On Monday night House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) lashed out at CBS on Twitter for how they sliced and diced his interview on Sunday's Face The Nation. He tweeted about how CBS edited out five "important minutes" out of a 15-minute interview -- and he exposed the video edits. If anyone thought these shows were live, this ruins that idea.
I recently traveled to NC and victims of Hurricane Helene told me nearly two weeks after landfall, the Biden-Harris Administration had STILL not provided them with all the resources they desperately needed.
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) October 15, 2024
But CBS selectively edited OUT ENTIRELY this first-hand perspective. pic.twitter.com/ZjO5LWdtsM
The CBS transcript shows what they edited out [and the viewer wouldn't notice during the broadcast because it's edited where the shot changes to a full-screen shot of Johnson]:
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, the FEMA Director says there's only $11 billion left from that $20 billion that was allocated. So that's a different accounting than this 2% you say was distributed.
SPEAKER JOHNSON: Yeah. So they've obligated some funds, but they've only distributed 2%, [and when I was there on the ground, and you should go, I mean, bring the cameras and talk to the people there, they'll tell you, don't- don't take politicians words for this or the administration's word, talk to the people there on the ground they had not been provided the resources almost two weeks out from the storm that they desperately needed. And when I was there 13 days, post- you know, post the storm hitting that state, people are still being rescued. They're stuck in the higher elevations in the mountains because the roads are down and all the rest. So they need every- every available resource and all hands on deck.] The rescue and recovery efforts are still going on, and then we address the rest of it. But FEMA was slow to respond. They did not do the job that we all expect and hope that they will do, and there's going to be a lot of assessment about that as well in the days ahead.
That wasn't the only edit. When Johnson said there was going to be "some cheating" in this election, Brennan pounced. CBS didn't want to spread any notion that Republicans are the ones for election integrity.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You know that it is against–
SPEAKER JOHNSON: Glenn Youngkin, the governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia --
BRENNAN: The law for noncitizens to vote in federal elections that's established law.
JOHNSON: Of course it is, of course it is, but of course it is. But here's the problem, there's a number of states that are not requiring proof of citizenship when illegals are noncitizens register to vote. We know that's happening. [Look, Glenn Youngkin in Virginia, I was going to say he issued an executive order to clean up their voting rules heading into the election. Less than 30 days out, a couple of days ago, the Obama, I mean, the Biden administration, Department of Justice, Biden Harris administration, sued the governor and the state, the Commonwealth of Virginia, to try to prevent them from cleaning up their voter rolls. Their voter rolls. See, that kind of thing creates a lot of doubt and concern in the minds of a lot of the American people. Why would they do that?]
BRENNAN: But respectfully, Speaker –
JOHNSON: Everybody should want the law to be followed.
The biggest removal of Johnson's argument came shortly after, when Brennan suggested Johnson was undermining the integrity of elections by suggesting non-citizens will vote!
The Biden-Harris Admin let millions of illegal aliens in our country.
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) October 15, 2024
So, the House passed the SAVE Act to ensure only American citizens vote in American elections.
CBS edited that out and focused on 2020 instead of immediate threats to election integrity. pic.twitter.com/gXa07XFt8k
CBS didn't want any discussion of a "SAVE Act," or how Chuck Schumer and the Democrats oppose any attempt to insure illegal immigrants don't vote.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Respectfully, Speaker, you both, in the course of this interview, said that you do believe that states have taken measures that will help the integrity of this election
SPEAKER JOHNSON: That's true-
BRENNAN: – and then you just also seem to undermine confidence in the integrity of the state elections–
JOHNSON: No, no. Margaret. Hold on. Wait a minute. Wait, wait just a minute. It's not me undermining it. It's the actions of the Biden-Harris administration and some of these states. Noncitizens are not allowed to vote under federal law.
[BRENNAN: Right
JOHNSON: But the states have prohibited it. We passed the SAVE act. You know, in the house, the SAVE Act says you gotta have proof of citizenship before you register to vote. And Chuck Schumer and the Democrats blocked that in the Senate. We could have prevented this, the questions that people have about that, but the Democrats chose not to. They opened the border wide. A lot of people theorize that that was so that they could have non citizens to vote. These are realities, Margaret. I wish it weren't true, but that's what's, that's the concern that people have. And Wisconsin– [CROSSTALK]
BRENNAN: – But, but. People can have lots of concerns, but it is already law that noncitizens cannot vote in federal elections.
JOHNSON: It is a law. That's correct, but we have to make sure the law is followed. And that is the whole point. That has always been the whole point of the SAVE Act and all the measures that we've tried to ensure. I believe, by my count, we have about 16 million illegal aliens in the country since Mayorkas and Harris and Biden opened the border wide. And because of that, there's concern, because those people are distributed all around the country, as you know, there's concern some of those people will try to participate in the elections.
Look, some of our House races. I believe the Republicans are going to win the House, grow the House majority, win the Senate and the White House. But in some of our House races, I mean, I have a colleague who was elected by six votes in 2020. Some of these are decided by hundreds or a few 1000s of votes. So if you have non citizens participating against the law, and you have no mechanism in some states to stop it. That is the root of so much of the concern. And of course, you know, in California, they have ballot harvesting right? Ballot harvesting is notorious for opening the door for fraud in Wisconsin, they're going to put—
BRENNAN: — Mr. Speaker, you seem to be
JOHNSON: – In some counties unmanned ballot boxes in public parks, again
BRENNAN: Contradicting yourself. The states are run by the state government–
JOHNSON: No. I'm stating the facts, Margaret.
BRENNAN: – Not the federal government.
JOHNSON: That's right. That's correct. And that's yeah we hope and pray- ]
BRENNAN: So if your issue is with certain governors, shouldn't you be talking to them?
JOHNSON: We have been- we have been and the Republican governors have done heroic work. They've done their own audits of the voter rolls to try to ensure and do their best duty to make sure that this is a free, fair and legal election. We're calling on all the governors to do the same thing, Democrat governors as well, and Democrat led states in the legislature, they need to do the same thing.
Does anyone at CBS realize this is why most Americans don't trust the media? Their sneaky editing isn't going to look partisan and unethical? Brennan responded by blandly tweeting out the full transcript was posted. But CBS would make us underline where the edits are!
