As the presidential election kicks into high gear, CBS Saturday Morning hit the road to seek the opinions of a group of people who will have zero impact on the results: the British, and more specifically, Brits who think Donald Trump is a racist and a misogynist.
Michelle Miller kicked off the segment by reporting that “as Donald Trump has emerged as the likely Republican presidential nominee, Europe is increasingly watching with trepidation. The head of NATO says Trump is weakening the alliance, as president, Trump bristled at NATO allies, and now as a candidate has said he'd encourage Russia to do what it wants to a NATO country that isn't meeting its defense spending benchmarks. Holly Williams looks at how Europe and the U.K. are preparing for the possibility of a second Trump presidency.”
Miller was probably referring to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s February remarks where he warned that not explicitly promising to come to a NATO member’s aid weakens the alliance, but Miller was also cherry-picking. Stoltenberg has also repeatedly praised Trump’s ability to get the Europeans to increase their defense budgets while rebutting the hysterical claims from Trump’s critics that his election would be catastrophic for NATO.
As for Williams’s pre-recorded man on the street segment, it began with a woman claiming that “he needs to be civilized. You know, you don’t, mob rule shouldn't be allowed to do things like that.”
In a voiceover, Williams claimed that “in Europe, a second Trump presidency is viewed by many with fear and loathing.”
A second woman claimed of a second Trump term, “I think it will be absolutely horrendous. I think it will be dreadful,” while a third asked, “Why would anybody else vote for him again?”
Meanwhile, a man asserted, “He just seems to be relatively misogynistic, racist, and anti-immigration on the whole, which isn't great.”
Williams replied, “So, not a fan?” and the man affirmed that he was “not a fan.” Williams also recalled that “according to a recent poll, over 70 percent of people in the U.K. have an unfavorable view of Donald Trump.”
If viewers were hoping for a similar segment full of Israeli men and women on the street discussing their U.S. presidential preferences, CBS was not going to give it to them.
Here is a transcript for the April 20 show:
CBS Saturday Morning
4/20/2024
8:17 AM ET
MICHELLE MILLER: As Donald Trump has emerged as the likely Republican presidential nominee, Europe is increasingly watching with trepidation. The head of NATO says Trump is weakening the alliance, as president, Trump bristled at NATO allies, and now as a candidate has said he'd encourage Russia to do what it wants to a NATO country that isn't meeting its defense spending benchmarks. Holly Williams looks at how Europe and the U.K. are preparing for the possibility of a second Trump presidency.
WOMAN: He needs to be civilized. You know, you don’t, mob rule shouldn't be allowed to do things like that.
HOLLY WILLIAMS: In Europe a second Trump presidency is viewed by many with fear and loathing.
WOMAN 2: I think it will be absolutely horrendous. I think it will be dreadful.
WOMAN 3: With money, [unintelligible], everything, just, why would anybody else vote for him again?
MAN: He just seems to be relatively misogynistic, racist, and anti-immigration on the whole, which isn't great.
WILLIAMS: So, not a fan?
MAN: Not a fan.
WILLIAMS: According to a recent poll, over 70 percent of people in the U.K. have an unfavorable view of Donald Trump.
