Half an hour prior to the start of yet another divisively partisan speech from President Joe Biden, ABC's World News Tonight and CBS Evening News hyped Biden's speech and sought to regurgitate his talking points that the current Republican Party is a threat to democracy. It should be noted that both ABC & CBS took Biden's wild claims at face value and made no efforts to fact-check him.
Kicking off the broadcast for ABC, anchor David Muir announced that "President Biden now set to deliver a speech on democracy in our country, preserving democracy in the wake of the attack on Paul Pelosi and other threats. The escalating rhetoric across the country."
Turning to senior White House correspondent Mary Bruce, Muir wanted a preview of what it is that Biden was about to say. Bruce repeated Biden's propaganda without any criticism or fact-checking: "the President is going to make it crystal clear what is at stake in this election. He is pointing out that there are candidates running for every office, every level of office in this country, who will not commit to accepting the results of the very elections they are running in," Bruce proclaimed.
Continuing to editorialize, Bruce said that "in the wake on January 6 and just days after the attack on Paul Pelosi, the President is speaking about the importance of this moment, saying, in a typical year, we are not often faced with the question of whether the vote we cast will preserve democracy or put it at risk. But we are this year."
She then attempted to pass off Biden's attempt to preempt the coming criticism and skepticism of the slow process of counting election results: "the President is also reminding every American that it could take several days to get the final results, saying, that is the system working."
Meanwhile, on CBS Evening News, anchor Norah O'Donnell tried her hardest to carry water for the Biden administration:
Tonight, President Biden is calling on all Americans to stand up to protect our democracy amid the threats that election deniers pose to the voting process. The White House says the President is seeking to find common ground with voters that our country's future is more important than our political parties.
During her report, correspondent Nancy Cordes repeated Biden's irresponsible claims of looming chaos. "Tonight, according to his prepared remarks President Biden is going to argue that conspiracy theories and election lies could once again spark chaos the way they did on January 6," she said.
This biased coverage by the evening networks was made possible by Liberty Mutual on ABC & Prevagen on CBS. Their information is linked.
To read the relevant transcripts click "expand":
ABC’s World News Tonight
11/2/2022
6:31:01 p.m. EasternDAVID MUIR: Tonight, we have learned President Biden now set to deliver a speech on democracy in our country, preserving democracy in the wake of the attack on Paul Pelosi and other threats. The escalating rhetoric across the country. So let's bring in our senior White House correspondent Mary Bruce live at the White House. Mary's learned some of what the President will say tonight. What have you learned, Mary?
MARY BRUCE: David, the President is going to make it crystal clear what is at stake in this election. He is pointing out that there are candidates running for every office, every level of office in this country, who will not commit to accepting the results of the very elections they are running in. Biden warning, quote, that is the path to chaos in America. It's unprecedented.
It's unlawful. And it is un-American. Saying, you can't only love your country only when you win. Now in the wake on January 6 and just days after the attack on Paul Pelosi, the President is speaking about the importance of this moment, saying, in a typical year, we are not often faced with the question of whether the vote we cast will preserve democracy or put it at risk. But we are this year. And the President is also reminding every American that it could take several days to get the final results, saying, that is the system working.
CBS Evening News
11/2/2022
6:30:23 p.m. EasternNORAH O’DONNELL: Tonight, we've got a lot of news to cover. With less than a week to go before election day, President Biden making a surprise speech tonight, saying the future of democracy depends on your vote.
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Folks, this ain't your father's Republican Party.
O'DONNELL: President Biden and former President Obama argue the future of America is at stake. CBS' Nancy Cordes reports on why the attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband inspired the speech.
[...]
O'DONNELL: Tonight, President Biden is calling on all Americans to stand up to protect our democracy amid the threats that election deniers pose to the voting process. The White House says the President is seeking to find common ground with voters that our country's future is more important than our political parties. All this is taking place as the House continues to investigate the January 6 attack on the capitol in which thousands attempted to interfere with the verification of the 2020 presidential election.
And it comes just days after the alleged attempted murder of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband by an attacker who broke into their San Francisco home with the intent to kidnap her. And with just six days until the midterms, a number of Republican candidates suggest they would not accept the results unless they are declared the winner.
[...]
NANCY CORDES: White House officials say that the President had been intending to return to this topic for weeks but that the issue took on added urgency after the attack on Paul Pelosi. Republicans argue it's simply an attempt to change the subject and demonize them in the closing stretch of a rough campaign.
[...]
CORDES: Two years after the 2020 election, there is still no evidence of systematic voting problems. And tonight, according to his prepared remarks President Biden is going to argue that conspiracy theories and election lies could once again spark chaos the way they did on January 6.
