On Thursday, Americans awoke to yet another sign our economy was barreling toward a recession caused by reckless government spending and 40-year-high inflation as the U.S. Commerce Department reported that the U.S. economy grew at a pathetic 1.1 percent in the first quarter of 2023. This was well below the two percent growth economists were expecting, and a far cry from the 2.6 percent GDP growth in the final quarter of 2022. Given this news was released just days after President Joe Biden kicked off his 2024 reelection campaign touting his belief that he's "never been more optimistic about America's future," it was predictable that the "big three" evening news broadcasts would ignore the fact that Biden's economy was teetering on recession.
While millions of Americans were struggling to afford basic necessities due to sky-high inflation, and living in constant fear of losing their jobs, ABC's World News Tonight, CBS Evening News, and NBC Nightly News, all wasted time on local weather reports, and news that anti-American athlete Brittney Griner held a press conference to discuss her experience in a Russian prison after breaking the law by bringing illegal drugs into a foreign country.
In contrast, Fox News Channel's Special Report reported on the anemic GDP numbers when noting Biden's cratering approval numbers on the economy. "Fox News polls show voter concerns about the economy are more pervasive. 78 percent rating the economy negatively after today's GDP report came in below expectations with sluggish growth at an annual rate of 1.1 percent for the first quarter," Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich reported.
She then read Biden's out-of-touch statement on the economic figures: "We learned that the American economy remains strong as it transitions to steady and stable growth." These comments from Biden, according to Heinrich are "out of sync with how many really feel."
American Action Forum economist Douglas Holtz-Eakin noted during the Special Report segment that "one of the great misperceptions about the Biden record is that somehow he inherited a struggling economy. We were growing 6.5 percent. And all those massive stimulus bills did was ingendering inflation that we haven't seen in 40 years."
This bias by omission from the three networks was made possible by Angi on ABC, Red Lobster on CBS, and Salonpas on NBC. Their information is linked.
The transcript is below:
FNC’s Special Report
4/27/2023
6:05:18 p.m. EasternJACQUI HEINRICH: But Fox News polls show voter concerns about the economy are more pervasive. 78 percent rating the economy negatively after today's GDP report came in below expectations with sluggish growth at an annual rate of 1.1 percent for the first quarter. Biden says 'we learned that the American economy remains strong as it transitions to steady and stable growth.' A claim out of sync with how many really feel.
DOUGLAS HOLTZ-EAKIN (AMERICAN ACTION FORUM): One of the great misperceptions about the Biden record is that somehow he inherited a struggling economy. We were growing 6.5 percent. And all those massive stimulus bills did was ingendering inflation that we haven't seen in 40 years.
