This is Townhall's daily VIP feature, where we will focus coverage on the deeply flawed aspects of journalism in the nation. We'll look to bring accountability to the mishaps, misdeeds, manipulations, malpractice, and manufactured narratives in the mainstream media.
06.17.21 (Update)
News Avoidance Syndrome – VARIOUS OUTLETS
- To protect Biden, the press has to accuse Kaitlan Collins of placing words in President Biden's mouth – except there is that pesky official record…
The rehabilitation of Joe Biden's explosive remarks towards CNN's Kaitlan Collins continues, and many in the press are turning on the reporter in order to repair Joe's image. In order to lend justification to Biden's outburst, some are suggesting he was justified, as he was never heard saying he felt "confident" about Putin's reaction to the talks, as that was the part of Collins' question that set off the president.
Out of curiosity, is there a previous Biden quote where he says he is “so confident” about Putin changing his behavior, as Kaitlan Collins’ question implied? I didn’t see the whole presser
— Isaac Chotiner (@IChotiner) June 16, 2021
Not a fair question. Kind of a stupid question. Hard to tell if it was in good faith as she was quoting him on something he didn’t say but beyond that, sure. https://t.co/Dc31La4lZh
— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) June 16, 2021
One problem: Earlier in the day at the official press conference, President Biden did make remarks of that very nature. His diction was somewhat fractured, in the Joe Biden trademark style, but he did speak to being "confident" Putin realizes there are consequences, in response to a question about Russian interference in elections.
- "The end result was we ended up withdrawing — they went withdrawing ambassadors, and we closed down some of their facilities in the United States, et cetera. And he knows there are consequences."
- "Now, look, one of the consequences that I know — I don't know; I shouldn't say this; it's unfair of me — I suspect you may all think doesn’t matter, but I'm confidence [sic] it matters to him — confident it matter [sic] to him and other world leaders of big nations: his credibility worldwide shrinks."
Considering it is even included in the official White House record, we need to wonder why this is not properly researched.
Both Kinds Of Standards – CNN
- "It was different then because we hated that guy!"
Greg Kelly has the goods here, where last year Jake Tapper was full of praise and defense with Collins. The CNN White House reporter had a verbal disagreement with Kayleigh McEnany and managed to survive. Yesterday's abuse from Biden was far worse, but there was no such sympathy from her brethren this year, with a Democratic president who the press loves.
WOW! So @kaitlancollins was Harassed and Insulted by BIDEN, and no one gives a DAMN. Not even her. BUT when she had a “Minor Spat” with @kayleighmcenany, GRIEF COUNSELORS were on standby and they gave here the WOMAN OF THE CENTURY award. REMEMBER? pic.twitter.com/X8eXHzRYpO
— Greg Kelly (@gregkellyusa) June 17, 2021
DNC PR FIRM – MSNBC / Morning Joe
The number of risible comments from this panel discussion was impressive. There was Joe Scarborough declaring all of L.A.'s woes were due to a lack of public transportation, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez declaring that bipartisan passage of legislation would hurt inner-city people, and then Joe praising her restraint toward other politicians immediately after she basically accused Joe Manchin of illegal behavior.
Then there was Seth Moulton stating the broadest paradox when he announced about Manchin, "He's in a very powerful place right now in history and excited about that, but I think he's really out of touch with the times."
06.17.21 (Original)
Pre-Written Field Reports – MSNBC
- Mehdi Hasan has all the elements of this story in place, except the logic.
Hasan brings us the story of a family being murdered, allegedly because they were Muslims, and takes the predictable step that this was a result of Islamophobia. He then makes the expected leap (this being MSNBC, after all) that these murders are directly attributable to the Republicans and Donald Trump. Now, not only has the man been out of office for roughly half a year, there is one other massive stumbling block to Hasan's theory — the killing occurred in another country.
There is also the small matter that Trump has been blamed for the recent spate of antisemitic attacks, which kind of seems in opposition to anti-Muslim intolerance…but there I go injecting logic into the mix. Perhaps what has to be considered the most amusing move was Hasan railing against Islamophobia and listing off numerous recent examples of this hateful behavior that inspired this violence.
The first example he gives? It comes from congressional Democrats against Ilhan Omar.
"I'm so tired of having to point this out: Islamophobia matters. Islamophobia kills. Hate speech is a real thing with real-world consequences & if you think otherwise... maybe you should go talk to a 9-year-old orphan in Canada."
