With President-elect Biden stocking up on staff to fill his cabinet, we’re already starting to see the revolving door between politics and the liberal media begin to turn again. Fox News Channel media analyst and host of Media Buzz, Howard Kurtz was on the case Tuesday night as he pointed out the men and women of The Swamp who were leaving the CNN and MSNBC payrolls to go work for Biden. Of course, he also pointed out the hypocrisy of how Fox News was criticized with President Trump.
“As Joe Biden starts to staff his administration, the revolving door between media and politics is spinning once again,” Kurtz reported at the top of the Special Report segment.
He would go to note that it was considered normal for former politicos to get jobs as analysts and commentators to provide an insider’s perspective, but now “more of them seem to move between the media, where they can resemble a government in exile and Democratic administrations such as the one now taking shape.”
Beginning his rundown of who had made the jump from media talking head to Biden official, Kurtz called out CNN’s Trump attacker turned Secretary of State nominee Tony Blinken:
KURTZ: As a CNN global affairs analyst Tony Blinken, who had been deputy secretary of state under President Obama often chastised Obama’s successor.
TONY BLINKEN: President Trump has abdicated that responsibility. He’s put us in full retreat from our allies and partners.
KURTZ: And today, Biden formally announced him as his pick for secretary of state.
“CNN contributor Jen Psaki, who was Obama's state department spokeswoman has also left for the transition,” he added. “MSNBC analyst Rick Stengel, former Time magazine editor is on his second go-around having jumped from Obama's state department to fierce Trump critic.”
Recalling that “sometimes the connections are less visible,” Kurtz reminded viewers of the recent shadiness with former Newsweek editor and presidential historian Jon Meacham. He was caught secretly writing speeches for Biden, while NBC and MSNBC were allowing him to comment without disclosing that connection. He was fired shortly after the story broke.
After noting that President Obama had hired over two dozen journalists for his administration (the NewsBusters count had it at 30), Kurtz pointed out the liberal media’s hypocrisy. “That musical chairs tradition is widely viewed as routine, but Fox News drew criticism for those who moved between the network on the Trump administration, including John Bolton, Heather Nauert, Bill Shine, and Sarah Huckabee Sanders,” he said.
That hypocrisy largely came from the likes of CNN. In the summer of 2018, Reliable Sources host Brian Stelter pontificated about how there had “never” been a “love story” like Trump and Fox News. “Fox and Trump, Trump and Fox. You know they're close. But do you realize just how close” he declared at the time. “[T]his kind of relationship has never existed between a U.S. president and a TV network. It. Is. Unprecedented.” Meanwhile, CNN had already failed to inform viewers of Blinken’s change of position.
And in March of 2018, Anderson Cooper did an entire segment complaining: “It's a presidency that was essentially born on reality TV, and now the lines between reality and TV may be blurring even further.” He was saying that because Trump had taken Larry Kudlow from CNBC to be the director of the United States National Economic Council.
It’s only a matter of time before the Biden administration started to hire the “journalists” that covered him and helped to prop up his campaign.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
Fox News Channel’s Special Report
November 24, 2020
6:25:35 p.m. EasternBRET BAIER: The Biden administration is going to look very familiar to connoisseurs of various cable news stations. Fox News media analyst and host of Fox’s Media Buzz, Howard Kurtz has that story tonight.
[Cuts to video
JOE BIDEN: I'm pleased to announced nominations and staff.
HOWARD KURTZ: As Joe Biden starts to staff his administration, the revolving door between media and politics is spinning once again. As a CNN global affairs analyst Tony Blinken, who had been deputy secretary of state under President Obama often chastised Obama’s successor.
TONY BLINKEN: President Trump has abdicated that responsibility. He’s put us in full retreat from our allies and partners.
KURTZ: And today, Biden formally announced him as his pick for secretary of state.
BLINKEN: Thank you.
KURTZ: CNN contributor Jen Psaki, who was Obama's state department spokeswoman has also left for the transition. MSNBC analyst Rick Stengel, former Time magazine editor is on his second go-around having jumped from Obama's state department to fierce Trump critic.
RICK STENGEL: He is the epicenter of disinformation around the world.
KURTZ: And now, Stengel has joined the Biden transition team. Barbara McQuade, a U.S. attorney in the Obama years has also left MSNBC for the Biden transition.
Sometimes the connections are less visible as with Jon Meacham, the former Newsweek editor and presidential biographer was an NBC and MSNBC contributor who praised Biden's victory speech.
JON MEACHAM: This is a moment where the life of the nation is intersecting in a fascinating way with the personal life, not only of President-elect Biden, but also the vice President-elect.
KURTZ: But the networks dropped him from the payroll after The New York Times revealed Meacham had privately helped Biden with that and other speeches.
At least two dozen journalists joined the Obama team including Time’s Jay Carney and ABC's Linda Douglas. That musical chairs tradition is widely viewed as routine, but Fox News drew criticism for those who moved between the network on the Trump administration, including John Bolton, Heather Nauert, Bill Shine, and Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Larry Kudlow also joined the president from CNBC.
[Cuts back to live]
When political players turn into pundits, they can bring an insider's, perspective, but more of them seem to move between the media, where they can resemble a government in exile and Democratic administrations such as the one now taking shape. Bret.
BAIER: Howie, thanks.
