Possibly out for redemption in the eyes of her fellow liberal journalists after her infamous October 2022 interview with now-Senator John Fetterman (D-PA), NBC correspondent Dasha Burns interrupted, lied, and smeared her way through the first portion of her sit-down with 2024 GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis (FL) on Monday’s Today.
Burns not only insisted January 6 would be the central focus of the 2024 general election, but lied about abortion and brushed aside approximately 12,000 late-term abortions.
Burns was hostile and arguably pro-Trump from the beginning, telling co-host Savannah Guthrie that “Trump is clearly still dominating the headlines and the polls” with “[t]his latest indictment [having] done little to soften his edge or attacks on his GOP primary rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.”
Pivoting to the interview, she bemoaned that she had to ask DeSantis “why he’s not using this moment to take on” Trump “more directly” (i.e. instead of Joe Biden, the economy, education, or anything actual voters care about).
The interview picked up mid-exchange as DeSantis reiterated a point he’s made repeatedly on the trail, which was the election must be about “presenting a positive vision for the future” and “turn[ing] the country” around, starting on January 20, 2025.
If not, he explained, and the election was about “but January 6th, 2021, or what document was left by the toilet at Mar-a-Lago...[Republicans] are going to lose.”
Burns showed how the liberal media view their job in deciding what voters were supposed to think: “But with Trump in the race — do you know that, with Trump in the race, that is largely what it’s going to be about and, right now, you’re not — not fighting against Joe Biden, you’re fighting against Trump.”
After DeSantis reiterated that’s “not a pathway for success” in the GOP, the conversation turned to 2020 with DeSantis noting Biden was the legitimate president despite the election having been less than “perfect.” Burns tried to seem tough, falsely claiming DeSantis was avoiding the question (click “expand”):
BURNS [TO DESANTIS]: Yes or no, did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election?
DESANTIS: Whoever puts their hand on the Bible January 20, every four years is the winner.
[SCREEN WIPE]
BURNS [TO DESANTIS]: Okay, but respectfully, you did not clearly answer that question. If you can’t give a yes or no answer —
DESANTIS: Because —
BURNS [TO DESANTIS]: — on whether or not Trump lost then how can —
DESANTIS: — well, of course — no — of course he lost.
BURNS [TO DeSantis]: Trump lost the 2020 election?
DESANTIS: Of course.
BURNS: Okay.
DESANTIS: Joe Biden is the president. But the issue is, I think, what people in the media and elsewhere, they want to act like somehow this is like the perfect election.
Before moving to abortion, Burns again basked in the media-concocted narrative that DeSantis was a dead-man walking:
DeSantis fighting his own battle to convince voters and donors he has a shot at beating Mr. Trump, despite lagging poll numbers, a campaign cash crunch, and relentless attacks from his rivals. Recently, his biggest individual donor threatening to pull back cash unless Governor DeSantis takes less extreme positions and shows he can win over moderates.
Invoking Florida’s six-week limit on abortion, she asked him whether he’d “veto any sort of federal bill that would try to put a nationwide ban in place.”
DeSantis argued he would “be a pro-life president and” back “pro-life policies,” but he “would not allow what a lot of the left wants to do, which is to override pro-life protections throughout the country all the way up really until the moment of birth, in some instances, which I think is infanticide.”
If Burns had consulted his July 18 CNN interview, she’d know the answer that, while he supports such policies, he’s seemed doubtful a divided Congress would have the appetite to go that far.
Instead, Burns looked down at her talking points to hurl lies: “Well, actually, I got to push back on you on that because that’s a misrepresentation of what’s happening. I mean, that 1.3 percent of abortions happen at 21 weeks or higher.”
The pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute’s latest year of data was 2020, in which they put the number of abortions at 930,160, meaning Burns was scoffing at 12,093 babies being murdered.
Earth to Burns: Would that be an acceptable train of thought if applied to hate crimes and racially-motivated murders? Of course not.
DeSantis tried to interject, but Burns wasn’t done being an unofficial Planned Parenthood spokeswoman, insisting “[t]here’s no evidence of Democrats pushing for abortions up until” birth.
