The liberal broadcast networks made a full-court press Thursday evening, smearing Senate Republicans with the suggestion that were against giving struggling Americans aid in the midst of economic lockdowns. On top of that, they bashed Republican-led Mississippi and Texas for having withdrawn restrictions and mask mandates, but completely ignoring the fact that Democratic Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont announced most businesses could reopen at 100 percent capacity.
NBC Nightly News was the most irritated by Americans getting their freedoms back, with anchor Lester Holt kicking off the broadcast by bloviating about how states were acting without being giving orders:
Good evening, and welcome. No one has declared the pandemic over. In fact, just 1,200 more deaths in this country just today tell us otherwise. And yet, the upcoming one-year anniversary appears to be creating a jumping-off point for more and more states from lifting mask requirements, to allowing large gatherings again. Impatience and politics some public health officials worry may be leaping ahead of reality. Especially with the virus itself shapeshifting into more worrisome variants.
“But we are clearly at an unsettling crossroad tonight,” he proclaimed.
Following Holt’s lead, anti-reopening correspondent Miguel Almaguer whined about certain attempts to loosen crippling restrictions. “Tonight, as Americans received conflicting and confusing messages over COVID safety measures, more states are now preparing to eliminate face mask mandates as top doctors plead for them not to do so,” he began.
Almaguer, who has made bemoaning the slightest lifting of restrictions his entire beat the last several months, then huffed about red states. “Mississippi and Texas didn’t just end mask mandates but caps on capacity,” he added without ever mentioning Connecticut.
Over on CBS Evening News, correspondent Mark Strassman boosted President Biden’s smear against wheelchair-bound Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) calling him a “Neanderthal.”
And omitting how California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) was facing a momentous recall effort, and the fact the state spawned its own COVID variant despite the lockdowns, Strassman touted the Governor for taking a shot at those states:
STRASSMAN: California's earmarking 40 percent of its doses for vulnerable communities. And the Governor's asking everyone in the state to wear two masks.
NEWSOM: We are encouraging people basically to double down on mask wearing, particularly, in light of all of what I would argue is bad information coming from at least four states in this country.
ABC correspondent Whit Johnson was also very picky about who he touted and who he called a Neanderthal on World News Tonight. “Alabama today easing restrictions on indoor dining, but keeping its mask mandate for another month,” he said. “But Mississippi and Texas dropping masks altogether. The Texas governor defending his move after the president called it ‘Neanderthal thinking.’”
Continuing to ignore the pork spending in the COVID relief bill, CBS anchor Norah O’Donnell led the way in suggesting to viewers that Republicans were against helping people. “Well, tonight the Senate is beginning what could be a marathon debate on the President's $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan. Democrats expect to get it passed but Republicans are not making it easy,” she declared.
Congressional correspondent Nikole Killion backed her up: “GOP senators are hoping to stall passage by demanding that the entire 628 bill be read aloud first, which could take up to ten hours. At the core of the bill $1,400 stimulus checks.”
It was a team effort on ABC as well, with anchor David Muir and White House correspondent Mary Bruce playing off each other:
MUIR: It would appear that Republicans, at least some of them, are trying to deliberately slow this down?
BRUCE: David, Republicans still insist this bill is just too expensive and now Republicans are intent on delaying this process.
White House correspondent Peter Alexander went solo on NBC by oversimplifying the Republican position as the bill just being “too expensive.” “But Democrats vow that will not stop them from voting to pass the relief plan this week,” he touted.
The misinformation and smears was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Amazon on ABC, Liberty Mutual on CBS, and Fidelity on NBC. Their contact information is linked so you can tell them about the bias news they fund.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s World News Tonight
March 4, 2021
6:34:26 p.m. Eastern(…)
WHIT JOHNSON: Alabama today easing restrictions on indoor dining, but keeping its mask mandate for another month.
GOV. KAY IVEY (R-AL): The bottom line is we've kept the mask mandate in place for more than a generous period of time because it's helped.
JOHNSON: But Mississippi and Texas dropping masks altogether. The Texas governor defending his move after the president called it "Neanderthal thinking."
GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): The mask requirement being eliminated isn't going to make that big of a change in the state of Texas. Also, people in Texas will continue to wear masks, even though there's not a state mandate.
ABBOTT: Texas has reported more cases in the past week than any other state in the country, nearly 50,000.
