For the left and their media allies, it’s do as I say, but not as I do when it comes to coronavirus restrictions (or really anything). But Friday night on the Fox Business Network’s Evening Edit, that nonsense was thoroughly demolished as “raging hypocrisy” by Media Research Center Founder and President Brent Bozell and FBN fill-in host Jackie DeAngelis. And sadly, it’s also been a case of bias by omission.
DeAngelis set the table by noting how Evening Edit has made sure to share “mind-boggling stories of Democrat lawmakers and officials accused of doing as I say not as ideal when it comes to covid-19 restrictions” even though many cases have been “ignored by the mainstream media.”
After DeAngelis brought up examples of hypocrisy like Chris Cuomo and Nancy Pelosi, Bozell emphasized that “the media should be covering it not only because it's a violation of their own rules but because of the raging hypocrisy.”
Bozell added the double standard between Black Lives Matter marches and really any other public gathering as well as the case of hypocrisy from Austin’s Democratic mayor:
Look, this was the same press that went after President Trump, that went after so many Republicans because they did not have a mask on at the appropriate time, but they take a blind -- they turned and looked the other way when somebody like Michigan Governor Witmer blast the President for not wearing a mask, blast people for being at rallies and then attends the George Floyd rally, not wearing a mask herself. The most recent one we looked at was the mayor of Austin who demanded that people not go out during Thanksgiving and then he went to Mexico on a vacation.
He also took note of Kristine Marsh’s NewsBusters piece showing ABC’s Good Morning America acknowledging the hypocrisy of Democrats like California Governor Gavin Newsom and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, but still failed to exhibit the most basic journalistic skills in that “not one of them was labeled a Democrat.”
Bozell then posed this rhetorical question: “Can you imagine if there was a whole series of Republicans and not one was ever labeled a Republican?”
DeAngelis dug further into Newsom’s visit to the restaurant French Laundry, which led Bozell to state that these growing numbers of Democrats ignoring their own restrictions have an effect on how the public views them (click “expand”):
BOZELL: The public is ever more skeptical of the quote unquote science that in fact isn’t or that it's been called the question but what he public ought – you can debate but the public ought not to have any patience for these members of Congress, these mayors that are making these dictates and in the case of state-by-state, doing these orders that are destroying businesses out of the concern for public safety and then flaunting them in their own lifestyles, having their own lavish parties, marching in their own rallies, deciding not to wear mask, going on the secret vacations all the while telling the public to eat cake, I think the public’s getting fed up with this.
DEANGELIS: Yeah and you brought up what we saw very vividly during the campaign – you know, during the campaigns leading up to the election. If it was a Trump supporter at a rally, they shouldn't be out, they should be gathering but if you were here in New York City and you were flooding the streets, protesting for Black Lives Matter, for example, but you weren't wearing a mask, then that was justified. There is no way to bring those two things together.
BOZELL: And how -- how could the national news media that were covering the riots in the streets not – not made [sic] the simple observation that everybody on the street was breaking the rule while this was happening or the fact that the mayors in the cities were all allowing it while telling law-abiding people they couldn't come out because they were – they were health hazards.
Moments later, Bozell tied these left-wing politicians to their media pals: “I think they're just as hypocritical of Governor Newsom. They're just as hypocritical in that they won’t cover it.”
And in closing out the segment, DeAngelis again cited Fredo Cuomo not “wear[ing] a mask in his building” whereas, for the rest of us, we’re instructed to have a mindset of not going anywhere without wearing a mask.
This prompted Bozell to conclude by highlighting the fact that journalists writ large have been nabbed going maskless: “There have been pictures of reporters themselves who are not wearing the mask and yet, they’re lecturing us everything will day about how those who are not wearing masks or killing people and they themselves won’t be wearing masks.”
To see the relevant FBN transcript from December 4, click “expand.”
FBN’s Evening Edit
December 4, 2020
6:33 p.m. EasternJACKIE DEANGELIS: Here at The Evening Edit, you've heard the mind-boggling stories of Democrat lawmakers and officials accused of doing as I say not as ideal when it comes to covid-19 restrictions. But now, the Media Research Center tells us those stories are largely being ignored by the mainstream media. Joining me now, Media Research Center President Brent Bozell. Brent, it – it's great to see you and we do cover those stories
BRENT BOZELL: Good to see you.