The Florida Governor started to make a point before the screen wiped and the subject pivoted to his wife Casey: “[B]ut their view is —their view is that all the way up until that there should not be any legal protections even in the end.”
Fact-check on Dasha: Pants on Fire. First, as Daily Wire, National Review’s John McCormack, and even NPR have noted, the so-called bill last year to “codify” Roe v. Wade was anything but. Along with wiping out pro-life state laws, it would allow abortions to take place “prior to fetal viability” if determined necessary by health care providers.
In Congress, the Senate gave it 51 votes while the House garnered 218 Democratic votes.
And, at the state level, Colorado, Minnesota, and Maine have passed laws in the last year-plus to expand abortion to be legal at any stage of pregnancy. With Maine, the AP wrote that "[t]he bill would allow abortions at any time if deemed medically necessary." The great Alexandra DeSanctis Marr observed that “[t]he appears to guarantee a right to any form of abortion at any stage of pregnancy for any reason” and, in Minnesota, the AP had a similar description.
Guttmacher further outlined abortion access, noting that, as of July 1, 26 states allowed abortion at 20 weeks or later.
More broadly, Gallup has been measuring support for abortion among Democrats, independents, and Republicans and, for 2023, it’s found 60 percent of Democrats support abortion under any circumstances and at any time.
After the Casey portion, Burns wrapped by reveling in a new poll showing a 24-point lead in Iowa for Trump and then reminded viewers that more of her DeSantis smear job will be available on NBC Nightly News and in full on NBCNews.com.
NBC’s uncorrected lies about the left’s abortion views and purposeful framing of the 2024 election as January 6-centric was made possible thanks to the endorsement of advertisers such as Carmax and Citi. Follow the links to see their contact information at the MRC’s Conservatives Fight Back page.
To see the relevant NBC transcript from August 7, click “expand.”
NBC’s Today
August 7, 2023
7:01:03 a.m. Eastern [TEASE][ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: One-on-One]
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: And an NBC News exclusive interview with his closest Republican rival, Governor Ron DeSantis.
GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS (R-FL): Of course he lost.
DASHA BURNS [TO DeSantis]: Trump lost the 2020 election?
DESANTIS: Of course.
BURNS: Okay.
DESANTIS: Joe Biden is the president.
GUTHRIE: We’re on the trail with the DeSantis campaign trying to catch fire with voters.
(....)
7:08 a.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Trump Facing Legal Deadline]
CRAIG MELVIN: Meanwhile in an NBC News exclusive, Trump’s Republican rival, Governor Ron DeSantis, weighing in.
(....)
7:09 a.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Gov. Ron DeSantis One-on-One]
GUTHRIE: We move to Trump’s main rival in the Republican race, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaking out along with his wife in an exclusive interview over the weekend with NBC’s Dasha Burns, who joins us now from the campaign trail in Iowa. Hi, Dasha. good morning.
DASHA BURNS: Hey, Savannah, good morning. Look, former President Trump is clearly still dominating the headlines and the polls. This latest indictment has done little to soften his edge or attacks on his GOP primary rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. In our wide-ranging conversation, I asked the governor why he’s not using this moment to take on the GOP frontrunner more directly.
DESANTIS: If the election is a referendum on Joe Biden’s policies and the failures that we’ve seen and we are presenting a positive vision for the future, we will win the presidency and we will have a chance to turn the country around. If, on the other hand, the election is not about January 20th, 2025, but January 6th, 2021, or what document was left by the toilet at Mar-a-Lago, if it’s a referendum on that we are going to lose
BURNS: But with Trump in the race —
DESANTIS: — and that’s just the reality.
BURNS: — do you know that, with Trump in the race, that is largely what it’s going to be about and, right now, you’re not —
DESANTIS: And that’s not — that —
BURNS: — not fighting against Joe Biden —
DESANTIS: — that’s not —
BURNS: — you’re fighting against Trump.
DESANTIS: That’s not a pathway for success for the Republican Party. I think a lot of our voters understand that.