(…)
JOHNSON: Dr. Joseph Varon from Houston's United Memorial Medical Center has been on the frontlines of the COVID fight for 350 straight days.
Do you think Texas is ready to remove the mask?
DR. JOSEPH WARON: Absolutely not. In April, we lifted the restrictions in the state of state Texas and guess what? May, June, and July were the worst months of my life. I signed more death certificates on those three months than ever in my entire life.
(…)
6:38:04 p.m. Eastern
DAVID MUIR: Mary Bruce with us live from the White House tonight. And Mary, the Senate divided 50/50, but the President knows what the polls are showing, that this stimulus bill still has broad support from Democrat and Republican voters across the country. But in Washington tonight, as you point out, Senate Republicans, Senate Democrats divided 50/50 and it would appear that Republicans, at least some of them, are trying to deliberately slow this down?
MARY BRUCE: David, Republicans still insist this bill is just too expensive and now Republicans are intent on delaying this process. Tonight, they are insisting that the Senate clerk read aloud all 628 pages of this bill. It could take up to ten hours. But Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is adamant they are getting this done this week. And once the President signs the bill, well, then those direct payments, those checks, could start going out within days.
CBS Evening News
March 4, 2021
6:40:31 p.m. Eastern(…)
NORAH O’DONNELL: The U.S. Is now averaging 2 million vaccinations a day. That’s more than 54 million Americans that have had at least one shot and nearly 28 million that are fully vaccinated. But there is growing concern of yet another surge as more states lift restrictions.
(…)
MARK STRASSMAN: Governor Kay Ivey is playing it safe, extending Alabama's mask mandate another five weeks. Contrast that with Texas and Mississippi. Republican governors there announced this week they’re lifting mask mandates, reversals President Biden calls “Neanderthal thinking.”
(…)
STRASSMAN: California's earmarking 40 percent of its doses for vulnerable communities. And the Governor's asking everyone in the state to wear two masks.
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): We are encouraging people basically to double down on mask wearing, particularly, in light of all of what I would argue is bad information coming from at least four states in this country.
(…)
6:43:17 p.m. Eastern
O’DONNELL: Well, tonight the Senate is beginning what could be a marathon debate on the President's $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan. Democrats expect to get it passed but Republicans are not making it easy. CBS's Nikole Killion is following the debate at the Capitol. Good evening, Nikole.
NIKOLE KILLION: Hey, good evening, Norah. The Senate is still at work tonight even as the Capitol remains on high alert. Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote to advance the COVID relief package because it had no Republican support. GOP senators are hoping to stall passage by demanding that the entire 628 bill be read aloud first, which could take up to ten hours. At the core of the bill $1,400 stimulus checks for most individuals making under $80,000 a year and $160,000 for couples, plus unemployment benefits at $400 a week for the end of August.
(…)
NBC Nightly News
March 4, 2021
7:01:44 p.m. EasternLESTER HOLT: Good evening, and welcome. No one has declared the pandemic over. In fact, just 1,200 more deaths in this country just today tell us otherwise. And yet, the upcoming one-year anniversary appears to be creating a jumping-off point for more and more states from lifting mask requirements, to allowing large gatherings again. Impatience and politics some public health officials worry may be leaping ahead of reality. Especially with the virus itself shapeshifting into more worrisome variants.
54 million Americans have now gotten at least a single dose of vaccine. And the all-important hospitalization number has ticked down to nearly 45,000. But we are clearly at an unsettling crossroad tonight. And it’s were we start with Miguel Almaguer.
[Cuts to video]
MIGUEL ALMAGUER: Tonight, as Americans received conflicting and confusing messages over COVID safety measures, more states are now preparing to eliminate face mask mandates as top doctors plead for them not to do so.
(…)
ALMAGUER: Mississippi and Texas didn’t just end mask mandates but caps on capacity.
(…)
7:07:02 p.m. Eastern
PETER ALEXANDER: Still, Republicans argue it is too expensive.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM: Count me out for a $1.9 trillion spin fest unrelated to COVID and a partisan fashion. This is everything President Biden said he wouldn’t do.
[Cuts back to live]
ALEXANDER: At this pace, it will take the Senate clerks 15 hours to read the bill. But Democrats vow that will not stop them from voting to pass the relief plan this week.
(…)
