Less than 24 hours after the networks savaged Joe Biden’s debacle in Afghanistan, CBS on Tuesday switched into spin mode, touting the “defiant” President and ignoring ominous polling for the Democrat. CBS This Morning reporter Ed O’Keefe mostly repeated talking points from Biden’s blame-everyone-else speech on Monday: “President Biden defiantly defended his position defiantly to pull U.S. troops out of Afghanistan.”
O’Keefe parroted the President as he spread the blame around: “But Mr. Biden also blamed Afghan leaders and the Afghan military for failing to fight the Taliban.” He added, “Mr. Biden also offered some explanations for the evacuation’s scramble.”
O’Keefe also selectively chose polling to make it seem like Biden’s actions are popular. They aren’t. He claimed, “The President called Afghanistan’s collapse proof that no amount of military force could ever guarantee a stable regime. Recent CBS News polling shows 77 percent of Americans supported the U.S. withdrawal and Mr. Biden said he delivered on a campaign pledge to end the nearly 20-year conflict.”
Americans want to leave Afghanistan, sure. But not in the haphazard, dangerous way that the President is overseeing. As The Hill explained:
A majority of Americans disapprove of President Biden’s handling of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, according to a new poll.
The survey, conducted by The Trafalgar Group, found that 69 percent of polled Americans disapprove of Biden’s handling of the U.S.’s military presence in the war-torn country, with only 23 percent approving.
According to a new Rasmussen poll, only 34 percent of Americans now think the country is on the right track.
Finally, O’Keefe got around to some criticism of Biden:
ED O’KEEFE: President Biden has faced criticism from Republicans. ---
SENATOR MITCH MCCONNELL (Senate Minority Leader): What we've seen is an unmitigated disaster, a stain on the reputation of the United States of America.
O’KEEFE: --- and Democrats.
REP. TOM MALINOWSKI (D-New Jersey): The question here is whether this is going to be Saigon or Dunkirk. Are we going to leave people behind as we did in south Vietnam or are we going to hold the beach until everybody is taken off that beach? I hope that it's the latter.
O’Keefe’s spin for Biden isn’t surprising. This is the same CBS journalist who claimed that “many” think Andrew Cuomo handled Covid “masterfully.”
The Biden spin on CBS was sponsored by Jeep and Tide. Click on the links to let them know what you think.
A transcript of the segment is below. Click “expand” to read more.
CBS This Morning
8/17/2021
7:06
TONY DOKOUPIL: President Biden defended his decision to withdraw the remaining U.S. troops from Afghanistan in his first public remarks on the Taliban takeover. The President blamed the government's collapse on the nation's leaders and military, saying they were unwilling to fight for their country. He spoke after hearing repeated accusations that his administration had abandoned Afghanistan's people. Ed O'Keefe is at the White House. Good morning. Ed, what else did the President say?
ED O’KEEFE: Tony, good morning to you. As the President explained his position, he said that as the fourth U.S. President to oversee military operations there, the country should have withdrawn far sooner.
JOE BIDEN: I stand squarely behind my decision.
O’KEEFE: President Biden defiantly defended his position defiantly to pull U.S. troops out of Afghanistan.
BIDEN: The truth is, this did unfold more quickly than we anticipated.
O’KEEFE: The President called Afghanistan’s collapse proof that no amount of military force could ever guarantee a stable regime. Recent CBS News polling shows 77 percent of Americans supported the U.S. withdrawal and Mr. Biden said he delivered on a campaign pledge to end the nearly 20-year conflict.
BIDEN: While it's been hard and messy and, yes, far from perfect, I've honored that commitment.
O’KEEFE: But Mr. Biden also blamed Afghan leaders and the Afghan military for failing to fight the Taliban.
BIDEN: American troops cannot, and should not, be fighting in a war and dying in a war Afghan forces are not willing to fight themselves.
O’KEEFE: President Biden has faced criticism from Republicans. ---
SENATOR MITCH MCCONNELL (Senate Minority Leader): What we've seen is an unmitigated disaster, a stain on the reputation of the United States of America.
O’KEEFE: --- and Democrats.
REP. TOM MALINOWSKI (D-New Jersey): The question here is whether this is going to be Saigon or Dunkirk. Are we going to leave people behind as we did in south Vietnam or are we going to hold the beach until everybody is taken off that beach? I hope that it's the latter.
O’KEEFE: Mr. Biden also offered some explanations for the evacuation’s scramble.
BIDEN: Part of it because the Afghan government discouraged us from organizing a mass exodus to avoid triggering, as they said, a crisis of confidence.
O’KEEFE: There was a notable statement overnight from former President George W. Bush, who ordered the invasion of Afghanistan nearly 20 years ago and last month criticized the U.S. withdrawal. He said in a statement with his wife, the former First Lady Laura Bush, that they've “watched the tragic events unfolding in Afghanistan with deep sadness.” Speaking about Afghans who are at the greatest risk because of the Taliban takeover, they said, “We have the responsibility and the resources to secure safe passage for them now without bureaucratic delay.” And the Bushes told those who served, “You kept America safe from further terror attacks, provided two decades of security for millions and made America proud.” Also notable that overnight the Democratic chairman of the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committee said they plan to hold hearings and investigations into how it is that Afghanistan collapsed so quickly. Anthony?
