After President Biden dismissively laughed at ABC White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega for asking about the dire conditions at the border, the sycophants at ABC News were quick to bend over backwards to defend the president’s rude response.
Following his first ever briefing Thursday, the ABC News team led by World News Tonight anchor David Muir, didn't have much to criticize about the president's performance, unlike his predecessor's.
Biden lashed out at [friendly] reporters a few times during the briefing. After he scoffed at Vega, both she and Muir almost seemed to apologize for asking the president a legitimate question:
CECILIA VEGA: I seem to have struck a nerve with the president, frankly David, when I asked if those images out of Donna, Texas are acceptable to him. There was a long pause after I said that. He said are you serious? Totally unacceptable….You can see the frustration and hear the frustration in the president's voice. He's not shying away from what the policy is for this administration right now…
There is a sense of humanity, that he is talking about here, saying this is who we are. This is the America that we are. We are not going to turn these kids away. This is not going to change with this administration, no matter the criticism from the right. And the president acknowledged this is going to be an election issue, he basically said, I’m going to kinda let them talk this one out for a while.
DAVID MUIR: Cecilia, I just want to underscore what you said because as viewers watching you ask that question, It was the word acceptable, is this acceptable to you? It did strike a nerve with the president when you talked about the overcrowding, the situation that you witnessed firsthand….
While even ABC had to acknowledge that Biden’s messaging was only encouraging illegal immigrants to send their children across the border, they rationalized it as a sign of our president’s innate goodness.
Vega explained immigrants felt “this is a more compassionate administration,” boasting how Biden “didn’t back away from that. He said today, this is who we are. That won’t change.”
Muir agreed, praising the president as a “good guy” who “embraces” “the decency of this presidency:”
“Yeah he did not turn back when asked about being a good guy. The decency of this presidency and the American people, he said he embraces that part of the argument,” Muir applauded.
If all that wasn’t nauseating enough, Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl stepped in to, once again, make a pitiful defense for Biden hiding from the media. He argued it was a sign of his selfless character (so unlike Trump!):
Joe Biden waited 60 some days before having the first news conference. It was a news conference that seemed to be designed to keep the temperature down. He actually didn't make a lot of news. The biggest news arguably was in his opening statement, quite a contrast to the previous president who always wanted to be the center of attention. You get the sense 64 days into this administration, Joe Biden is quite content not to be the center of attention.
In turn, Muir marveled at Biden's "discipline:"
"No question about that, Jon. Their approach of discipline, they continue to move forward with that, and that was on full display today," he stated.
Read the transcript below:
ABC Presidential Press Conference
3/25/2021
2:37 PM EST
CECILIA VEGA: I seem to have struck a nerve frankly David with the president when I asked if those images out of Donna, Texas are acceptable to him. There was a long pause after I said that. He said are you serious? Totally unacceptable. But that's the first time we heard him talk directly about those images that are coming out of those facilities. David, it's a Catch-22 for this administration. You can see the frustration and hear the frustration in the president's voice. He's not shying away from what the policy is for this administration right now. They are not going to turn unaccompanied minors away at the border if they've presented themselves to border authorities and asked for asylum. Those are the kids that I meant, those 9 and 10-year-old boys I met when I was at the border this week. The president said I'm not going to make any bones about this. This is who we are as a country. He said it--basically he was indignant about it--that’s not who we have been and that’s not who we're going to be. So he’s standing his ground pretty firmly on that one.
David, I'll just wrap by saying I was struck by one of the last things that the president said as this press conference was wrapping up on immigration. He referenced his great grandfather who immigrated from Ireland. There is a sense of humanity, that he is talking about here, saying this is who we are. This is the America that we are. We are not going to turn these kids away. This is not going to change with this administration, no matter the criticism from the right. And the president acknowledged this is going to be an election issue, he basically said, I’m going to kinda let them talk this one out for a while.
DAVID MUIR: Cecelia, I just want to underscore what you said because as viewers watching you ask that question, It was the word acceptable, is this acceptable to you? It did strike a nerve with the president when you talked about the overcrowding, the situation that you witnessed firsthand. He tried to appear very confident with the American people watching this afternoon that his new policies, that he's putting into place right now is the case he made today, will ease that situation.
We also learned in the last 24 hours he put Vice President Kamala Harris in charge of this effort of trying to stop the flow, the historic flow as we're seeing it from the northern triangle countries. He's trying to put forward at least a brave face from this White House that they are going to be able to curtail what we're seeing. The question is, is that going to be possible?
VEGA: Is it going to be possible, David, and when will the effects of that actually take place? Because we're talking about an urgent situation. If you have a facility at 1,500% past capacity in Texas right now like this administration does, that's not something that's going to be fixed when you address the root causes of migration in countries like Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
A lot of immigration advocates would be happy to hear the president try to tackle these root causes. They have played radio advertisements in those countries saying do not come. They're talking about opening counselor offices in some of these countries so people can file for asylum there. But David that was my point of the question that I was trying to get across to him. He can blame president trump. He can address the root causes. The reality is they're still allowing as a policy children to stay. When you're talking about families who are as desperate and in the most violent conditions that is really unfathomable for us to imagine because it is so foreign to us as Americans, they're making these life or death decisions to send their child north over keeping them in their home country, at the risk of death there, there's almost nothing the president can say or do that will counter that message. If the policy is they're staying, that's what families will see and hear. That's what Martha has heard on the ground. That’s what I’ve heard on the ground at the border. These families, many of them, are saying they're coming because they believe this is a more compassionate administration. The president didn't back away from that. He said today this is who we are. That won't change. The majority of people will be turned away but when it comes to these unaccompanied minors, they're going be kept safe and won't be returned on their own.
DAVID MUIR: Yeah he did not turn back when asked about being a good guy. The decency of this presidency and the American people, he said he embraces that part of the argument. It’s now his situation, and he did stand by some of the tweaks to the policy that he’s embraced and he stood by those of you in that room with you today. Cecelia, our thanks to you.
….
JON KARL: Joe Biden waited 60 some days before having the first news conference. It was a news conference that seemed to be designed to keep the temperature down. He actually didn't make a lot of news. The biggest news arguably was in his opening statement, quite a contrast to the previous president who always wanted to be the center of attention. You get the sense 64 days into this administration, Joe Biden is quite content not to be the center of attention.
MUIR: No question about that, Jon. Their approach of discipline, they continue to move forward with that, and that was on full display today.
