At the top of NBC’s Today on Tuesday, co-host Savannah Guthrie proclaimed that Hillary Clinton was “not taking the bait” after Donald Trump “once again brings up her husband's past infidelities.”
In the report that followed minutes later, rather than examine the presumptive Republican nominee’s claims that the former First Lady was an “enabler” to Bill Clinton’s mistreatment of women, correspondent Andrea Mitchell instead spun hard for the Democratic candidate: “Donald Trump surprising many observers in both political parties by launching deeply personal attacks on both Hillary and Bill Clinton. The opening round of what is likely to be a vicious campaign.”
Mitchell touted Clinton “courting Republican and independent women” by “focusing on issues like equal pay” while Trump launched his “toughest attacks yet” and was “getting even more personal about the man who was once his golf buddy and wedding guest.”
After a soundbite ran of Trump accusing the former president of having “abused women more than any man that we know of in the history of politics,” Mitchell attempted to dismiss the charge by glossing over Bill Clinton’s numerous sex scandals:
MITCHELL: What is Trump's evidence? No doubt she did help rescue her husband's first White House campaign after Gennifer Flowers' accusations of an affair.
CLINTON [60 MINUTES, JANUARY 26, 1992]: I'm not sitting here some little woman standing by my man like Tammy Wynette. I sitting here because I love him and I respect him.
MITCHELL: Just days after the accusations that President Clinton lied about an affair under oath first made headlines, Hillary Clinton gave this now-famous response about the incident to Matt on Today.
CLINTON [TODAY, 1998]: The great story here for anybody willing to find it and write about it and explain it is this vast, right-wing conspiracy that has been conspiring against my president since the day he announced for president.
Notice that even when discussing Bill Clinton’s admitted affair with Monica Lewinsky, Mitchell still only referred to “accusations” of infidelity. In addition, the reporter eagerly highlighted Hillary Clinton’s desperate attempt to deflect from the scandal by blaming it on a “vast, right-wing conspiracy.”
Wrapping up the segment, Mitchell predicted that Trump’s line of attack would fail or possibly even backfire: “With women now a critical voting bloc, so far heavily favoring Clinton over Trump, it remains to be seen whether voters in 2016 will care about the scandals decades ago or perhaps even blame Trump for resurrecting them.”
On ABC’s Good Morning America, correspondent Tom Llamas warned: “This morning, the personal war of words between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton intensifying.” He lamented: “The former Secretary of State forced to respond after Trump let loose with allegations, including those against her husband, like this.” A clip ran of the GOP contender: “Some of those women were destroyed, not by him, but by the way that Hillary Clinton treated them after everything went down. So just remember that, folks.”
Like Mitchell, Llamas concluded: “Democrats convinced charges like that will hurt Trump with female voters.”
CBS This Morning covered the campaign, but focused mainly on Republican divisions rather than mention Trump going after Clinton.
On Monday, the CBS and NBC evening newscasts both complained about the Clinton scandals being raised in the campaign.
Here is a full transcript of Mitchell’s May 10 report:
7:00 AM ET TEASE:
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Not taking the bait.
HILLARY CLINTON: I'm gonna let him run his campaign however he chooses.
GUTHRIE: Hillary Clinton refusing to engage Donald Trump after he, once again, brings up her husband's past infidelities.
7:07 AM ET SEGMENT:
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: While Trump gears up for Thursday's meeting, he's also stepping up his attacks on Hillary Clinton. But so far, she's not taking his bait. NBC’s Andrea Mitchell is covering Clinton’s campaign this morning. Andrea, good morning.
ANDREA MITCHELL: Good morning, Savannah. Donald Trump surprising many observers in both political parties by launching deeply personal attacks on both Hillary and Bill Clinton. The opening round of what is likely to be a vicious campaign.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Clinton Refuses to Take Trump’s Bait; Won’t Engage in Back and Forth on Husband’s Scandals]
MITCHELL: Hillary Clinton courting Republican and independent women in a key swing district in suburban Virginia. Focusing on issues like equal pay.
HILLARY CLINTON: I raise it all the time and, you know, I'm accused of playing the gender card and all of that. And the fact is, that it’s a real problem.
MITCHELL: After Donald Trump's toughest attacks yet, repeatedly raising Bill Clinton's sex scandals from the 1990s, calling her an enabler.
DONALD TRUMP: She was a total enabler. She would go after these women and destroy their lives. She was an unbelievably nasty, mean enabler. And what she did to a lot of those women is disgraceful.
MITCHELL: Trump getting even more personal about the man who was once his golf buddy and wedding guest.
TRUMP: Hillary Clinton's husband abused women more than any man that we know of in the history of politics, right?
MITCHELL: Clinton responding Monday.
[To Clinton] Donald Trump has really gone after your husband, and even you as an enabler, for the scandals of the 1990s.
CLINTON: I'm gonna let him run his campaign however he chooses.
MITCHELL: What is Trump's evidence? No doubt she did help rescue her husband's first White House campaign after Gennifer Flowers' accusations of an affair.
CLINTON [60 MINUTES, JANUARY 26, 1992]: I'm not sitting here some little woman standing by my man like Tammy Wynette. I sitting here because I love him and I respect him.
MITCHELL: Just days after the accusations that President Clinton lied about an affair under oath first made headlines, Hillary Clinton gave this now-famous response about the incident to Matt on Today.
CLINTON [TODAY, 1998]: The great story here for anybody willing to find it and write about it and explain it is this vast, right-wing conspiracy that has been conspiring against my president since the day he announced for president.
MITCHELL: More recently, Monica Lewinsky claimed in 2014 that Hillary Clinton had an “impulse to blame the woman.” On Monday, Clinton refused to rise to Trump’s bait
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are his claims accurate? And if not, do you feel any need to correct the record on this?
CLINTON: I have nothing to say about him and how he’s running his campaign.
MITCHELL: With women now a critical voting bloc, so far heavily favoring Clinton over Trump, it remains to be seen whether voters in 2016 will care about the scandals decades ago or perhaps even blame Trump for resurrecting them. Savannah – and Natalie?
GUTHRIE: That’s right. Andrea, thank you so much. We should mention, Thursday on Today we'll get former Vice President Dan Quayle's take on the race when he joins us in Studio 1A for an exclusive live interview.
NATALIE MORALES: Interesting to hear from him after so long.
