As questions began to be raised regarding Hillary Clinton’s dubious claim that she once tried to join the Marines in 1975, on Friday, only NBC’s Today briefly noted the controversy, with co-host Savannah Guthrie warning: “Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton is facing scrutiny about a story from her past that she repeated on the campaign trail this week, and it could come up at tomorrow's debate.”
In the report that followed, correspondent Kristen Welker mentioned: “...the Clinton campaign is defending a story that she first told in the 90s and repeated this week, that in 1975 while living in Arkansas she looked into joining the Marines. Skeptics and some Republicans noted it was an unlikely choice for a Yale law graduate who had worked on anti-war campaigns.”
Welker quickly touted the Clinton campaign’s response: “Late last night, one aide told me Clinton stands by the story adding, quote, ‘Her interest was sincere and it is insulting, but not surprising that Republicans would attack her for this, too.’”
She concluded: “All of this will be at the fore when the candidates take the stage here at Drake University tomorrow night.”
Despite that assertion, on Friday’s CBS This Morning, the issue never came, even when Face the Nation host and debate moderator John Dickerson appeared on the morning show to discuss the upcoming Saturday night event.
ABC’s Good Morning America didn’t even cover the Democratic presidential race on Friday.
On Thursday, Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler gave Clinton’s claims about trying to join the Marines “Two Pinocchios.” He explained:
At first glance, this story doesn’t really add up, for the reasons that Dowd initially outlined. But as we noted The Post did locate friends who recalled she had tried to join the Marines, though the circumstances are fuzzy....There are enough holes here that Clinton has an obligation to address the circumstances under which she approached the Marines, now that she had once again raised it in a campaign context.
While both NBC and CBS touted Clinton having “19-point national lead over her closest challenger Bernie Sanders” in the latest CBS News/New York Times poll, none of the network morning shows – including ABC – mentioned the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll showing Clinton had a 51% unfavorable rating among all Americans.
Here is a full transcript of Welker’s November 13 report on Today:
7:10 AM ET
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton is facing scrutiny about a story from her past that she repeated on the campaign trail this week, and it could come up at tomorrow's debate. NBC's Kristen Welker is in Des Moines on the campaign trail. Kristen, good morning.
KRISTEN WELKER: Savannah, good morning to you. And the stakes couldn't be higher as Secretary Clinton tries to match that strong first debate performance when she faces off against her Democratic challengers here tomorrow night.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Democrats Debate in Des Moines; Clinton in the Lead Amid Marine Story Controversy]
Now, this second Democratic debate comes as a new poll shows Clinton with a 19-point national lead over her closest challenger Bernie Sanders, 52 to 33%. Now that's down slightly from Clinton’s lead in early October, but it’s still commanding.
Clinton has been off the campaign trail for a few days preparing. Meanwhile her rivals, Sanders and Martin O'Malley, are looking to ramp up their performances. Aides say unlike the first debate, in which both largely stuck to their own policy positions, the candidates will be more aggressive about drawing contrasts with Clinton over issues, including the economy and immigration.
Meanwhile, the Clinton campaign is defending a story that she first told in the 90s and repeated this week, that in 1975 while living in Arkansas she looked into joining the Marines. Skeptics and some Republicans noted it was an unlikely choice for a Yale law graduate who had worked on anti-war campaigns. Late last night, one aide told me Clinton stands by the story adding, quote, “Her interest was sincere and it is insulting, but not surprising that Republicans would attack her for this, too.” All of this will be at the fore when the candidates take the stage here at Drake University tomorrow night. Savannah?
GUTHRIE: Alright, Kristen Welker, thank you.