DEANGELIS: -- here on Fox Business and also on Fox News. But it's interesting because you’ve the lawmakers themselves and this is an old one but Nancy Pelosi not wearing the mask in the salon that I still cannot get over and yet you’ve also got the newsmakers themselves, somebody like Chris Cuomo in the Hamptons not wearing a mask, getting fined by his apartment building because he’s not wearing a mask. So, I'm not surprised the mainstream media is not necessarily focusing on the stories. What fuels the hypocrisy that certain people think the rules don’t apply to them?
BOZELL: Yeah, well, you know, I think that the media should be covering it not only because it's a violation of their own rules but because of the raging hypocrisy. Look, this was the same press that went after President Trump, that went after so many Republicans because they did not have a mask on at the appropriate time, but they take a blind -- they turned and looked the other way when somebody like Michigan Governor Witmer blast the President for not wearing a mask, blast people for being at rallies and then attends the George Floyd rally, not wearing a mask herself.
DEANGELIS: Right.
BOZELL: The most recent one we looked at was the mayor of Austin who demanded that people not go out during Thanksgiving and then he went to Mexico on a vacation.
DEANGELIS: Yeah.
BOZELL: So, so these things should be reported but as we pointed out in NewsBusters today, when they finally do report it and they actually give examples of this with Newsom, the mayor of Denver, who told people not to travel and then he went to Mississippi for Thanksgiving, they finally finally gave this report, all of them were Democrats and not one of them was labeled a Democrat. Can you imagine if there was a whole series of Republicans and not one was ever labeled a Republican?
DEANGELIS: Yeah, I mean, listen, you look at governor Gavin Newsom specifically in California and he is implementing the stricter measures, businesses are suffering yet that's the photograph of him dining at the posh restaurant French Laundry, you know, and so many Democrats say including the President-Elect that they are following the science yet there are reports that governor Newsom doesn't actually have anything to go one where he – he can prove that walking into a small business or sitting in a restaurant necessarily increases your chances of contracting the virus. So, so – he’s doing it. He feels safe enough to do it but he doesn't want anybody else to.
BOZELL: The public is ever more skeptical of the quote unquote science that in fact isn’t or that it's been called the question but what he public ought – you can debate but the public ought not to have any patience for these members of Congress, these mayors that are making these dictates and in the case of state-by-state, doing these orders that are destroying businesses out of the concern for public safety and then flaunting them in their own lifestyles, having their own lavish parties, marching in their own rallies, deciding not to wear mask, going on the secret vacations all the while telling the public to eat cake, I think the public’s getting fed up with this.
DEANGELIS: Yeah and you brought up what we saw very vividly during the campaign – you know, during the campaigns leading up to the election. If it was a trump supporter at a rally, they shouldn't be out, they should be gathering but if you were here in New York City and you were flooding the streets, protesting for Black Lives Matter, for example, but you weren't wearing a mask, then that was justified. There is no way to bring those two things together.
BOZELL: And how -- how could the national news media that were covering the riots in the streets not – not made [sic] the simple observation that everybody on the street was breaking the rule while this was happening or the fact that the mayors in the cities were all allowing it while telling law-abiding people they couldn't come out because they were – they were health hazards.
DEANGELIS: Yeah. Well, I don't want to answer the question for you, but you know, they were focusing – the mainstream media was not focusing on the aspect on it – of it.
BOZELL: I – look – I think cause – I didn’t mean to interrupt. I think they're just as hypocritical of Governor Newsom. They're just as hypocritical in that they won’t cover it.
DEANGELIS: Well, there are reasons that they don't, sir, and we know that and that's why I brought up Chris Cuomo because he's a person that’s walking around New York City and he doesn't want to wear a mask in his building, you know, thinking because he had coronavirus which by the way, people are testing positive twice now. The antibodies that you naturally build up may or may not last long enough. I mean, there's so much we don't know. When I walk out on the street, I wear the mask. I follow the rules. I wouldn’t dare walk into an elevator without it.
BOZELL: There have been pictures of reporters themselves who are not wearing the mask and yet, they’re lecturing us everything will day about how those who are not wearing masks or killing people and they themselves won’t be wearing masks.
DEANGELIS: Brent Bozell, I wish we had more time but it's great to see you.
BOZELL: Thank you. Good seeing you.
DEANGELIS: Okay.
