President Trump’s announcement that the United States would be pulling out of the Paris climate accord was bound to be met with journalistic hand-wringing, and MSNBC’s Brian Williams didn’t disappoint.
“On a sunny day in the Rose Garden, what could be defined and construed as a dark speech,” Williams said somberly, as Trump and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt walked back into the White House. “And as you go through it, more like four or five dark speeches in there.”
Williams then quoted a former member of the Obama Administration, who compared Trump to the deceased strongman leader of Venezuela. “I couldn't help but notice Matthew Miller of the Obama Justice Department just said on social media, ‘This is like watching a Hugo Chavez speech, long rambling, veering from topic to topic, prattling on about exploitation by foreigners.’ Yes, a partisan view, but as content goes, Ali Velshi, interesting stuff.”
The mention of this comparison by Williams is particularly ironic, since a study released this week by the Media Research Center demonstrated that media outlets, including MSNBC’s parent company NBC News, systematically ignored stories about Venezuela and the abuses by the government there.
