With the national discussion centered on sexual harassment and sexual assault, many in the liberal media had been itching to get to the allegations directed at the President. The media seemed to have recently gotten the ‘okay’ to pursue the claims when Hillary Clinton brought them up in a radio interview. It’s hypocritical for Clinton to lead the charge because of her philanderer husband with a rape charge, but that wasn’t a problem for NBC’s Sunday Today, which disregarded it using Clinton’s defense.
Anchor Willie Geist kicked off the show by hyping how the claims of sexual misconduct had made their way back to Trump. “Last year's presidential campaign opponents slinging insults at each other on Saturday in a week where the allegations of sexual harassment against the President have come back to the forefront,” he announced at the top of the program.
During her report which highlighted Trump and Clinton taking shots at each other over the weekend, NBC Correspondent Kelly O’Donnell gave voice to Hillary’s gripe that “the President is getting a free pass” on his allegations.
“Look, we have a man who's accused of sexual assault sitting in the oval office, don't we? And the very credible accusations against him have not been taken seriously,” Clinton whined during a radio interview. Of course, the obvious fact was that the same was true for her husband throughout his presidency. And she didn’t believe those women and actively attacked them with the aid of the media, a fact CNN’s Jake Tapper drew attention to last week.
But O’Donnell had Clinton’s back. In wrapping up her report, O’Donnell disregarded the accusations of sexual impropriety of Bill by parroting the Clinton family’s decades old and tired out talking points:
Clinton was asked if her own husband, former President Bill Clinton would be judged differently in today's current political environment. She said, you cannot rewrite history but pointed out there was an investigation, he was held accountable and paid an appropriate price.
And what appropriate price was that exactly? Besides the public humiliation for sexual misconduct, there wasn’t any real price. They’re multi-millionaires who gallivant around and get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for speaking engagements, including from Russia.
This is just the latest example of the media willfully skipping over or downplaying the accusations against Bill Clinton. The Media Research Center had noted for a while now that when the media has reported on sexual harassment in politics, they always included the litigated and debunked assertions against Justice Clarence, skip Clinton and go right the accusations against President Trump.
NBC was also the network whose executives tried to shut down the explosive investigation into the claims against Hollywood Producer Harvey Weinstein and omitted it from NBC Nightly News and Access Hollywood when the story broke. NBC reporter Ronan Farrow had to pay for a camera crew out of pocket and was barred from using NBC resources. He eventually took his story to The New Yorker who did publish it.
The network seems to struggle when it tries to get it's priorities in order when it's reporting sexual misconduct.
NBC's downplaying of rape allegations was sponsored by Wayfair, Pillsbury, Theraflu, Liberty Mutual, Quaker Oats, Ocean Spray, Olay.
Transcript below:
NBC
Sunday Today
November 19, 2017
8:01:53 AM EasternWILLIE GEIST: But let's begin this morning with the new war of words between President Trump and Hillary Clinton. Last year's presidential campaign opponents slinging insults at each other on Saturday in a week where the allegations of sexual harassment against the President have come back to the forefront. Let's get more now from NBC's White House correspondent Kelly O’Donnell. Good morning.
KELLY O’DONNELL: Good morning Willie. The President and former Secretary of State sure know how to push each other's buttons and they keep finding current ways to do that. The engaging each other in this way seems to please both of their very different bases.
[Cuts to video]
376 days after their election battle ended, neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton is giving up the fight.
HILLARY CLINTON: Apparently, you know, my former opponent is obsessed with my speaking out.
O’DONNNELL: The President revived his beef on Twitter Saturday: “Crooked Hillary Clinton is the worst and biggest loser of all time. She just can't stop, which is so good for the Republican Party.” Clinton made the President a punch line Saturday night in Arkansas.
CLINTON: Honestly, between tweeting and golfing, how does he get anything done? I don't understand it.
O’DONNELL: President Trump toyed with a rematch: “Hillary, get on with your life and give it another try in three years.” In a radio interview Clinton said, the President is getting a free pass.
CLINTON: Look, we have a man who's accused of sexual assault sitting in the oval office, don't we? And the very credible accusations against him have not been taken seriously.
O’DONNELL: Clinton also raised the 2005 audio recording that Donald Trump dismissed as locker room talk.
(…)
O’DONNELL: Clinton said reactions fall along partisan lines.
CLINTON: Look at the contrast between Al Franken accepting responsibility, apologizing and Roy Moore and Donald Trump who have done neither.
[Cuts back to live]
O’DONNELL: Clinton was asked if her own husband, former President Bill Clinton would be judged differently in today's current political environment. She said, you cannot rewrite history but pointed out there was an investigation, he was held accountable and paid an appropriate price. Willie?
