Following a contentious interview on Sunday’s Meet the Press, on Monday’s Today, NBC continued to harp over Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina’s recent statements condemning Planned Parenthood and their practice of harvesting fetal body parts.
During a report on the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, reporter Peter Alexander proclaimed “[f]acing new scrutiny of her own, Fiorina’s defending her claim that Planned Parenthood employees were caught on tape keeping a fully-formed fetus alive to harvest its brain.”
The NBC reporter proceeded to lecture Fiorina that “[s]everal media fact-checkers, including NBC News, have determined that Fiorina's account is not true, that the video uses ‘misleading stock footage’” and showed a clip of Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd asking if she was “willing now to concede that you exaggerated that scene?”
When Fiorina faced off with Todd on Sunday, he accused her of “ducking the specifics” of his question and tried to scold her on her recent statements pertaining to Planned Parenthood:
A Washington Post editorial is calling it a full-fledged falsehood, Ms. Fiorina. They said that it doesn't excuse your mistruths. They say they understand you have a deeply held belief on abortion but that you're exaggerating this specific claim.
The rest of Alexander’s segment focused on the shakeup in the GOP presidential primary but the NBC reporter made sure to promote House Speaker John Boehner “lashing out at his conservative critics” during an appearance on CBS’s Face the Nation Sunday:
As for those false prophets on the right, to use speaker Boehner's words, he blasted their political strategies that he said “never had a chance,” including the 2013 push to repeal ObamaCare that lead to a government shutdown that Boehner said was absolutely not realistic.
See relevant transcript below.
NBC’s Today
September 28, 2015
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: We move to politics now, the presidential race and a revealing new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. Republicans Donald Trump and Ben Carson running now neck-and-neck while on the Democratic side Hillary Clinton is losing ground to Bernie Sanders. We've got two reports this morning and then we'll break things down with Chuck Todd in a moment. But let's start with the Republicans and NBC’s national correspondent Peter Alexander. Peter, good morning.
PETER ALEXANDER: Hey Savannah good morning to you. With his momentum stalling Donald Trump is going to unveil his tax plan today including tax hikes for the very wealthy. This morning he and Ben Carson, as you noted, all locked up at the top, but two of their challengers are picking up steam. They are not backing down with one of them trashing Trump's campaign as a freak show. Despite curtains collapsing on Carly Fiorina in San Antonio Sunday night, lately it's been anything but light's out for her campaign. The new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows Fiorina and Marco Rubio now tied for third place with Donald Trump and Ben Carson topping the poll, a dead heat. Trump on 60 Minutes.
DONALD TRUMP: I’m on a lot of covers. I think maybe more than almost any supermodel. I think more than any supermodel.
ALEXANDER: And trying to combat accusations he's light on substance, Trump previewed a new tax plan, including cuts for the middle class.
TRUMP: But overall it’s going to be a tremendous incentive to grow the economy, and we're going to take in the same or more money, and I think we'll have something that's going to be spectacular.
ALEXANDER: Trump may be feeling the heat, most recently teeing off on Rubio.
TRUMP: Lightweight. He's a lightweight. You have this clown Marco Rubio. I've been so nice to him. I've been so nice.
ALEXANDER: In an interview with NPR news, Rubio dismissed Trump.
MARCO RUBIO: I’m not interested in the back and forth-to be a member or a part of his freak show. I would just say this: He is a very sensitive person. He doesn't like to be criticized.
ALEXANDER: Facing new scrutiny of her own, Fiorina’s defending her claim that Planned Parenthood employees were caught on tape keeping a fully-formed fetus alive to harvest its brain.
CARLY FIORINA: It’s heart beating, it’s legs kicking.
ALEXANDER: Several media fact-checkers, including NBC News, have determined that Fiorina's account is not true, that the video uses “misleading stock footage.”
CHUCK TODD: Are you willing now to concede that you exaggerated that scene?
FIORINA: No, not at all. That scene absolutely does exist.
ALEXANDER Meanwhile, following his decision to resign, House Speaker John Boehner is lashing out at his conservative critics.
JOHN BOEHNER: The Bible says beware of false prophets, and there are people out there, you know, spreading noise about how much can get done.
ALEXANDER: As for those false prophets on the right, to use speaker Boehner's words, he blasted their political strategies that he said “never had a chance,” including the 2013 push to repeal ObamaCare that lead to a government shutdown that Boehner said was absolutely not realistic. Matt and Savannah.
