The networks and cable channels on Sunday and Monday went into full panic over anti-immigration candidate Marine Le Pen advancing to the final round of France’s presidential elections. Some of the labels spewed by journalists include: “Far-right,” “xenophobic,” “racist.” But the one description that came, over and over, on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS and MSNBC, is “far-right,” “far-right,” “far-right,” “far-right” and, also, “far-right.”
On NBC’s Today, Richard Engel sneered, “From the far-right, anti-immigration, she's considered xenophobic, many have accused her of being racistly nationalistic.” In another segment, Engel underlined that Le Pen is “from the far right” and has “taken a page from the strategy book of Donald Trump.”
On Good Morning America, Alex Marquardt parroted, “You have Marine Le Pen, the far-right candidate who has been compared to President Donald Trump, vowing to crack down on illegal immigration.”
On MSNBC, reporter Matt Bradley offered this contrast between Emmanuel Macron and Le Pen: “She’s a far-right populist who championed Trump’s victory as an inspiration.... He’s a pro-EU centrist.” Bradley added that “the far-right has been quick to take advantage of the backlash against politics as usual.”
Over on CBS This Morning, Elizabeth Palmer warned, “In second place, the far-right candidate Marine Le Pen.”
Confusing the labeling bias, Americans should know that Le Pen is hardly “far-right” in American terms. She’s pro-abortion rights and her economic policies lean left. The conservative AEI explained:
Unlike the EU’s conservative critics in the Anglosphere, Ms. Le Pen is not worried primarily about market-distorting regulations or subsidies coming from an unaccountable bureaucratic body in Brussels. Her endgame is instead to restore France’s full sovereignty and empower the French government to pursue policies that are incompatible with the existence of open markets in Europe.
Apparently, being anti-European Union and opposing increasing immigration makes one “far-right.” But then this isn’t new. In 1991, the Media Research Center’s MediaWatch reviewed every use of the term “far-right” and “far-left” by the Washington Post. MediaWatch discovered:
Extremists bring out the labeling instinct in reporters, but the Post found most of its extremists on the right. Analysts calculated the number of mentions of "far right" (6), "extreme right" (30), "hard right" (3), "radical right" (1), "ultra-conservative" (7), "archconservative" (1), and "ultra-right" (2). On the opposite side, analysts added the labels for "far left" (7), "extreme left" (4), "hard left" (3), "radical left" (11), and "archliberal," "ultraliberal," and "ultra-left" (zero).
Transcripts of the labels can be found below:
CBS This Morning
4/24/17
7:16CHARLIE ROSE: France is one step closer to a new president. Protesters scuffle with police overnight after the first round of the presidential election. More than two dozen people were arrested. For the first time in France's modern history, voters turned away from mainstream candidates and parties. Yesterday they chose centrist Emanuel Macron and populist Marine Le Pen.
ELIZABETH PALMER: In second place, the far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, who told cheering crowds, “It was a historic result.” Le Pen’s populist rhetoric will sound familiar to Americans: Shutting down immigration, anti-globalization, renegotiating trade agreements to protect jobs at home.
Today
4/24/17
7:07RICHARD ENGEL: He faces his polar opposite, Marine Le Pen from the far-right. Trailing by just a few percent, Le Pen is anti-immigration, wants out of the EU, to drop the Euro and has been taking a page from the strategy book of President Trump.
8:04RICHARD ENGEL: RICHARD ENGEL: He’s facing Marine Le Pen, who is perhaps his polar opposite. From the far-right, anti-immigration, she’s considered xenophobic, many have accused her of being racistly nationalistic. She’s modeling her campaign on Donald Trump.
Good Morning America
4/24/17
7:09ALEX MARQUARDT: On the other hand, you have Marine Le Pen, the far-right candidate who has been compared to President Donald Trump vowing to crack down on illegal immigration.
PBS NewsHour
4/23/17
6:02HARI SREENIVASAN: Her far-right National Front party wants to reduce legal immigration, impose protectionist trade measures, and limit France's role in the U.S.-led NATO military alliance.
MSNBC Live
4/24/17MATT BRADLEY: As President Donald Trump approaches his 100th day, France is experiencing its own political upset. Last night, Marine Le Pen and Emanuel Macron clinched their spots in the second round of France’s presidential elections. She’s a far-right populist who championed Trump’s victory as an inspiration.... He’s a pro-EU centrist.
...
BRADLEY: The far-right has been quick to take advantage of the backlash against politics as usual. Last year, when Britains voted to leave the EU, populist Nigel Farrage, who championed Brexit all but took personal credit for the result.
