As the 2024 campaign heats up, a network’s evening newscast deems it appropriate to cover the president’s cognitive decline. Not the sitting president, though, but his predecessor.
Watch as ABC correspondent Rachel Scott hits a twofer by working two time-tested classics, “Republicans seize” and “Republicans pounce”, into her coverage of former President Donald Trump’s slip-up where he claimed Nikki Haley was in charge of Capitol security on January 6th:
RACHEL SCOTT: Haley insisting Trump and President Biden are just too old for the job. And she's seizing on this moment. Trump confusing her with Nancy Pelosi when talking about January 6th.
DONALD TRUMP: Nikki Haley is in charge of security. We offered her 10,000 people, soldiers, national guards, so- whatever they wanted.
SCOTT: Haley pounced.
HALEY: When you're dealing with the pressures of a presidency, we can't have someone else that we question whether they're mentally fit to do this.
In this case, ABC and Rachel Scott are “seizing” and “pouncing” at least as much as Haley does, if not more so. It’s been four years since Joe Biden returned to the national stage and, despite a litany of embarrassing gaffes, you’ve yet to see a drive-by story on his very obvious cognitive decline- even as the media do their level best to tiptoe around the issue of Biden’s age.
However, cognitive decline became a thing the second Trump blamed Haley, and not then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, for the Capitol’s security failures on January 6th. Stories like these serve to remind us of what we’ve known to be true for a very long time: If it weren’t for double standards, there’d be no standards at all.
Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned report as aired on ABC World News Tonight on Monday, January 22nd, 2024:
DAVID MUIR: In the meantime, back here in the U.S. tonight, and to the race for president. The New Hampshire primary, of course, tomorrow. Tonight, the showdown between Donald Trump and Nikki Haley. Haley had wanted to make this a two-person race, and now it is. Haley trying to make the case that she's the only person left to prevent a Trump/Biden rematch. Rachel Scott in New Hampshire tonight.
RACHEL SCOTT: Reporter: Tonight, in New Hampshire, it's do or die for Nikki Haley. She wanted a one-on-one match-up with Donald Trump, and now, she's got it.
NIKKI HALEY: So, we're going to do this, get out tomorrow, take five friends with you.
SCOTT: In the final hours, Haley crisscrossing the state with New Hampshire governor Chris Sununu.
HALEY: It is now a two-person race. And what that means is, your decision tomorrow is, do we want more of the same? Or do we want a new generational leader?
SCOTT: Haley insisting Trump and President Biden are just too old for the job. And she's seizing on this moment. Trump confusing her with Nancy Pelosi when talking about January 6th.
DONALD TRUMP: Nikki Haley is in charge of security. We offered her 10,000 people, soldiers, national guards, whatever they wanted.
SCOTT: Haley pounced.
HALEY: When you're dealing with the pressures of a presidency, we can't have someone else that we question whether they're mentally fit to do this.
SCOTT: Trump, meantime, has turned to mocking Haley's Indian first name, Nimarata, highlighting it and misspelling it again and again.
TRUMP: It's a little bit of a take-off on her name and her name, wherever she may come from.
SCOTT: Haley was born in South Carolina. She told me Trump's attacks are proof she's getting to him.
HALEY: This is what he does when he starts to feel insecure. This is what he does when he feels threatened.
SCOTT: One thing is clear, with Florida governor Ron Desantis out of the race, Haley is now the only candidate standing between Trump and the Republican nomination. And here in New Hampshire, she's counting on independent voters like Deborah Berube, a cook at a hospital. She tells me she's still undecided, but --
DEBORAH BERUBE: It's probably going to be Nikki.
SCOTT: Why Nikki?
BERUBE: Because I think it's time for a big change. Huge. So --
SCOTT: Why not Trump?
BERUBE: After all he's done? No. We don't need it.
SCOTT: David, Nikki Haley is betting on a strong showing in this state, but right now, she's trailing Trump by double digits. She told me that win or lose here, she's staying in this race until her home state of South Carolina, but that's still more than a month away. David.
MUIR: Rachel Scott, from New Hampshire. Rachel, thank you.
