The Manhattan trial of Donald Trump on “hush money” charges drew hundreds of minutes of TV obsession this week. The pro-Biden media is now enjoying talking about a “split screen” of Trump stuck in court on trial, President Biden on the campaign trail. ABC morning host Michael Strahan reported on Trump “test[ing] the patience of the judge while President Biden hits the campaign trails in a battleground state.”
Meanwhile, the impeachment of Homeland Security Mayorkas was briefly covered and derided as a partisan stunt. George Stephanopoulos called it a “partisan” impeachment, unlike his salesmanship for the Trump impeachments.
Managing Editor Curtis Houck has the details and clips. Reporters from ABC’s Mary Bruce to CBS’s Nancy Cordes helpfully spun for Biden’s campaign stops in Pennsylvania, where Biden said he’s a Scranton guy who understands the middle class, while Trump is a clueless rich guy working for the rich guys.
This split screen is exactly what the Democrats want — Trump pinned in the courtroom, Biden making weird clips in Wawa that are carefully staged to sell he’s “with it.” The music and lyrics suggest Trump has engaged in “hush money” payments to a porn star and is now caught in a “criminal fraud” trial, while Biden is the honest guy searching out the common man. It’s not “news,” it’s messaging. They can’t find time to cover Biden making bizarre gaffes like his implication that his Uncle Ambrose was eaten by cannibals when his plane crashed in World War II.
Rich Noyes posted a study on NewsBusters on Monday showing that ABC, CBS, and NBC usually avoid mentioning that Trump’s prosecutors (like Alvin Bragg in this case, or Letitia James and Fani Willis in others) are elected Democrats seeking to build their brand by “getting Trump.” NBC occasionally mentions the “D,” but ABC and CBS seem allergic to it. Overall, 90 percent of stories have no party label. Instead, they just show Trump complaining it’s “rigged,” as that’s an unfounded complaint about public-spirited nonpartisans who hold powerful people accountable.
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