On Thursday, ABC’s Good Morning America and CBS This Morning eagerly promoted the Democratic National Committee going after Jeb Bush for comments he made about the need to create a workforce with more full-time employees rather than underemployed workers.
In a segment devoted to the latest backlash surrounding Donald Trump’s controversial comments about Mexican immigrants, ABC’s Tom Llamas insisted that the billionaire was “trippling down on his immigration rhetoric” “[t]his as Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush on the defense after making this statement in New Hampshire.”
GMA co-host George Stephanopoulos introduced the segment in a similar way, as he made sure to tie in Bush’s comments about the need for a 40-hour work week with the backlash Trump has faced recently:
It's time for “Your Voice, Your Vote” now and more headlines for Donald Trump. The presidential candidate takes a call from the head of the Republican Party as Jeb Bush scrambles to clarify his latest comments about work in America.
Llamas did play two clips of Jeb Bush explaining that “[w]orkforce participation has to rise from its all-time modern lows, means that people need to work longer hours” but the ABC reporter quickly proclaimed that “[t]he Democratic National Committee pouncing on the longer hours comment saying it's one of “the most out-of-touch comments” this cycle.”
Over on CBS, co-host Norah O’Donnell insisted that “Jeb Bush is clarifying controversial comments about Americans and work hours” before she touted how he “faced intense criticism from Democrats for telling a New Hampshire newspaper that Americans need to work longer hours. Critics say it shows he’s out of touch.”
CBS’s Anthony Mason read a quote from Jeb Bush’s interview with New Hampshire-based newspaper the Union Leader before he played a lengthy soundbite of the Republican’s full comments but CBS made sure to lead the segment with the DNC “pouncing” on his comments.
NBC’s Today used a segment on a tech company whose employees work “just 32 hours a week” as a way to hype the supposed controversial comments made by Bush. Peter Alexander spent the majority of a 3 minute segment gushing over the company’s reduced work schedule which “sounds so good!” in order to contrast with Bush’s call for underemployed workers to have greater opportunity to work full time:
Like all things this topic could get wrapped up in politics as well. On Wednesday, Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush had to defend remarks he made saying Americans should work even longer hours. He later clarified to say he means they need more full-time not part-time work. President Obama, of course, proposing new rules that would make roughly 5 million more people eligible for overtime.
See relevant transcript below.
CBS This Morning
July 9, 2015
NORAH O’DONNELL: This morning Jeb Bush is clarifying controversial comments about Americans and work hours. The Republican presidential candidate faced intense criticism from Democrats for telling a New Hampshire newspaper that Americans need to work longer hours. Critics say it shows he’s out of touch.
ANTHONY MASON: In an interview with the Union Leader Wednesday Bush said “we have to be a lot more productive. Workforce participation has to rise from its all-time modern lows. It means that people need to work longer hours and through their productivity gain more income for their families.” Bush says critics are twisting his words.
JEB BUSH: You can take it out of context all you want. But high sustained growth means that people work 40 hours rather than 30 hours and that by our success they have money, disposable income for their families to decide how you want to spend it rather than getting in line and being dependent on government.
MASON: Bush says nearly 7 million Americans who work part-time should have the opportunity to work more hours.
