Although nowhere near the ten and a half minutes ABC’s Good Morning America cranked out Wednesday seething over (years-old) claims from former White House chief of staff John Kelly that former President Trump is a fascist and Hitler enthusiast, CBS Mornings (2:57) and NBC’s Today (2:58) still spoonfed their viewers with coverage of the “disturbing,” “startling,” and “stark” allegations.
“Startling revelations from a former White House chief of staff who says based on what he witnessed, Donald Trump would rule like a dictator,” announced co-host and Kamala Harris donor Gayle King in the Eye Opener.
CBS co-host Tony Dokoupil moments later called Kelly’s claims to The Atlantic and The New York Times “a blunt warning about former President Donald Trump from someone who knows him very well” that “Trump demands loyalty to himself over the Constitution, repeatedly sought to use the U.S. military against American citizens, and even expressed admiration for Hitler on more than one occasion.”
Trump campaign correspondent Nikole Killion bragged that Trump’s schedule included two events in Georgia, but bragged “those comments from John Kelly...are overshadowing his visit.”
Killion ran through the major hits about fascism, Hitler, and his response to Trump’s “enemy form within” remark. She at least noted, along with a strong denial by the Trump campaign, that Trump had long soured on Kelly and blasted him in August as “one of the dumbest people I’ve ever met” and “a bully.”
The CBS correspondent spent the final moments of her report on Trump’s messaging from Tuesday in North Carolina, encouraging North Carolinians to vote early and slammed Vice President Harris as “unfit.”
Just like with ABC, CBS then went to slobbering piece on the Harris-Walz campaign. Senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang had that piece, boasting Harris as having told NBC “her team is ready to take [Trump] on” if he “tries to declare victory before all the votes are counted” and discussed “abortion access.”
Jiang also referenced Eminem campaigning with former President Obama in press release-y fashion (click “expand”):
JIANG: In battleground Michigan, rapper Eminem urged voters in his home state to support Harris —
EMINEM: Detroit! [CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
JIANG: — and he teed up another superstar surrogate, former President Barack Obama.
BARACK OBAMA: I am here today for a very important reason, to ask you to vote.
JIANG: Earlier on Tuesday, Obama campaigned with vice presidential nominee, Tim Walz in Wisconsin, where the start of early voting brought out big crowds.
GOVERNOR TIM WALZ (D-MN): We need you doorknocking. We need the calls.
JIANG: Recently, Obama has called out black men for hesitating to vote for Harris because she is a woman. Harris said she does not think sexism is a factor in the race.
HARRIS: And I will never assume that anyone in our country should elect a leader based on their gender or their race.
JIANG: While Obama has already held several events for Harris, tomorrow the two will campaign together for the first time in Atlanta. Then, this weekend, Harris will rally with Michelle Obama in Michigan.
In the new-ish third hour of the show (which was not included in the time count), co-host Adriana Diaz asked anti-Trump author and chief election and campaign correspondent Robert Costa why did Kelly speak out now.
Costa conceded the truth that it’s to meddle in the election:
On 'CBS Mornings Plus', correspondent and former conservative reporter Robert Costa admits the John Kelly stories are coordinated against Donald Trump to interfere in the election:
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 23, 2024
Adriana Diaz: “Bob, why you think Kelly is speaking of now?”
Costa: “Because we are just days… pic.twitter.com/Jg3kdR66gZ
Over on NBC, co-host Savannah Guthrie (falsely) described Kelly’s claims in a tease as “new, disturbing allegations.”
The Kelly segment had to wait since senior Washington correspondent Hallie Jackson had been granted a day earlier an interview with Harris. Jackson played a number of clips from the cha and sprinkled in other filler about the campaign, including “Obama hitting the campaign trail” with Eminem and delivered a few lines from the latter’s famous track, Lose Yourself.
To her credit, Jackson was the only network correspondent to mention President Biden chanting “lock him up” in reference to wanting to see Trump jailed.
Eventually, Trump campaign correspondent Garrett Haake got his turn, cheering Kelly’s (rehashed) tales as being on tape and made sure to play up Kelly’s credibility to level this “dire warning” about a “fascist” Trump since he’s a Gold Star father.
LOL at NBC.
— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) October 23, 2024
1. Tulsi Gabbard, Democrat "presidential nominee!" (No.)
2. John Kelly, Trump's "long-serving" chief of staff! (It was 16 months.)
3. Kelly's not endorsing any candidate, but Trump would be a dictator if elected again. (That says Vote Harris.) pic.twitter.com/UdyDQukCsQ
“With former President Trump campaigning in battleground North Carolina overnight, his longest-serving chief of staff, John Kelly, delivering a dire warning about a possible second Trump presidency in a series of interviews The New York Times,” Haake stated in part.
Haake continued on with more Kelly before noting Trump jokingly wondered at a rally if Harris is intoxicated (click “expand”):
HAAKE: Kelly says he was motivated to speak out following Mr. Trump’s comments about using the military against domestic political opponents, who the former President calls the enemy within.
TRUMP: Yeah, to me, they are the enemy within.
KELLY: Even to say it for political purposes to get elected is a very, very bad thing, let alone actually doing it.
HAAKE: Kelly also discussing Trump’s relationship with veterans, confirming that Trump has called those who died on the battlefield “losers and suckers” and saying the former President did not want to be seen with amputees.
KELLY: His not wanting to be seen with amputees, amputees that lost their limbs in defense of this country, that’s — that’s an interesting perspective for the commander in chief to have.
HAAKE: Kelly also confirms reports that Mr. Trump repeatedly spoke highly of Adolf Hitler.
KELLY: More than once said, you know, Hitler did some good things too.
HAAKE: In a statement, the Trump campaign saying “Kelly has totally beclowned himself with these debunked stories he has fabricated.” According to a recent report from The Atlantic not confirmed by NBC News, Mr. Trump made other comments about Hitler during a private conversation in the White House, according to two people who heard him at the time, saying, “I need the kind of generals that Hitler had. People who were totally loyal to him that follow orders.” The Trump campaign says the former President never said it.
Like Jackson, Haake deserves a scintilla of credit for being the only network correspondent Wednesday morning to mention that Trump will appear Friday on perhaps the top podcast in the country, The Joe Rogan Experience.
In the second hour, only Jackson returned to summarize both her report as well as Haake’s talking points. On the latter, she only gave 25 seconds to Kelly.
To see the relevant transcripts from October 23, click here (for CBS Mornings), here (for CBS Mornings Plus), and here (for NBC).
