Three days after Twitter head Elon Musk and journalist Matt Taibbi released the first report on the Twitter Files showing liberal censorship of the New York Post’s reporting on Hunter Biden’s laptop stole the 2020 election, ABC and NBC have yet to acknowledge these bombshell claims on their flagship morning and evening newscasts, remaining in a world of censorship denialism.
CBS arrived on scene with Monday’s CBS Mornings, but used former President Trump’s cockamamie call to eviscerate the Constitution to downplay the Twitter Files with only 26 seconds from a three-minute-and-four-second segment on Trump’s Truth Social post.
Co-host Tony Dokoupil set the table by arguing Republicans support it with their silence by not devoting their attention to fixating on Trump: “Former President Donald Trump is in your news feeds this morning for suggesting parts of the U.S. Constitution should be terminated and that puts some Republicans in the hot seat for failing to condemn that remark.”
Trying to come off like his colleague/mentor Bob Woodward, chief political and election correspondent Robert Costa huffed that the dinner “with white nationalist Nick Fuentes and the rapper formerly known as Kanye West...and Trump’s post present a reckoning for his party about its future.”
Interspersed with a clip of Trump taking the oath of office in 2017, Costa lamented:
It's the oath of office every President takes but former President Trump is now taking aim at this founding document. A post from Trump suggesting the possible termination of parts of the Constitution and a redo of the 2020 election drew sharp condemnation from Democrats, calling him out of control and dangerous. Some Republicans also critical.
Adding how “Trump has kept up the steady drumbeat of false statements about the 2020 election,” Costa lumped those claims in with the Twitter files: “Trump's latest comments were in response to a report by journalist Matt Taibbi that showed Twitter employees deliberating in October 2020 about how to handle a New York Post article about a laptop belonging to Hunter Biden, President Biden's son.”
Just “a laptop,” Bob? You’re not going to say more about it, such as the fact that your own network recently admitted it's real?
The former conservative reporter continued to spin and dismissed its findings because “Taibbi also reported both the Biden campaign and the Trump White House communicated with Twitter about content.”
But as Taibbi showed, Twitter showed ambivalence toward communications from the latter but rapid response and action from requests by the former.
Costa closed by boasting that this came “as Trump faces multiple federal and state investigations and as the House's January 6th Committee prepares to issue a sweeping report.”
Despite Costa’s grousing about Trump as a danger, he wistfully peddled the media’s desire to keep Trump around:
Speaking to Republican sources, it's clear that many of Trump's possible 2024 rivals are now remaining quiet, wondering if Trump's campaign will fizzle out or if he will face legal headaches that could derail him. But as we saw six years ago, that hope among some Republicans that Trump will fade away is often dashed.
NBC’s Today never mentioned the Twitter Files, but had one minute and four seconds at the end of a segment on the Georgia Senate runoff about Trump’s unhinged post.
Having been tossed to by co-host Savannah Guthrie (who called it “pretty stunning comments”), White House correspondent Peter Alexander also lumped in his Truth Social post to Trump’s past grievances about 2020, offering no explanation for what Trump was reacting to (click “expand”):
[I]t's a continuation of the former President’s election denialism. Former President Trump calling for the termination of the Constitution, saying that he wants to overturn the 2020 election results and to have himself reinstated in power. Remember, we’re nearly two years after his election defeat and he wrote on his social media page in part, “a massive fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations and articles, even those found in the Constitution.”
Of course, there was no evidence of any widespread fraud in the 2020 election. Mr. Trump was a drag on his party's candidates in those key races in the most recent midterms and he hasn't been here in recent weeks to try to help out Herschel Walker. As for his call to terminate the Constitution, Savannah, top Republicans have been silent.
This act of censorship denialism by hiding behind Trump’s dangerous comment was made possible thanks to advertisers such as Macy’s and Prudential (on CBS) and Lexus (on NBC). Follow the links to see their contact information at the MRC’s Conservatives Fight Back page.
To see the relevant transcripts from December 5, click “expand.”
CBS Mornings
December 5, 2022
7:01 a.m. Eastern [TEASE][ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Suspend the Constitution?
TONY DOKOUPIL: Donald Trump calls for the partial suspension of the U.S. Constitution, putting his Republican allies in the hot seat.
