While the networks piled on Bernie Sanders over his comments about Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton being unqualified for president, ABC’s World News Tonight jumped on the same bandwagon Thursday night to criticize Republican Senator Ted Cruz for his three-month-old comments about “New York values” held by Donald Trump.
In contrast, ABC was the lone network of the “big three” to not inform viewers of the shake-ups in the Trump campaign’s personnel one week after campaign manager Corey Lewandowski was charged with battery in the alleged incident involving conservative reporter Michelle Fields.
On ABC’s World News Tonight, anchor David Muir promoted for a second straight day how protesters gave Cruz “a hard time” at one event with opponents “blasting him after what he said about New York values” while trumpeting Trump’s hometown rally on Wednesday “saying it's great to be home, and taking aim at Ted Cruz.”
Republican campaign correspondent Tom Llamas spent the next one minutes and 22 seconds rehashing the Trump rally with the billionaire “relishing every moment” to the point where he told one man in the crowd that he loved him.
Llamas also eagerly played clips of the crowd chanting “Lyin’ Ted” as well as Trump invoking “the memory of 9/11” to attack Cruz. Of course, Llamas only footnoted the broader context of Cruz’s “New York values” line in one sentence (i.e. how the Texas senator alluded to the city’s hardened liberal policies).
Turning eventually to Cruz, Llamas reported that Cruz went to a Jewish bakery in Brooklyn where he faced “a warmer reception” and mounted a “hard political message to any skeptical New York Republicans” that Trump would lose in a landslide to Hillary Clinton.
Meanwhile, the CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News briefly mentioned the criticism of Cruz as part of the broader campaign narrative.
“Donald Trump doesn't need the food photo op, feasting instead on the adoration of more than 10,000 on Long Island and pounding Cruz for criticizing so-called New York values,” explained CBS News correspondent Major Garrett.
After NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt lamented that the campaign “is no less nasty on the Republican side” compared to the Democrats but, unlike his ABC counterpart, highlighted how “Trump is now adding new top staffers and laying out a new strategy after a tough defeat in Wisconsin.”
National correspondent Peter Alexander followed with his GOP segment centering around the strategy for the Trump campaign going forward in the final portion of the calendar along with nods to Cruz and Ohio Republican Governor John Kasich campaigning in separate New York City boroughs (with Cruz in Brooklyn and Kasich in the Bronx).
The relevant portion of the transcript from ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir on April 7 can be found below.
ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir
April 7, 2016
6:34 p.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE CAPTION: Race for 2016; Battle for New York]
DAVID MUIR: We move on tonight and to the race for 2016, and the new battle tonight, the fight for New York. Donald Trump at a campaign stop, saying it's great to be home, and taking aim at Ted Cruz, joining some New Yorkers giving Cruz a hard time, blasting him after what he said about New York values, getting heckled, but back out today, trying to win over New Yorkers and tonight, the former Mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani, choosing between the two. ABC's Tom Llamas, with the Cruz campaign tonight.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Race for 2016; Battle for New York; Trump Defends Home Turf]
TOM LLAMAS: Tonight, the Republican race for president in Trump territory.
TRUMP: I love these people. These are my people. Man.
LLAMAS: The GOP front-runner relishing every moment.
TRUMP: I love you too, man. I don't say that often to guys, but I love that guy right over there.
LLAMAS: And making sure New Yorkers don't forget this attack from Ted Cruz.
CRUZ [on 01/14/16]: You know, I think most people know exactly what New York values are.
TRUMP: Do you remember during the debate, when he started lecturing me on New York values, like we're no good? Like we're no good.
LLAMAS: Trump then summoning the memory of 9/11.
TRUMP: We all know people that died and I've got this guy standing over there looking at me, talking about New York values, with scorn in his face, with hatred, with hatred of New York. So, folks, I think you can forget about him.
LLAMAS: The crowd on their own starting to chant.
CROWD AT TRUMP RALLY: Lyin' Ted. Lyin' Ted. Lyin' Ted. Lyin' Ted.
LLAMAS: Today, Rudy Giuliani, New York's mayor during 9/11, saying he's voting for Trump, telling Cruz, quote: “It's New York City. We're family. I can make fun of New York, but you can't.”
CRUZ: Well, God bless the great state of New York.
LLAMAS: Cruz insists he was talking about the values of New York liberal politicians, but his Big Apple debut — rocky.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: He has no business being in the Bronx!
LLAMAS: Today, in Brooklyn, a warmer reception. Cruz visiting a matzah bakery, side by side with children, making the Jewish unleavened bread.
UNIDENTIFIED JEWISH BAKER [TO CRUZ]: Would you like to make holes in your matzah?
CRUZ: I'd love to make holes in my matzah.
UNIDENTIFIED JEWISH BAKER [TO CRUZ]: Alrighty. Yay!
LLAMAS: But beyond the Cruz charm offensive, a hard political message to any skeptical New York Republicans —
CRUZ: That if we nominate Donald Trump, Hillary wins and she wins by double digits.
MUIR: And Tom Llamas with us live tonight from Brooklyn. So much talk about a contested convention, Tom, if Cruz can keep Trump from getting the delegates he needs, but today, you're aware of that video released on video from House Speaker Paul Ryan who said is not running, but we wanted to show everyone at home here. Take a look.
HOUSE SPEAKER PAUL RYAN: Let's have a contest of whose ideas are better and why our ideas are better.
MUIR: So, this was sent out on Twitter today. Many saying it sounds a lot like a campaign ad, but, Tom, what is Paul Ryan saying about it tonight?
LLAMAS: Well, David, you're right. A lot of people say it looks like a campaign ad, it sounds like a campaign ad, but Speaker Ryan's office is saying tonight, they're maintaining, he is not going to be the GOP nominee for president. They're saying, in fact, quote, “he will not accept the nomination and believes our nominee should be someone who ran this year.” David?
MUIR: Alright, Tom Llamas getting reaction from Paul Ryan tonight. Tom, thank you.
