We weren’t kidding when we told you that ABC News is by far the most biased of the three broadcast network news divisions. An earlier MRC study found that Vice President Kamala Harris drew 100% positive coverage, while former President Donald Trump’s coverage was 93% negative. And yet ABC found a way to outdo themselves.
WATCH as World News Tonight anchor David Muir and Chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce do their best to provide cover for the McDonald’s portion of Harris’s embarrassing interview on MSNBC (click “expand” to view transcript):
DAVID MUIR: There's another moment making news. You know former President Trump has repeatedly questioned whether Vice President Harris actually worked at McDonald's. He did so again today. The vice president was asked about this, and this is how she answered.
STEPHANIE RUHLE: Because your opponent almost every day seems to be talking about this, so, I just want to ask you, yes or no: at any point in your life, have you served two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions…
RUHLE, HARRIS IN UNISON: On a sesame seed bun.
RUHLE: …working at a McDonald’s, yes or no, that's it.
HARRIS: I have.
RUHLE: Okay. Now the other job. Now the other job.
HARRIS: But it was not a small job, like, I did the fries.
RUHLE: Okay.
HARRIS: I mean, I, you know….
RUHLE: For a small period of time. But then, let me ask about a big job…
HARRIS: But…but to your point, if you don't mind…
RUHLE: Please.
HARRIS: …before you get to the big job. It’s a- there's -- part of the reason I even talk about having worked at McDonald's is because there are people who work at McDonald's in our country who are trying to raise a fam-- I worked there as a student. I was a kid. Who work there trying to raise families and pay rent on that. And I think part of the difference between me and my opponent includes our perspective on the needs of the American people. And what our responsibility then is to meet those needs.
MUIR: Mary, it would seem the vice president clearly proud of her time at McDonald',s and looking to turn her attention to the workers who actually depend on these jobs to support their families.
BRUCE: Exactly. And Harris trying to use this experience to argue that she understands working class Americans in a way she says Trump never will. David?
MUIR: Mary Bruce with us again tonight. Mary, thank you.
This ridiculous segment was an add-on to an equally sycophantic report on Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s visit to Washington and joint presser with Harris. It must be said, Bruce has transitioned seamlessly from being the Biden White House’s chief apple polisher to Kamala Harris’s. Seamlessly, I tell you.
Muir and Bruce’s explanation of the McDonald’s bit at the end there sounds a lot like two campaign comms professionals trying to browbeat “context” into the heads of reporters. Both made sure to let viewers know what takeaways they should draw from the Harris-Ruhla fiasco.
It should be noted that this is the ONLY portion of the interview that was spotlighted on World News Tonight. Granted, the rest of the interview is significantly harder to spin than the McDonald’s question.
Regime Media, doing Regime Media things.
Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned report as aired on ABC World News Tonight on Thursday, September 26th, 2024:
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT
9/26/24
6:42 PM
DAVID MUIR: This evening, Ukraine's President Zelenskiy at The White House, meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris. Her vow, if she's elected president, that she will stand with Ukraine against Vladimir Putin. And what former President Donald Trump said about the future of Ukraine in the last 24 hours. Here's Mary Bruce.
KAMALA HARRIS: Good afternoon, everyone.
MARY BRUCE: Tonight, with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy at her side, Vice President Kamala Harris declaring that she will remain steadfast behind Ukraine until it defeats Russia.
HARRIS: I've been proud to stand with Ukraine. I will continue to stand with Ukraine and I will work to ensure Ukraine prevails in this war.
BRUCE: It comes after former President Trump refused to say in the ABC News debate whether he wants Ukraine to win the war.
MUIR: Just to clarify on the question, do you believe it's in the U.S.'s best interest for Ukraine to win this war, yes or no?
DONALD TRUMP: I think it's in the U.S..'s best interest to get this war finished and, just get it done. Negotiate a deal, because we have to stop all of these human lives from being destroyed.
BRUCE: Trump says if he's elected, he could negotiate an end to the war in 24 hours. But Zelenskiy dismissing that claim in a new interview, telling The New Yorker, "Trump doesn't really know how to stop the war, even if he might think he knows how. With this war, oftentimes, the deeper you look at it, the less you understand." Zelenskiy also attacking Trump's running mate, Senator JD Vance as "too radical" for floating a plan that would allow Russia to keep the Ukrainian territory it has captured, and block Ukraine from joining NATO. Today, Harris saying that's exactly what Vladimir Putin wants.
HARRIS: These proposals are the same of those of Putin. And let us be clear, they are not proposals for peace. Instead, they are proposals for surrender, which is dangerous and unacceptable.
BRUCE: And now Trump taking aim at Zelenskiy, saying he's the one who refuses to end the war by not making concessions to Russia.
TRUMP: We continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refuses to make a deal, Zelenskiy. There was no deal that he could have made that wouldn't have been better than the situation you have right now.
BRUCE: And Trump just announcing he will be meeting with Zelenskiy tomorrow morning at Trump Tower. Meanwhile, Kamala Harris will be here in battleground Arizona, focusing on immigration, of course, another top issue for voters, David.
MUIR: Visiting the border, Mary. And while we have you, there’s another moment making news. You know former President Trump has repeatedly questioned whether Vice President Harris actually worked at McDonald's. He did so again today. The vice president was asked about this, and this is how she answered.
STEPHANIE RUHLE: Because your opponent almost every day seems to be talking about this, so, I just want to ask you, yes or no: at any point in your life, have you served two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions…
RUHLE, HARRIS IN UNISON: On a sesame seed bun.
RUHLE: …working at a McDonald’s, yes or no, that's it.
HARRIS: I have.
RUHLE: Okay. Now the other job. Now the other job.
HARRIS: But it was not a small job, like, I did the fries.
RUHLE: Okay.
HARRIS: I mean, I, you know….
RUHLE: For a small period of time. But then, let me ask about a big job…
HARRIS: But…but to your point, if you don't mind…
RUHLE: Please.
HARRIS: …before you get to the big job. It’s a- there's -- part of the reason I even talk about having worked at McDonald's is because there are people who work at McDonald's in our country who are trying to raise a fam-- I worked there as a student. I was a kid. Who work there trying to raise families and pay rent on that. And I think part of the difference between me and my opponent includes our perspective on the needs of the American people. And what our responsibility then is to meet those needs.
MUIR: Mary, it would seem the vice president clearly proud of her time at McDonald',s and looking to turn her attention to the workers who actually depend on these jobs to support their families.
BRUCE: Exactly. And Harris trying to use this experience to argue that she understands working class Americans in a way she says Trump never will. David?
MUIR: Mary Bruce with us again tonight. Mary, thank you.
