Monday’s CBS Mornings aired a scathing report on Argentina’s new president-elect, Javier Milei, in which senior political correspondent Ed O’Keefe shamelessly smeared Milei from every angle imaginable.
Co-anchor Tony Dokoupil led off the segment with a hearty dose of well-poisoning:
Argentina is waking up to a new president, one who has the stamp of approval from Donald Trump. Coming from the far right Javier Milei won a convincing victory in yesterday's presidential election with a promise to sharply cut government spending and tackle the country's worst economic crisis in decades. Says he'll bring a chainsaw to the economy. In fact, he brought a chainsaw to many of his campaign rallies as a prop. Also, he cloned his dog, that’s what he’s known for. Ed O’Keefe has this strange story.
The CBS segment alone was a doozy, but for a general sense of how the entire corporate media are coping with Milei (not very well at all), watch this compilation:
In twenty short seconds, Doukopil tied Milei to Trump (akin to political cancer in journalist world), smeared him as far-right (a synonym for “bad”), and painted him as an unhinged, chainsaw-wielding mad scientist. That’s a lot of stealth editorializing for just the introduction to a news report, but O’Keefe’s portion was no less derisive.
O’Keefe repeated the far-right smear, in case some viewers hadn’t caught on that CBS was instructing them to dislike Milei. He then portrayed the new president-elect as an inexperienced buffoon at the helm of a massive and precarious economy: “Milei, far right economist and television personality, joined the political fray just three years ago. Now, he’s in charge of the third largest economy in Latin America as it teeters on the edge of disaster.”
This is the same angle we just saw in a Washington Post piece, which blamed the election of a “Trump-like radical” with “no governing experience” on an irrational “wave of voter rage.” Because, as all good journalists know, right-wing candidates only win by appealing to the irrational negative emotions of clueless voters.
O’Keefe continued: “[Milei] became known for his unorthodox showmanship during the campaign, wielding at a chain saw to symbolize his war on government spending, threatening vital public services…”
Vital according to whom, Ed?
… and printing a picture of a U.S. Dollar bill with his face on it — part of a widely criticized campaign to use the U.S. Dollar as Argentina's currency.
Widely criticized by whom, Ed?
The self-described anarcho-capitalist has also advocated for eliminating the country's central bank. Milei's controversial tirades against the political class have drawn comparisons to former president Jair Bolsonaro, as well as former President Donald Trump.
Controversial to whom, Ed?
You get the idea.
O’Keefe was employing a rather pernicious form of circular reporting, in which journalists all air the same series of grievances in unison, and then cite that unified whining as proof that the subject of their reporting has been “widely criticized.”
The result is a false perception by viewers that “this is what everybody thinks,” when in reality, “everybody” is merely a bunch of talking heads wringing their hands in front of teleprompters because somebody they personally dislike has attained political power in a country they’re not from.
For a full transcript of the segment, click "expand" below:
CBS Mornings
November 20, 2023
8:14 — 8:16 a.m. ETTONY DOKOUPIL: Argentina is waking up to a new president, one who has the stamp of approval from Donald Trump. Coming from the far right Javier Milei won a convincing victory in yesterday's presidential election with a promise to sharply cut government spending and tackle the country's worst economic crisis in decades. Says he'll bring a chainsaw to the economy. In fact, he brawn a chainsaw to many of his campaign rallies as a prop. Also, he cloned his dog, that’s what he’s known for. Ed O’Keefe has this strange story.
ED O’KEEFE: A massive political shakeup in Argentina. Javier Milei, far right economist and television personality, joined the political fray just three years ago. Now, he's in charge of the third largest economy in Latin America as it teeters on the edge of disaster.
Milei rode to power on a wave of popular discontent over a stagnating economy with 40% poverty rate, and inflation nearing 140%. This woman said she supports Milei because she's looking for change in Argentina, a country she says has been suffering from years of decadence.
He became known for his unorthodox showmanship during the campaign, wielding at a chain saw to symbolize his war on government spending, threatening vital public services, and printing a picture of a U.S. Dollar bill with his face on it. Part of a widely criticized campaign to use the U.S. Dollar as Argentina's currency.
The self-described anarcho-capitalist has also advocated for eliminating the country's central bank. Milei's controversial tirades against the political class have drawn comparisons to former president Jair Bolsonaro, as well as former President Donald Trump, who sent congratulations to Milei on Truth Social saying, he will “make Argentina great again.”