CONGRESSMAN DAVID CICILLINE (D-RH) [on MSNBC’s The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart, 12/05/22]: He's become like the crazy uncle down at Mar-a-Lago.
(....)
7:07:39 a.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Trump Calls for Constitution ‘Termination’; Some Republicans Condemn Controversial Comment]
DOKOUPIL: Former President Donald Trump is in your news feeds this morning for suggesting parts of the U.S. Constitution should be terminated and that puts some Republicans in the hot seat for failing to condemn that remark. Robert Costa is in Washington with this story for us. Bob, good morning.
ROBERT COSTA: Good morning, Tony. The former President's post comes as the Republican Party is still dealing with the fallout from that dinner Trump had with white nationalist Nick Fuentes and the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, who has continually made anti-Semitic comments. That dinner and Trump’s post present a reckoning for his party about its future. It's the oath of office every President takes —
DONALD TRUMP [on 01/20/17]: Preserve, protect, and defend —
CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN ROBERTS [on 01/20/17]: — the Constitution of the United States —
TRUMP [on 01/20/17]: The Constitution of the United States —
COSTA: — but former President Trump is now taking aim at this founding document. A post from Trump suggesting the possible termination of parts of the Constitution and a redo of the 2020 election drew sharp condemnation from Democrats, calling him out of control and dangerous. Some Republicans also critical.
CONGRESSMAN-ELECT MIKE LAWLER (R-NY) [on CNN’s State of the Union, 12/04/22]: I certainly don't endorse that language or that sentiment.
COSTA: But any political cost for Trump remains unclear as others are taking a wait-and-see approach.
CONGRESSMAN DAVE JOYCE (R-OH) [on ABC’s This Week, 12/04/22]: I would support whoever the Republican nominee is. And I don't think at this point he will be able to get there.
COSTA: Trump has kept up the steady drumbeat of false statements about the 2020 election long after officials told him it was not stolen.
BILL BARR: I made it clear I did not agree with the idea of saying the election was stolen.
COSTA: Trump's latest comments were in response to a report by journalist Matt Taibbi that showed Twitter employees deliberating in October 2020 about how to handle a New York Post article about a laptop belonging to Hunter Biden, President Biden's son. Taibbi also reported both the Biden campaign and the Trump White House communicated with Twitter about content. This all comes as Trump faces multiple federal and state investigations and as the House's January 6th Committee prepares to issue a sweeping report that will shine a light on Trump's conduct during the attack on the Capitol.
COSTA [TO RASKIN]: This report could be the basis, in your view, for prosecution.
CONGRESSMAN JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): I — I think that it could be. Donald Trump was a guy who just would not take no for an answer from the American people and set about to overthrow an election.
COSTA: Speaking to Republican sources, it's clear that many of Trump's possible 2024 rivals are now remaining quiet, wondering if Trump's campaign will fizzle out or if he will face legal headaches that could derail him. But as we saw six years ago, that hope among some Republicans that Trump will fade away is often dashed. Tony?
DOKOUPIL: Yeah. The American people will decide. Bob, thank you very much.
(....)
8:01 a.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Trump Faces Backlash]
DOKOUPIL: Former President Trump suggests terminating parts of the U.S. Constitution.
COSTA: The former President's post comes as the Republican Party is still dealing with the fallout from that dinner Trump had with white nationalist Nick Fuentes and the rapper formerly known as Kanye West.
---------------------------------------------------------
NBC’s Today
December 5, 2022
7:13 a.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Fallout Over Trump’s Constitution Comments]
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Peter, before I let you go, got to talk about a statement from former President Trump. Pretty stunning comments he made regarding the Constitution. Can you share?
PETER ALEXANDER: Yeah, it's a continuation of the former President’s election denialism. Former President Trump calling for the termination of the Constitution, saying that he wants to overturn the 2020 election results and to have himself reinstated in power. Remember, we’re nearly two years after his election defeat and he wrote on his social media page in part, “a massive fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations and articles, even those found in the Constitution.” Of course, there was no evidence of any widespread fraud in the 2020 election. Mr. Trump was a drag on his party's candidates in those key races in the most recent midterms and he hasn't been here in recent weeks to try to help out Herschel Walker. As for his call to terminate the Constitution, Savannah, top Republicans have been silent.
