No. There are many, many states to go. We are fighting hard in Wisconsin. We think we got a real shot to win here in New York and then it's on to many, many other states. We have won six of the last seven caucuses. We have closed the gap in the national polls. In terms of contests with Donald Trump, last CNN poll had us 20 points ahead. Much further ahead than Secretary Clinton. We think we got a real shot to win this.
MUIR: I want to show you a clip from SNL. I’m sure your team has watched this a couple of times at least. Hillary Clinton in the clip being parodied, sounding a lot like — well, you.
[SNL clip]
“HILLARY CLINTON”: I’m angry too, because the top ten percent of the top one percent control 90 percent of the money in the country.
MUIR: Senator, do you think being in the race, you have forced Secretary Clinton to evolve her message?
SANDERS: I think if you look at issue after issue after issue, she has moved very much closer to us. But I think the real, what people have really got to look at is who has been there for decades, who has, time after time, taken on the special interests, whether it’s Wall Street, the drug companies, the fossil fuel industries. I think if people check the record, they’ll find that Bernie Sanders was there a lot earlier than Hillary Clinton.
