On Friday, the network morning shows were so happy that their candidate Joe Biden was “enjoying” himself during ABC’s softball town hall Thursday night and reveled in President Trump being stuck “on defense” during a hostile interrogation on NBC. Pretending as if they didn’t carefully orchestrate the split screen, the leftist broadcasts marveled at how favorable they thought it was to the Democratic nominee.
“Those candidate town halls aired at the same time but couldn’t have felt more different,” White House correspondent Hallie Jackson declared on NBC’s Today show, before mildly describing Savannah Guthrie’s complete flip-out on Trump at the town hall as a “fast-paced and wide-ranging” exchange. Jackson detailed the event’s anti-Trump agenda: “The President pressed about his health, his taxes, and the bogus conspiracy theory he’s refusing to denounce, Qanon.”
Now compare that reporting to how senior Washington correspondent Andrea Mitchell gushed over Biden’s infomercial minutes later: “Well, in his town hall, Joe Biden was happy to talk about policy details, eager to draw contrasts with the President on everything from the pandemic to the economy and climate change.” Of course that was easy for the Democratic candidate to do because Biden was treated to softballs by a room packed with fellow Democrats, including the moderator George Stephanopoulos.
After touting highlights like “Biden slamming the President for his handling of the pandemic,” Mitchell wrapped up her report by cheering: “Biden, clearly enjoying the town hall format, put on his mask and stayed long after it was over to take even more questions from the audience.”
The stunning double standard of NBC’s town hall onslaught against Trump versus the friendly chat they provided to Biden a week earlier is quite something to watch.
“Well, these two town halls were as different as the candidates themselves. This remarkable split-screen moment that made crystal clear just how stark the differences are in these campaigns,” congressional correspondent Mary Bruce announced on ABC’s Good Morning America. She heralded: “Joe Biden spending much of the night looking ahead, outlining his plans for the future, while the president often combative, spent much of the night on defense.”
Sounding nearly identical to Mitchell, Bruce was glad that Biden had such a good time at the easy campaign event hosted by ABC:
Now in the room last night, it was clear that Joe Biden was really enjoying this rare opportunity to interact with voters. He didn’t want to leave. He hung around for quite some time chatting with voters, answering their additional questions.
Moments later, town hall moderator Stephanopoulos turned to chief White House correspondent Jon Karl to praise Biden as “thoughtful” and trash Trump as “combative”:
Well, I saw a study in contrast, George. I mean, it couldn’t have been more stark. On one hand, you had Joe Biden, thoughtful, reflective, occasionally long-winded, talking about specific policy proposals, legislation. And on the other hand, you saw a very combative Donald Trump offering very little in the way of specifics to what he would do in a second term. George, I thought one of the most telling moments of the night in the Donald Trump town hall was when he was asked point blank, why should people support you and give you a second chance for a second term? And he said, “Because I’ve done a great job.” That was the level of specificity. And at a time when most polls show that well over half of Americans do not approve of the job that Donald Trump has done in his first term, that is not going to be a sufficient answer.
On CBS This Morning, correspondent Nikole Killian made sure to follow the same DNC talking points, breathlessly declaring: “It was an eye-opening performance from the President. He refused to denounce a dangerous conspiracy theory and appeared to make stunning admissions about his financial records.” In the report that followed, fellow correspondent Ed O’Keefe remarked on how Biden’s “exchange with voters was far less contentious than the President’s.”
Rounding out the CBS coverage, reporter Major Garrett joined the show to obnoxiously proclaim that Trump was “desperate” as he returned to NBC “on bended knee” for the town hall.
It’s so convenient how the media engineer events that hammer a Republican, help a Democrat, and then smugly look back the next day and admire their own partisan handiwork.
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