Washington Post associate editor Jonathan Capehart unleashed a real headscratcher on Friday’s PBS NewsHour as he took exception to the idea that Democrats are trying to kick Donald Trump off the ballot, declaring such claims to be “untrue” and Democrats have “nothing to do with” the efforts. Don’t expect Glenn Kessler to fact-check this one.
Host Amna Nawaz led Capehart by reading a quote from the Trump Campaign, “They say in a statement from Steven Cheung, Mr. Trump's spokesman: ‘We welcome a fair hearing at the Supreme Court.’ They argue this is a bad faith election interfering, voter suppressing argument to remove him from the ballot. I'm paraphrasing here. And, at the end, they say, ‘We are confident the fair-minded Supreme Court will unanimously affirm the civil rights of President Trump,’ basically allowing him to remain on the ballot. Jonathan.”
Capehart thought Nawaz’s paraphrasing was insufficient, “The one phrase you left out in your summation in the election interfering, voter suppressing, Democrat-backed and Biden-led 14th Amendment-abusing decision, blah, blah, blah. I focus on that, because that is untrue.”
He further added, “These challenges are being brought by Republicans in those states challenging his — Trump's ability to be on the Republican primary ballot. This is — this has nothing to do with Democrats. I mean, Democrats are surely cheering what's happening, but they're not the driving force behind this. And the former president doesn't want to go there, doesn't even touch it, tries to reverse it, and put it on Democrats, when the call is coming from within his own party.”
Fact check: the four justices who voted to kick Trump off the ballot in Colorado were appointed by Democrats and the lawsuit was brought by the liberal group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Maine’s secretary of state is a Democrat. Democrats in New York are trying to pressure the Board of Elections to disqualify Trump. Meanwhile, the liberal group Free Speech for People has tried to keep Trump off the ballot in Michigan, Oregon, and Minnesota. A Democratic activist in Wisconsin tried to do the same while various California Democrats, including the state’s lieutenant governor, have tried without success to remove Trump from the ballot.
Here is a transcript for the January 5 show:
PBS NewsHour
1/5/2024
7:34 PM ET
AMNA NAWAZ: Well, I want to read to you part of a statement we have just gotten from the Trump campaign and, Jonathan, get your reaction to what David just said and to this.
They say in a statement from Steven Cheung, Mr. Trump's spokesman: "We welcome a fair hearing at the Supreme Court." They argue this is a bad faith election interfering, voter suppressing argument to remove him from the ballot. I'm paraphrasing here. And, at the end, they say, "We are confident the fair-minded Supreme Court will unanimously affirm the civil rights of President Trump," basically allowing him to remain on the ballot. Jonathan.
JONATHAN CAPEHART: The one phrase you left out in your summation in the election interfering, voter suppressing, Democrat-backed and Biden-led 14th Amendment-abusing decision, blah, blah, blah.
I focus on that, because that is untrue. These challenges are being brought by Republicans in those states challenging his — Trump's ability to be on the Republican primary ballot. This is — this has nothing to do with Democrats. I mean, Democrats are surely cheering what's happening, but they're not the driving force behind this.
And the former president doesn't want to go there, doesn't even touch it, tries to reverse it, and put it on Democrats, when the call is coming from within his own party.
