A top U.S. intelligence official put out a report today that U.S. adversaries China, Iran, and Russia were trying to influence the 2020 presidential election. Published by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, it found both China and Iran want Joe Biden to win the election, while Russia prefers Trump. Can you guess which election meddling bothered the three evening news broadcasts the most?
ABC's World News Tonight spent the majority of their reporting on Friday's show to soundbites from the President to suggest he wanted Russia to meddle in the election, while touting Biden declaring his toughness towards Putin. Correspondent Rachel Scott even tried to characterize Trump’s toughness on China as a desperate attempt to boost his poll numbers: “The President, down in the polls, has taken an aggressive posture toward Beijing, blaming China for the pandemic.”
ABC was also notably the only network to deliberately leave out the report saying Iran wanted Trump to lose the election.
Correspondent Paula Reid on CBS Evening News also tried to downplay how China wants Biden to win, even going so far as to defend Biden as tough on China: "He never did anything against China, Joe Biden. And that's why they desperately want him to win."
After that soundbite from Trump, Reid shot back, “Biden has been critical of China on a range of issues, but the President has bashed the Chinese relentlessly over the coronavirus.”
In fact, he’s been so critical that Reid failed to mention even one of them. Maybe she was talking about when Biden visited China as Vice President in 2011 and praised their horrific one-child policy? Or the shady, lucrative deals he made for his son with the Chinese government while he was VP?
Reid only gave a passing mention to Iran also wanting Biden to win, at the end of her report: “This assessment also found that Iran would like President Trump to lose.”
On NBC Nightly News, correspondent Peter Alexander also characterized the report as just about Russia and China. Like Reid, he left Iran out until the very end: “And Evanina says Iran also seeks to undermine the President,” he stated, before adding that Democrats “argue Russia poses the biggest threat.”
While being Russian collusion obsessed, the media won’t look into Hunter Biden’s ties to China, or put any blame on Biden being in the administration that made the disastrous Iran nuclear deal.
Here’s a great roundup from analyst Nick Fondacaro on how the liberal media ignored Iranian aggression against our country when Obama and Biden were in office.
Maybe that’s because the liberal media have been on Iran’s side. After U.S. forces killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in January, deranged lefty journalists actually tried to defend the murderous regime with sympathy pieces and touted Iranian threats to bash President Trump.
The media's covering up for Iran supporting Biden was sponsored by Fidelity and Verizon.
Read the transcripts below:
CBS Evening News
8/7/2020
MARGARET BRENNAN: Tonight, a stark and specific warning from the U.S. Intelligence community that foreign powers are interfering in the 2020 election, and they're picking favorites. Here's CBS's Paula Reid.
PAULA REID: Tonight, the intelligence community publicly revealing who China and Russia favor to win in November. With top officials writing, "China prefers that President Trump, whom Beijing sees as unpredictable, does not win reelection."
TRUMP: He never did anything against China, Joe Biden. And that's why they desperately want him to win.
REID: Biden has been critical of China on a range of issues, but the President has bashed the Chinese relentlessly over the coronavirus.
TRUMP: The plague was released by China.
REID: And recently punished Chinese companies and top officials. Russia is repeating their 2016 playbook according to the intelligence officials, this time trying to denigrate the former Vice President and what it sees as an anti-Russia establishment.
BIDEN: The Russians don't want me to be the nominee. They spent a lot of money on bots on Facebook, and they've been taken down, saying Biden's a bad guy.
REID: Russia prefered President Trump in 2016 according to intelligence assessments, and this year Kremlin-linked actors are actively supporting his candidacy on social media and Russian television. This assessment also found that Iran would like President Trump to lose. In a statement, the Trump campaign said they found all of this concerning but they had say don't need or want foreign interference. But the Biden campaign noted that President Trump has previously called on foreign adversaries to help him get elected.
ABC World News Tonight
8/7/2020
TOM LLAMAS: We move on now to an alarming headline tonight concerning possible foreign meddling in the race for 2020. The Director of U.S. Intelligence accusing China, Iran, and Russia of all trying to interfere in the election. Intel officials believe China hoping President Trump loses re-election while Russia with help from some of the Ukraine is working against Joe Biden. Here's ABC’s Rachel Scott.
RACHEL SCOTT: Tonight, a stark warning from the nation's top counterintelligence official, foreign adversaries are at it again, trying to influence the US election, saying China, Russia and Iran are attempting "To increase discord" and "Undermine our democratic process." The President, down in the polls, has taken an aggressive posture toward Beijing, blaming China for the pandemic.
TRUMP: It came from China. It should never have been allowed to leave China.
SCOTT: Intelligence officials assess China views President Trump as "Unpredictable" and would prefer a President Biden. While Russia is working to denigrate the former VP. And a Ukrainian lawmaker, a contact of the President’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, is involved in that effort.
BIDEN: Putin knows I mean what I say. This is a violation of our sovereignty.
SCOTT: And after allegations of colluding with Russian in 2016, which he has long denied, President Trump called on China to dig into his rival---
TRUMP: China should start an investigation into the Bidens.
SCOTT:---and said he wouldn't have a problem accepting information from a foreign government.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You'd want that kind of interference in our elections?
TRUMP: It's not interference. They have information. I think I'd take it.
SCOTT: Tonight, his campaign says they don't need it, saying, "President Trump will beat Joe Biden fair and square." And Tom, a senior adviser to the Biden campaign says the former VP has refused to accept information from a foreign government intended to help his campaign, and they underscore that the President himself has not made that commitment, 100 days out from election day.
NBC Nightly News
8/7/2020
LESTER HOLT: A new alert on election interference. U.S. Intelligence accusing Russia, targeting Joe Biden and concluding that China, after President Trump's actions against them, does not want him re-elected. Peter Alexander at the White House.
PETER ALEXANDER: Tonight the nation's top counter intelligence official in a striking new statement reveals who our key foreign adversaries want to win the presidential election. Trump appointee William Evanina writes “Russia is using a range of measures to primarily denigrate former Vice President Joe Biden. And despite President Trump’s insistence that nobody has been tougher on Russia, Evanina says some Kremlin linked actors are also seeking to boost President Trump's candidacy on social media and Russian television. Biden’s repeatedly blasted the President's handling of Russia.
BIDEN: His entire presence has been a gift to Putin.
ALEXANDER: But a different story on China who U.S. Intelligence officials say preferring that President Trump, who Beijing seeing as unpredictable, does not win the election.
TRUMP: Nobody has been tougher on China than me. They would love to see Joe Biden instead of Trump.
ALEXANDER: And Evanina says Iran also seeks to undermine the President. Democrats praising the statement but arguing Russia poses the biggest threat. Tonight the White House says the U.S. will not tolerate foreign interference in our electoral processes.
