A broken clock is right twice a day and former President Bill Clinton was certainly right Monday when he criticized ObamaCare for hurting working people. “…The people are out there busting it, sometimes 60 hours a week, wind up with their premiums doubled and their coverage cut in half,” he remarked at a campaign rally for his wife. The shocking admission by the liberal president went unreported by ABC Tuesday, while CBS and NBC aided in playing it down that evening.
CBS This Morning was the only network morning show to discuss the former president’s comments, but it was only mentioned because Donald Trump’s Campaign Manager Kellyanne Conway brought it up. “And I hope that he brings up ObamaCare — because we have none other than President Bill Clinton yesterday being highly critical of ObamaCare — it's failures. He says it's a terrible thing for small businesses,” she stated while talking about potential debate topics.
The network did willingly report the comments later that evening, but it was mostly making light of them and played defense for the Clinton campaign. “Well, campaigning yesterday, Bill Clinton inadvertently handed ammunition to his wife's opponent,” joked Anchor Scott Pelley. During Major Garrett’s report little was said in regard to the veracity of Bill’s comments, giving only 49 seconds to the issue before delving into Trump’s tax controversy for 1 minute, 37 seconds.
NBC didn’t report it during their morning show Today, but were more than happy to aide in playing it down that evening. On NBC Nightly News, reporter Andrea Mitchell kept the news brief during her report, noting, “But Clinton's husband, less helpful when he criticized ObamaCare.” Mitchell went on to play a clip of Clinton’s Campaign Chair John Podesta’s spin of the comments. “President Obama has talked about that, that ObamaCare needs to be improved. It doesn't need to be sacked and scrapped,” Podesta stated.
The “Big Three” networks’ reluctance to cover Bill Clinton’s criticisms of the program was an extension of their covering up of ObamaCare’s failures. At the end of August 2016, the Media Research Center documented how the combined time of ObamaCare coverage for the year was 2 minutes, 18 seconds, even though numerous healthcare providers announced they were pulling out of the state healthcare exchanges.
Transcripts below:
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CBS
Evening News
October 4, 2016
6:37:41 PM EasternSCOTT PELLEY: Well, campaigning yesterday, Bill Clinton inadvertently handed ammunition to his wife's opponent. Here's Major Garrett.
[Cuts to video]
DONALD TRUMP: Can you imagine what he went through after making that statement? [Laughter] He went through hell.
MAJOR GARRETT: Donald Trump seized on comments from former President Bill Clinton critical of President Obama's signature health care reform law.
BILL CLINTON: So you've got this crazy system where all of a sudden, 25 million more people have healthcare, and then the people are out there busting it, sometimes 60 hours a week, wind up with their premiums doubled and their coverage cut in half.
GARRETT: Hillary Clinton, long a supporter of the affordable care act, offered this explanation late today.
HILLARY CLINTON: I've been saying we've got to fix what's broken and keep what works. And that's exactly what we're going to do.
GARRETT: Health care and taxes could play a big role in tonight's debate.
...
NBC
Nightly News
October 4, 2016
7:10:00 PM Eastern
…
ANDREA MITCHELL: Clinton’s surrogates out in force, including Michelle Obama, knocking Trump for complaining about his debate microphone.
MICHELLE OBAMA: When she gets knocked down, she doesn't complain. She doesn't cry foul.
MITCHELL: But Clinton's husband, less helpful when he criticized ObamaCare.
BILL CLINTON: So you have this crazy system where all of a sudden 25 million more people have health care and then the people are out there busting it, sometimes 60 hours a week, wind up with their premiums doubled and their coverage cut in half.
DONALD TRUMP: Can you imagine what he went through after making that statement?
MITCHELL: Bill Clinton and the campaign walking that back today.
JOHN PODESTA: President Obama has talked about that, that ObamaCare needs to be improved. It doesn't need to be sacked and scrapped.
…
CBS
This Morning
October 4, 2016
7:12:00 AM Eastern…
NORAH O'DONNELL: Let me — let me ask you this about the last debate — the last presidential debate. We've got a new CBS News poll out this morning that shows 36 percent of voters who watched the first debate say — made their opinion of Mr. Trump worse. What is he doing differently for Sunday night in that debate — that second matchup?
KELLYANNE CONWAY: And I'm struck also by the number you have up there, Norah, where half of the people said it had no affect on their opinion of Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. That was pretty surprising, given all the — the rah-rah for Hillary Clinton since the debate.
So we're very happy about the town hall format. We know that that's very beneficial to Mr. Trump. He's out there every day with voters in similar forums. You just showed a clip of him doing something like that where he engages voters every day. It's very natural for him to do that.
And I hope that he brings up ObamaCare — because we have none other than President Bill Clinton yesterday being highly critical of ObamaCare — it's failures. He says it's a terrible thing for small businesses. I know that firsthand. It certainly is. And there's so many ways to hold Hillary Clinton to account for her record, and for — I think she has to defend both her record and any of the failings, the shortcomings, of the Obama administration. We have 16.4 million women in poverty—
O'DONNELL: But is the campaign—
CONWAY: We have 12.4 million without health insurance. And I think you'll see a little bit of that from Mike Pence tonight, too.
…
