PBS surely knows that Democrat majorities in the House and Senate will lunge to restore taxpayer funding for "public" broadcasting. They never stopped promoting the Democrats even as President Trump and the Republicans moved to defund them. They didn't change their partisan approach at all. The same was true of PBS coverage on Tuesday.
Even on an election night that would eventually delight its liberal audience, PBS News Hour was still looking for a "democracy in danger" spin in its opening seconds, turning to Plutocrats United author Rich Hasen for the doomspeak:
BIAS in the first minute of PBS tonight: Amna Nawaz: “The Department of Justice took unprecedented steps heading into this election. A look at its effort to change voter rolls and even block some results.” “Plutocrats United” author Rick Hasen, on Alaska: “Even if there is not an attempt to interfere with actually how the election is run, there could be further potential criminal liability or at least attempted criminal liability down the line, and that in itself is dangerous to democracy.”
— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) November 4, 2026
A little later, Amna Nawaz warmly greeted outgoing Rep. Nancy Pelosi, but wondered if Abdul El-Sayed would be hurt by the late-breaking endorsement of Mike Rogers by Rep. Haley Stevens. Pelosi projected a "landslide" in Michigan, but Abdul won by seven points. PBS could stand for the Pelosi Broadcasting Service. (Recall PBS anchor Geoff Bennett slobbering over her in California.)
Pelosi: "By all reports I have from Michigan, and we have House races there too...it's going to be a LANDSLIDE in Michigan. We will win that Senate seat in Michigan. Unfortunately, and with all the respect of the world that I have for my FORMER colleague Haley Stevens, this distraction from what we should be talking about is what are the Democrats going to do when they win….The Democrats will win big in Michigan!"
— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) November 4, 2026
David Brooks, who now identifies himself as the rightward tendency of the Democrat Party (like there is such a thing?), expressed delight at how the Democrats are presenting themselves as religious folks, and never mind their actual hardline on abortion and the LGBTQ agenda:
David Brooks doing Happy Talk: "Over the past couple of years or cycles, the Democrats have done a better job of being religious. Raphael Warnock in Georgia led the way, but now we see Talarico in Texas. El-Sayed talked about his faith. I got to know Adam Hamilton 10 or 15 years ago when he invited me to his church, which looks like a big basketball arena…. He has “a great story to tell” of finding faith, and he’s done great things, like getting his flock to write thank-you notes to local teachers, great “civic action.”
— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) November 4, 2026
In the 10pm Eastern hour, Geoff Bennett was pleased that the danger of embracing the word "socialism" is fading with the young voters:
PBS host Geoff Bennett: “it was not that long ago to be called a socialist in this country was a political death sentence. Now you have a younger generation of Democrats who are embracing this Democrat socialist title. It does not make sense to a lot of people who have come up through the traditional ranks of politics and have covered politics for the last 20, 30 years.” Kimberly Atkins Stohr: “You are putting your finger on it. You have young people who don't have these kinds of associations but what they are seeing is the people, some of the candidated were calling themselves socialists are talking about the things they want to hear. They are talking about ensuring that people can afford to live. They are talking about housing costs. They are talking about the things they want to hear so that is on a dirty word to them.”
— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) November 4, 2026
These were but a few of the partisan moments on Election Night on PBS. They're an ideologically reliable source for the Left. They deserved defunding, but they're obviously gearing up for a re-funding.
