ABC, CBS, and NBC all covered Wednesday morning the bipartisan censure of far-left Congresswoman and Squad member Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) for her deep-seated hatred of Israel and anti-Semitic rhetoric, most recently posting a video with pro-Hamas supporters chanting “from the river to the sea.”
But while they noted the dangerous rhetoric, they tried to equivocate with plenty of “both sides” talk about the Israel-Hamas war and fretting the vote made for “[d]ramatic and emotional scenes” with Tlaib giving “an impassioned speech” while having “fought back tears.”
CBS Mornings co-host Nate Burleson couldn’t have been anymore milquetoast in the “Eye Opener”: “Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib is censured in a bipartisan vote for invoking a slogan typically used to promote the destruction of Israel.”
Co-host and Democratic donor Gayle King tried to excuse Tlaib’s years of hate for Jews, fretting “[t]he war in Gaza has angered many Americans and led to public protests supporting one side or the other” and such “emotions overflowed last night” as the House “censure[d] the only member of Congress with Palestinian roots.”
“Tlaib has repeatedly denounced Israel’s military response to the deadly attack by Hamas a month ago,” King added.
“Repeatedly denounced”? That’s what you’d say about two groups debating the levels of the U.S. intervention if, say, China invades Taiwan, not someone who’s shared anti-Semitic cartoons and said the Holocaust was “calming” to her (while expressing little sympathy for Israeli victims of the October 7 attacks).
Congressional correspondent Nikole Killion also rallied, bemoaning that the censure was proof “this conflict is forcing many people and lawmakers to take sides.”
Noting Tlaib “fought back tears...for her stance on the Israel-Hamas war” (which, again, seems offensively pedestrian), Killion implied Tlaib was a victim: “Tlaib is the only Palestinian-American in Congress and one of two Muslim women in the House.”
Killion continued, using the frequently used “critics say” line to describe an actual fact about the meaning of “from the river to the sea” in hopes that Israel be annihilated (click “expand”):
KILLION: She had increasingly come under fire since the October 7 attack and was accused of promoting false narratives and anti-Semitic rhetoric. In a recent social media post, she invoked the phrase “from the river to the sea”, which critics say is a veiled reference to the eradication of Israel.
CONGRESSMAN RICH MCCORMICK (R-GA): The river is the Jordan River, and the sea is the Mediterranean. This is a call for the complete destruction of Israel.
KILLION: While Tlaib called it “an aspirational call for freedom”, it drew condemnation from both sides of the aisle with 22 Democrats joining to support the GOP-led resolution to punish Tlaib.
NBC’s Today only had a 34-second news brief via co-host Savannah Guthrie. For her part, Guthrie dispassionately reported the facts, but vaguely said 22 Democrats joined Republicans (except four, who voted no) to subpoena Tlaib for “remarks related to the Israel/Hamas war.”
Guthrie only framed Tlaib’s offenses as alleged:
The resolution accuses her of promoting false narratives surrounding Hamas’s attack on Israel. It also cites her use of the phrase from the river to the sea, which is regarded as a call for the eradication of Israel as a Jewish state. She has defended that phrase, saying it is an aspirational call for freedom not death or destruction for Jewish people.
Incredibly, it was ABC’s Good Morning America co-host and former Clinton official George Stephanopoulos who came through with the stones to be unequivocal: “Overnight, the House voted to censor Rashida Tlaib for incendiary comments she’s made about Israel and the October 7 attack by Hamas. Nearly two dozen Democrats joined Republicans in rebuking the only Palestinian-American in Congress.”
Senior national correspondent Terry Moran, however, wasn’t as he framed the vote as “[d]ramatic and emotional” with the censure “focused on a social media post that Tlaib had made, calling — accusing President Biden of ‘genocide’ and including a video with the chant Pales — Pales — ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ a rallying cry that Hamas uses that expresses its desire for the eradication of Jewish state of Israel.”
Before wrapping with the fact that a censure isn’t explusion and won’t prevent her from serving, Moran gave Tlaib’s excuses room to run:
Tlaib defended herself on the floor of the House. In an impassioned speech, she said, to her, that phrase represented “an aspirational call for freedom, for human rights, and co-existence" and neared tears as she declared, “Palestinian people are not disposable.”
Not surprisingly, none of the networks mentioned that the lead sponsor of the bill, Congressman Rich McCormick (R-GA), had to close his district office because of threats to him and his staff.
To see the relevant transcripts from November 8, click here (for ABC), here (for CBS), and here (for NBC).