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) June 14, 2021
My commentary on @MSNBC:pic.twitter.com/8LVvOvc8eF
Legalized Press-titution – CNN
- Despite all the glaring examples, just take Jeff Zeleny at his word that Biden was masterful in Geneva.
Zeleny gives us a report, matching his on-camera appearances, that could not have been scripted better from Jen Psaki's office. The CNN White House reporter insists that the bumbling, wandering, inept-looking president has been on his A-game all week.
- "Biden was at last in his comfort zone. He carried himself with a seasoned air of confidence that new presidents seldom possess, a fluidity on the world stage that was among his biggest calling cards in his race for the White House."
Jeff also gave us an example of this seasoned confidence. Zeleny was even swooning over the most mundane of examples. "He certainly was comfortable in that moment, taking off his jacket, answering the questions from top foreign policy reporters in the audience that he doesn’t always call on." Imagine the impact. Trump would never take his jacket off!
But Zeleny slipped up and let some details out, defying the masterful image he was crafting.
“I have never seen a president… who is so protected by his aides in terms of often not wanting him to answer some questions.” -CNN on Biden. pic.twitter.com/isui7apjPZ
— The First (@TheFirstonTV) June 16, 2021
Both Kinds Of Standards – ABC NEWS
- Jonathan Karl goes full "It's different because we like him" mode in Geneva.
When a few people began pointing that President Biden, once again, had lashed out at the press in defiance of all the praise and wonderment he received for his positive attitude with the media, Jon Karl was not pleased. Then when pollster Frank Lutz dared to make the comparison to the previous president, it was too much to take. Karl had to rise up in defense of his president in classic goalpost shifting fashion.
“You never ask a positive question” is not the same as saying the press is “the enemy of the people”
— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) June 16, 2021
Stealth Story Evolution – VOX
- The problem with the knee-jerk defense of Biden is that your past positions always come back to bite you.
No one really expects Aaron Rupar to be consistent on the subject of...anything, but even for him, this was a beautiful self-own. He commented on the Biden exchange with CNN's Kaitlan Collins, going far enough in his defense to actually challenge Collins on her line of questioning. What makes this so perfect is that not only did Aaron have the complete opposite stance when it came to Trump, he did so in an episode involving Kaitlan Collins.
It’s so perfect I can’t stop laughing pic.twitter.com/IfmuwDssw2
— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) June 16, 2021
Matching Media Memorandum – VARIOUS OUTLETS
- When it comes to Trump, you cannot report on anything substantive he says.
Last night, Donald Trump gave an interview directly to Sean Hannity live on his evening program, and he spoke on a variety of subjects. Or did he? Many in the press who commented on the interview seemed intently focused on one thing only.
Trump on Fox drops a classic line about windmills killing “our birds"
— Sam Stein (@samstein) June 17, 2021
Trump was given a full half-hour on primetime TV to comment on the Biden-Putin summit and the current state of national politics and the most standout moment, by far, is him saying windmills "kill everything"https://t.co/pdjQ1rXRxm
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) June 17, 2021
“They’re making windmills all over the place. They kill our land and kill our birds. They kill everything,” Trump says of windmills on Hannity
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) June 17, 2021
Windmills. Kill. Everything.https://t.co/5WxCBdkyGu
— Chris Cillizza (@ChrisCillizza) June 17, 2021
It seems rather obvious why they were so focused on this aspect, considering Trump spent roughly one-third of the interview focused on Biden's decision to give Russia the Nordstream 2 pipeline. That narrative-busting detail is certainly something that needs to be bypassed in the discussion.
Glossary Over Things – MSNBC
In an op-ed, the network contributor and alleged comedian Dean Obeidallah looked at the proceedings with the Capitol riot and saw a flaw in the effort to hold the entire Republican Party accountable.
- "But as we heard during Tuesday’s hearing, Democrats continue to frame the events of Jan. 6 as an 'insurrection.' It's true that Jan. 6 does qualify as an insurrection as defined by federal law in that it was an attack 'against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof.' A dangerous side effect is that the use of the word "insurrection" has provided some Republicans with a chance to downplay the dangers posed by the Capitol riot."
This exposes the challenge for the accusers. As Obeidallah points out, Sen. Ron Jonson, R-Wis., in May, declared Jan. 6 was not an insurrection because there were not "thousands of armed insurrectionists breaching the Capitol intent on overthrowing the government." We heard a similar line from Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga.
This is the danger of using the term insurrection – it allows the Republicans to be accurate when defending themselves from the accusations.
