Proving how invested they are in Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, on Wednesday, all three network morning shows were absolutely giddy over speculation that far-left California Senator Kamala Harris may be at the top of the presumptive Democratic nominee’s vice presidential short list.
The gleeful coverage centered around a candid photo of Biden holding a note card during a Tuesday press conference that listed positive talking points about Harris. On NBC’s Today show, co-host Savannah Guthrie gushed: “And the Vice President was before reporters yesterday and some clever photographer got a shot of his notes, which has a lot of people speculating about who he might choose for vice president.”
Correspondent Kristen Welker couldn’t contain her excitement as she reported on potential 2020 ticket:
Boy, Savannah, it sure does. This happened at an event in Delaware on Tuesday, when Joe Biden was caught on camera with those notes about Senator Kamala Harris. Now, she’s of course one of the top contenders to be his running mate. Some of the notes on the note pad, we’ll read you a few, read, “Do not hold grudges” and “Great respect for her.”
However, unlike her colleagues at ABC and CBS, Welker managed to briefly remind viewers of tension between Biden and Harris early in the campaign: “Now, of course, that comes amid a recent report that some of Biden’s allies have expressed concerns about Harris after she sharply criticized him during that first Democratic debate that we all remember.”
In a news brief for ABC’s Good Morning America, co-host and Democratic operative George Stephanopoulos marveled at all the glowing terms Biden had written down about Harris:
And this photo of Biden’s notes is getting a lot of attention. There’s a section entitled “Kamala Harris,” phrases could be seen like, “Do not hold grudges,” “Campaigned with me and Jill,” “Talented,” “Great help to the campaign,” “Great respect for her.”
CBS This Morning was the only network broadcast to actually offer a full report on the Biden campaign and note some of the former Vice President’s policy proposals – though there was certainly no criticism of them. Woven into that story was the obligatory promotion of Harris, as correspondent Ed O’Keefe declared:
It was clear Tuesday that Joe Biden came prepared to answer questions about Senator Kamala Harris. A photographer caught this image of Biden’s notes that mentioned the Senator, including lines like “Do not hold grudges” and “Great respect for her”....at this point in a presidential campaign, we’re left to read tea leaves as we wait for the final decision. What he was brandishing there, that’s what we call a tea leaf for sure.
After his report, co-host and Democratic Party donor Gayle King cheered: “Listen, it’s Washington’s best guessing game.” She then pressed O’Keefe for any inside information he might have:
KING: You have any predictions? You know people.
O’KEEFE: He’s picking a woman. That’s what we know. That’s all I’ll say.
KING: Alright, alright, Ed O’Keefe. I knew you’d have the answer. I knew you’d have the answer. Thank you, sir.
Of course none of the networks used this as an opportunity actually vet Harris or inform Americans about the Senator’s far-left views. That’s something journalists would do, not Democratic hacks rooting for a Biden win no matter what.
The Biden-Harris 2020 fantasy was brought to NBC viewers by Old Navy, brought to ABC viewers by Amazon, and brought to CBS viewers by IBM. You can fight back by letting these advertisers know what you think of them sponsoring such content.
