With the general election underway, the campaigns are off to the races…and so are the networks’ respective political correspondents. And they seem to be all over the place, as their coverage of reaction to remarks made by former President Donald Trump over the future of Social Security.
CBS barely covered the issue, lumping it in as a throwaway item within a broader political roundup by White House correspondent Nancy Cordes:
NANCY CORDES: In the same interview, Trump suggested he is open to cutting Medicare or Social Security to save money. Biden seized on that in New Hampshire.
JOE BIDEN: I'm never going to allow that to happen. I won't cut Social Security, I won't cut Medicare.
There is no video of Trump’s remarks, nothing to point to except Cordes’ interpretation of Trump’s remark and a sampling of Biden’s seizing. About 15 seconds within a 2-plus minute report.
ABC aired the Trump remarks in question, but did not mention Trump’s subsequent clarification until the end of the report, which in summary was vintage ABC Biden sycophancy. Or apple polishing, as my colleagues refer to ABC-Disney News’ gleeful willingness to self-degrade for Team Biden:
RACHEL SCOTT: Tonight, the stark difference between the two candidates on full display. President Biden seizing on new comments by Donald Trump. The former president seeming to suggest he would be open to cutting entitlements like Social Security and Medicare.
Correspondent Rachel Scott served, per ABC custom, as a human bullhorn through which Biden talking points were broadcast and amplified- whether on Biden’s budget, or on the “seizing”- a recurring topic throughout the evening.
NBC was the cleanest of the three on Trump’s remarks, and aired the clarification on Social Security earlier into the report than did ABC (the end) or CBS (not at all). In addition to airing the clarification, correspondent Garrett Haake included a Trump quote demonstrating further reluctance to cut Social Security.
GARRETT HAAKE: The Trump campaign saying he was not talking about cutting benefits but cutting waste. Mr. Trump just last week posting, "Republicans have no plans to cut Social Security."
Of the three networks, NBC appeared to be the most reluctant to gaslight their viewers. Of note, NBC was also the only report to include Biden’s backtrack on his description of the illegal alien that murdered UGA nursing student Laken Riley as “an illegal”.
Click “expand” to view the full transcripts of the aforementioned reports as aired on their respective network evening newscasts on Monday, March 11th, 2024:
ABC World News Tonight:
DAVID MUIR: Now, to the race for the White House tonight. What former President Trump said just this morning about government entitlement programs including Social Security. President Biden on the campaign trail in New Hampshire, pouncing. Here's Rachel Scott.
RACHEL SCOTT: Tonight, the stark difference between the two candidates on full display. President Biden seizing on new comments by Donald Trump. The former president seeming to suggest he would be open to cutting entitlements like Social Security and Medicare.
DONALD TRUMP: There is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting, and in terms of also the theft and the bad management of entitlements, tremendous, bad management of entitlements. There's tremendous amounts of things, numbers of things you can do.
SCOTT: Biden tweeting out Trump’s comments with these words: "Not on my watch." Hitting him again on a campaign swing in New Hampshire.
JOE BIDEN: Donald Trump said cuts to Social Security, Medicare, are on the table again. I'm never going to allow that to happen.
SCOTT: Biden today unveiling his budget wish list. A $7.3 trillion plan highlighting his priorities for voters. It includes $4.7 billion for border security. And a host of programs to help the middle class, including a $2,600 child tax credit. A new tax credit for first-time home buyers, and lowering the cost of prescription drugs, including insulin. To pay for it all, Biden wants to raise taxes on corporations and impose a 25% minimum tax on people worth more than $100 million. The president again drawing a sharp contrast with Donald Trump.
BIDEN: Do you really think the wealthy and big corporations need another $2 trillion tax breaks? Because that's what he wants to do.
SCOTT: Biden pledging that nobody who earns less than $400,000 will see their taxes go up.
BIDEN: Nobody -- not a single cent -- nobody will pay a single penny more, and they haven't thus far. Folks, it's about fundamental fairness.
SCOTT: David, back to Medicare and Social Security. Donald Trump saying today there's a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting. Now, his campaign says what he was talking about was cutting waste, not the programs themselves. David.
MUIR: Rachel Scott tonight. Rachel, thank you.
