During MSNBC’s 10 a.m. ET hour on Wednesday, anchor Thomas Roberts gloated that the latest Donald Trump controversy pushed another Hillary Clinton scandal out of the headlines: “Trump’s comments continue to hurt his overall message, this time distracting from a potentially damaging release of e-mails that could have cost the Clinton camp precious support among independents.”
Turning to New York Times reporter Jeremy Peters, Roberts asked: “How do journalists cover the latest turn in the Trump campaign, especially given the spin that it's the media fanning the flames?” Peters complained: “...there are two different media worlds right now. There is the way that conservatives and Republicans are getting their news and then there is the way that the rest of the world is getting their news.”
He summed up the disparity between the two news universes:
And if you turn on Fox News, you scroll through the conservative blogosphere right now, what you will see are lead stories about this latest Clinton e-mail flap. You turn on other media and what you will see are stories about Donald Trump suggesting that Second Amendment supporters take matters into their own hands....There are these two worlds that are co-existing and they’re never meeting.
After acknowledging that the liberal media has been downplaying Clinton’s controversies while hyping Trump’s, Peters fretted: “And so, you have people who get their information from completely separate sources and they kind of experience the election the way they want to experience it and then they blame the other side for not covering it fairly enough.”
The irony of a New York Times reporter accusing others of living in a media bubble never seemed to dawn on Peters.
Here is a full transcript of the August 10 segment:
10:24 AM ET
THOMAS ROBERTS: Regardless of the intent, Trump's comments continue to hurt his overall message, this time distracting from a potentially damaging release of e-mails that could have cost the Clinton camp precious support among independents. Jeremy Peters is a reporter for The New York Times and an MSNBC contributor. And Francesca Chambers is White House correspondent for The Daily Mail. Good to have you both with me. And Jeremy, let's get to the Clinton e-mails. How do journalists cover the latest turn in the Trump campaign, especially given the spin that it's the media fanning the flames? So let's start there on Trump and then we'll get to Clinton.
JEREMY PETERS: Right, Thomas. Well, I think one of the first things you need to recognize – that we all need to recognize – is the way that there are two different media worlds right now. There is the way that conservatives and Republicans are getting their news and then there is the way that the rest of the world is getting their news. And if you turn on Fox News, you scroll through the conservative blogosphere right now, what you will see are lead stories about this latest Clinton e-mail flap. You turn on other media and what you will see are stories about Donald Trump suggesting that Second Amendment supporters take matters into their own hands. And there –
ROBERTS: Although, he was on Hannity last night talking about this and they were trying to, you know, put it out, extinguish any of the controversy around the remarks.
PETERS: Yes, that's right, and I don't know how helpful that was. But that’s a perfect example of what I’m talking about. There are these two worlds that are co-existing and they’re never meeting. And so, you have people who get their information from completely separate sources and they kind of experience the election the way they want to experience it and then they blame the other side for not covering it fairly enough.
Now, I think the one thing that Donald Trump – the main thing Donald Trump has working against them in is, is this election has become about him. And ultimately, you talk to strategists who are plotting this for the Clinton campaign and they believe that whoever this election is about loses. Right now, that's Donald Trump, and they aim to keep it that way.
ROBERTS: Francesca, let's talk about the conservative watchdog group, Judicial Watch, 296 pages of State Department records. They released these e-mails, exchanges between the Clinton Foundation staffers and the HRC office at the State Department, saying it shows this cozy relationship, rewarding donors with access. Clinton's camp released a statement, saying none – or “Neither of these e-mails involve the Secretary or relate to the foundation's work. They’re communications between her aides and the President's personal aide.” Also to be clear, Secretary Clinton was not in the e-mails in question and they were not on her private server. But how much does this muddy the waters based on what it means between the Clinton Foundation and her work at State?
FRANCESCA CHAMBERS: Well, she was not part of those e-mails, and that's the main point that the Clinton camp is trying to make. But it does raise new questions about if Hillary Clinton were in the White House, what role Bill Clinton could possibly play in her administration and what role he would continue to play in the Clinton Foundation, and even Chelsea Clinton, if she would continue to play a role in the Clinton Foundation as well. That all raises new questions about that because Donald Trump has said that she would use the White House, her family would use the White House for their own personal enrichment. And these are the kinds of e-mails that provide fodder for Donald Trump's arguments.
ROBERTS: Alright, Francesca and Jeremy, I want you to stand by for me.
