After the media gave rave reviews to President Biden for his pathetic excuse of a press conference yesterday, Meghan McCain was the only host on The View to hold the media accountable.
While her liberal co-hosts all fawned over Biden’s performance, the conservative co-host highlighted how different the media coverage would be today had it been President Trump only calling on friendly outlets and ignoring the coronavirus pandemic in his first press conference in over 60 days:
I just want to present a scenario where President Trump got re-elected. In the first 60 days he didn't do a press conference. When he finally did a press conference he didn't talk or answer one question about the pandemic and he didn't answer any questions from any media that didn't agree with him. Peter Doocy, was not called on, Fox News wasn't called on. I think it was a huge miss for President Biden yesterday.
She also noted how not one reporter asked about the president’s son’s latest controversy nor about the president repeatedly falling down the stairs of Air Force One last week:
“[I]f President Trump had fallen down Air Force One or if his son was involved in some very serious reports involving the Secret Service and a handgun which just came out on "Politico" yesterday, I believe we would be having a very different hot topic today,” she added.
Regardless, Biden’s cheerleaders in the press patted their president and themselves on the back for doing such a pathetic job. McCain called them out:
I think the coverage has been really disconcerting. I was watching shows this morning. There's no need to slobber all over Joe Biden right now. He's still the President of the United States. I think our role in the fourth estate is to hold his feet to the fire and to ask serious questions. ‘Giving him time, let him be president,’ yes, but we didn't give this levity to President Obama or President Trump. I don't know why we're giving him so many -- so much of it right now given he's been in office -- I’m sorry--serving in over for over 50 years.
Afterwards, Joy Behar and Sara Haines rejected McCain’s take.
Behar explained Biden “wasn’t lying” and didn’t tell reporters to “shut up” so that’s why the press should “give him a break.” Didn’t lie? How about repeatedly blaming your poor handling of the immigration crisis at our Southern border and record high unaccompanied minors on your predecessor? While Biden didn’t say ‘shut up’ he did scoff and laugh dismissively at two female reporters’ questions.
On the other hand, Haines saw the press’s questions as tough on immigration. “I felt like people were trying to hold his feet to the fire about the border because that's a more tense topic that he doesn't have a handle on. Whereas with the virus we're outdoing the goals he set originally. I saw it differently,” she argued.
Contact The View's advertisers Dove at the Conservatives fight back page here.
Read the transcript below:
The View
3/26/2021
MEGHAN MCCAIN: Yeah, I just want to start this out by saying I love President Biden as a person. I think he's a truly decent human being and a wonderful family man. I have great love and admiration for him on a personal level. But I believe our role in the fourth estate as journalists and commentators is to hold the president's feet to the fire. I have to separate my emotions from calling balls and strikes on this. Now I just want to present a scenario where President Trump got re-elected. In the first 60 days he didn't do a press conference. When he finally did a press conference he didn't talk or answer one question about the pandemic and he didn't answer any questions from any media that didn't agree with him. Peter Doocy, was not called on, Fox News wasn't called on. I think it was a huge miss for President Biden yesterday.
On top of that in the news cycle, if President Trump had fallen down Air Force One or if his son was involved in some very serious reports involving the Secret Service and a handgun which just came out on "Politico" yesterday, I believe we would be having a very different hot topic today. I think it is incumbent on us and the press not to be deleterious in the way we cover President Biden. Did he have a decent press conference yesterday in the sense that he answered what he could? Yes. Did he not answer all the questions I would like to know? Was he not held to the same standard that I wish? Just because President Trump was so awful and disrespectful to the press, which I think we're all on agreement in, doesn't mean we should be giving President Biden passes. I think he did a fine job. I think he's the President of the United States of America. We're still in a pandemic and I don't think he answered nearly enough questions I for one would have liked to see him answer. I think the coverage has been really disconcerting. I was watching shows this morning. There's no need to slobber all over Joe Biden right now. He's still the President of the United States. I think our role in the fourth estate is to hold his feet to the fire and to ask serious questions. ‘Giving him time, let him be president,’ yes, but we didn't give this levity to President Obama or President Trump. I don't know why we're giving him so many -- so much of it right now given he's been in office -- I’m sorry--serving in over for over 50 years.
JOY BEHAR: I think it has a lot to do with the fact that he wasn't lying. He didn't tell reporters to shut up. He didn't come up with some nasty name for somebody. So you know, we have to give him time, give him a break. I think as he goes forward, I think they'll be asking tougher questions. I have been around a long time. I've been around a lot of presidents including George Washington and believe me, the press is not kind to any of them. Sara, do you have anything to say about this?
SARA HAINES: I was curious because I know he started the press conference about the virus and I didn't know -- I felt like people were trying to hold his feet to the fire about the border because that's a more tense topic that he doesn't have a handle on. Whereas with the virus we're outdoing the goals he set originally. I saw it differently. I thought they were pushing back because he kept saying I’m going to give you access, people kept grilling him, the reporters...