CBS Evening News:
Now, to America Decides 2024 and the race for president. Tonight, there’s a shake-up at the Republican National Committee engineered by Donald Trump. CBS News has learned that dozens are being pushed out as the former president's allies and his daughter-in-law take over. Here's CBS's Nancy Cordes with headlines from the campaign trail.
NANCY CORDES: Campaigning in New Hampshire today, President Biden brought up the company his opponent kept this weekend.
JOE BIDEN: He was with Viktor Orban, who talked about democracy being a problem.
CORDES: Viktor Orban is the authoritarian-leaning leader of Hungary who has cracked down on the judiciary, the press, and LGBTQ+ rights. He drew high praise from Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
DONALD TRUMP: …because he said this is the way it's going to be and that's the end of it. He is the boss. And he is a great leader, fantastic leader.
CORDES: Orban later told the Hungarian press that Trump had promised he would not give a penny to Ukraine if elected. The Trump campaign disputes that. They’re also fielding questions about Trump’s abrupt reversal on TikTok. He now opposes a ban on the Chinese-owned social media site.
TRUMP: It was a meeting that lasted for a few minutes.
CORDES: in an interview this morning, Trump denied that his change of heart came after meeting with financier Jeff Yass, whose fund has a multibillion-dollar stake in TikTok's parent company.
TRUMP: I don't think I ever met him before, but he never mentioned TikTok.
CORDES: In the same interview, Trump suggested he is open to cutting Medicare or Social Security to save money. Biden seized on that in New Hampshire.
BIDEN: I'm never going to allow that to happen. I won't cut Social Security, I won't cut Medicare.
CORDES: In the wake of the State of the Union address, Biden is hitting battleground states and airing a new ad about his age.
BIDEN: Look, I'm not a young guy, that's no secret. But here's the deal. I understand how to get things done for the American people.
CORDES: In Rome, Georgia this weekend, Trump called Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech a --
TRUMP: Angry, dark, hate-filled rant.
CORDES: Then he mocked the president’s lifelong stutter.
TRUMP: Listen, I’m going to bring the country to-to-to-to-gether.
CORDES: It was not the first time Trump has made fun of a disability or speech disorder. A Biden campaign official said that it shows that Trump is, quote, “weak and insecure”. It came in the same speech that Trump referred to reporters as “criminals”. Norah.
O’DONNELL: Nancy Cordes, at the White House, Thank you.
NBC Nightly News:
LESTER HOLT: Let's turn to the race for the White House now and a new clash over Social Security. President Biden accusing Donald Trump of suggesting he'd make cuts to the entitlement program. The Trump campaign firing back tonight, saying Mr. Trump never said that. Garrett Haake now with late details.
GARRETT HAAKE: President Biden ramping up his re-election campaign tonight, attacking Donald Trump in battleground New Hampshire.
JOE BIDEN: Donald Trump said cuts to Social Security and Medicare are on the table again. I'm never going to allow that to happen.
HAAKE: Hitting the former president after he responded to a reporter who suggested something needed to be done about entitlements.
DONALD TRUMP: There is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting and in terms of also the theft and the bad management of entitlements. I don't necessarily agree with the statement.
HAAKE: The Trump campaign saying he was not talking about cutting benefits but cutting waste. Mr. Trump just last week posting, "Republicans have no plans to cut Social Security." The president today laying out his budget in a show of second-term priorities. The largely symbolic plan would boost spending to $7.3 trillion while raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations. The president calls for restoring the full child tax credit and proposes national paid leave.
BIDEN: It's just about basic fairness. Just basic decency.
HAAKE: Meanwhile, Mr. Trump in battleground Georgia blasting president Biden for saying he regretted using the word “illegal" to describe the alleged killer of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley. Police say the suspect was a Venezuelan migrant who crossed the border illegally two years ago.
BIDEN: Lincoln Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal.
I shouldn't have used “illegal”. I should’ve- it's “undocumented”.
JONATHAN CAPEHART: So you- you regret using that word?
BIDEN: Yes.
HAAKE: Mr. Trump met with Laken Riley's family before his Georgia rally.
TRUMP: Well, he was illegal. And I say he was an illegal alien. He shouldn't have been in our country and he never would have been under the Trump policy.
HAAKE: And today Mr. Trump's lawyers argued that the March start of his New York criminal trial should be delayed until the Supreme Court rules on his claim of presidential immunity. That judge could issue his decision as soon as next week. Lester.
HOLT: Garrett Haake, thank you.