BURNS [TO DESANTIS]: Yes or no, did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election?
DESANTIS: Whoever puts their hand on the Bible January 20, every four years is the winner.
[SCREEN WIPE]
BURNS [TO DESANTIS]: Okay, but respectfully, you did not clearly answer that question. If you can’t give a yes or no answer —
DESANTIS: Because —
BURNS [TO DESANTIS]: — on whether or not Trump lost then how can —
DESANTIS: — well, of course — no — of course he lost.
BURNS [TO DeSantis]: Trump lost the 2020 election?
DESANTIS: Of course.
BURNS: Okay.
DESANTIS: Joe Biden is the president. But the issue is, I think, what people in the media and elsewhere, they want to act like somehow this is like the perfect election.
BURNS: Governor DeSantis fighting his own battle to convince voters and donors he has a shot at beating Mr. Trump, despite lagging poll numbers, a campaign cash crunch, and relentless attacks from his rivals. Recently, his biggest individual donor threatening to pull back cash unless Governor DeSantis takes less extreme positions and shows he can win over moderates. A chief concern? The six-week abortion ban DeSantis signed in Florida. It’s an issue Democrats have used to work against him and other Republicans on the campaign trail. The governor has implied the issue should be left to individual states. [TO DESANTIS] So, would you veto any sort of federal bill that would try to put a nationwide ban in place?
DESANTIS: So, we will be a pro-life president and we will support pro-life policies. I would not allow what a lot of the left wants to do, which is to override pro-life protections throughout the country all the way up really until the moment of birth, in some instances, which I think is infanticide, which is not —
BURNS: Well, actually, I got to push back on you on that because that’s a misrepresentation of what’s happening. I mean, that 1.3% of abortions happen at 21 weeks or higher.
DESANTIS: No, right —
BURNS: There’s no evidence of Democrats pushing for abortions —
DESANTIS: — but their view is —
BURNS: — up until —
DESANTIS: — their view is that all the way up until that there should not be any legal protections even in the end.
BURNS: But there’s no indication —
DESANTIS: Now, you’re right, you’re right.
BURNS: — of Democrats —
DESANTIS: Well, yes they —
BURNS: — pushing for that. [VOICE-OVER] Much of the DeSantis pitch to voters revolves around being a husband and father and put his family front and center on the campaign trail, whether talking his education policy or highlighting his contrast in age with his opponents. But it’s DeSantis’ wife, Casey, who’s arguably become his biggest asset. The former news anchor who grew up in blue-collar Ohio, brings the charm and charisma critics often claim her husband lacks. [TO RON AND CASEY DESANTIS] What made you both decide to bring Casey in such a big part of this campaign. It’s —
[SCREEN WIPE]
CASEY DESANTIS: Can — can I answer this —
RON DESANTIS: [LAUGHS]
CASEY DESANTIS: — for the first one, okay? So, because it’s not like anybody said, oh, we need to deploy Casey to get out there and to do it. This is totally because I want to do it.
BURNS: In October 2021, Casey DeSantis was diagnosed with breast cancer.
CASEY DESANTIS: He was there for me and he was there to go pick up my kids when I couldn’t, and he did it with humility and he did it with love and I tell you what, can’t ask for a better husband than that.
RON DESANTIS: Yeah, you know, I mean — I — so —
BURNS [TO RON DESANTIS] How does it feel — how does it feel to hear her say that? I mean —
RON DESANTIS: Well, look, that’s -- you know in sickness and in health, that’s what you sign up for. I mean, and — so she’s not only my wife, she’s my best friend and, so, you know, this is just what you do.
BURNS: And Savannah, here in the Hawkeye State, Mr. Trump still holds a big lead. 24 points ahead of Mr. DeSantis according to a new New York Times poll. That’s a narrower lead than he has nationally but still a lot of ground to make up before the January caucuses. Now, we’re going to have a lot more of this conversation coming up on NBC Nightly News and you’ll be able to watch the entire interview online on NBCNews.com. Savannah?
GUTHRIE: Alright, Dasha. Thank you very much.
