In the wake of Hillary Clinton’s campaign roping off members of the press at a 4th of July parade in New Hampshire, ABC’s This Week host George Stephanopoulos appeared on Sunday’s Good Morning America to proclaim: “...right now I think the Clinton campaign sees the press, in some ways, as their major opponent. They think that’s where a lot of the trouble is gonna come from.”
The former Clinton operative began by reciting spin from the Democratic front-runner’s campaign: “Well, the Clinton campaign had some fun with this. Nick Merrill, their spokesman, said, ‘The GOP may want to spin a good yarn on this, but let's not get tied up in knots.’ What they were saying is they were trying to make it easier for the press to actually be up on the parade grounds rather than in preset locations.”
Stehanopoulos briefly added: “But the image was horrible, no question about that.”
His remarks were prompted by co-host Dan Harris seeking to downplay the incident: “So what does this say about her relationship with the media and does that relationship really matter?” Wrapping up the exchange moments later, Harris acknowledged that it was “an unfortunate image” but “practically valuable” for Clinton.
At nearly the same time on NBC’s Today, Meet the Press host Chuck Todd was declaring how he was “sympathetic” to the Clinton campaign restricting press access.
Unlike Todd – who skipped the story on Meet the Press – Stephanopoulos did include a brief seconds-long report on This Week. Correspondent Cecilia Vega observed: “Reporters roped off as Clinton walked in a parade. This is not the image that the candidate wants as she is trying to show that she’s more accessible than the last time she ran.”
However, like Stephanopoulos, she touted: “Clinton campaign spokesman Nick Merrill did have a really funny response out there, saying that, ‘While the GOP may want to spin a good yarn on this, let's not get tied up in knots.’ They say the move actually allowed reporters to have a little bit more flexibility on that parade route rather than being locked down in one location.”
CBS’s Face the Nation also covered the rope line controversy, with host John Dickerson wondering: “Does that matter or only to us who are trying to actually get the candidate to answer something substantive?” Peter Baker of The New York Times responded:
Yeah, it sort of reinforces our role as the herd. You know, it's unfortunate for her because I think it definitely provides an image that looks scripted, that looks controlled, that looks keeping her away from any questions that might actually trip her up. She's a very, very cautious candidate at the moment. She’s not out there answering a lot of questions. You saw that picture of Jeb Bush just kind of like wading into the crowd. And even if the questions are uncomfortable, he’s gonna answer them. She has not given that impression and the rope doesn't help, that image. This is a small thing, but it definitely feeds into a narrative.
Here is a transcript of Stephanopoulos’s remarks on the July 5 GMA:
8:10 AM ET
(...)
DAN HARRIS: Let's go over to the Democratic side, there's an image from Hillary Clinton's campaigning in New Hampshire yesterday. She's marching in a campaign – in a parade in New Hampshire and the press, she’s got the press in tow, but they're held back by a rope held by members of her campaign staff. So what does this say about her relationship with the media and does that relationship really matter?
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Reporters Held Back by Hillary Camp; Photos of Rope Line Go Viral]
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, the Clinton campaign had some fun with this. Nick Merrill, their spokesman, said, “The GOP may want to spin a good yarn on this, but let's not get tied up in knots.” What they were saying is they were trying to make it easier for the press to actually be up on the parade grounds rather than in preset locations. But the image was horrible, no question about that. Even though Bernie Sanders has been doing incredibly well in the last week, drawing thousands at various rallies across the country, right now I think the Clinton campaign sees the press, in some ways, as their major opponent. They think that’s where a lot of the trouble is gonna come from. But they’re just trying to ride it out, despite those unfortunate images.
HARRIS: An unfortunate image, although they say practically valuable. George, thank you.
(...)
