Hours ahead of President Biden’s Wednesday address to Congress marking his first 100 days in office, NBC’s Today show delivered the shocking news to viewers that people who voted for the Democrat in November still support him. The ridiculous segment wasted nearly five minutes of air time touting how Biden supporters loved the President’s “personality” and “temperament.”
“You know, for this story in particular, we really focused on people who are new to the Democratic fold, folks all across the country who voted Republican in 2016 but who flipped in 2020, to see how they think the President’s doing in his first 100 days,” senior Washington correspondent Hallie Jackson explained at the beginning of the one-sided report.
She happily announced that by only talking to Biden’s supporters she found that they liked Biden: “And you know, we kept hearing a couple of the same themes: A little bit of hesitation on some of the President’s policies, specifically immigration, but overall, praise for the President’s personality.”
Jackson first spoke with “Life-long Republican Sandy Orth,” who voted for Biden in the 2020 election. Orth proclaimed: “I really feel that Joe Biden had the temperament to help heal our country.” Jackson wondered: “How do you feel about him now?” Unsurprisingly, Orth affirmed the vote she just cast six months ago: “I think he is trying very, very hard to unite the country.”
Of course Jackson never provided a fact-check by mentioning things like Biden smearing red state citizens as “Neanderthals” or falsely accusing Republicans in Georgia of enacting voting laws that were “Jim Crow on steroids.”
The reporter then asked Orth: “Is there anything of the last 100 days of President Biden that you have some discomfort with, that you are not onboard with?” The Iowa voter responded: “Well, the situation at the border. He just hasn’t come up with the right solution to the problem yet.”
Jackson bragged: “Our new NBC News polling shows 7 in 10 voters approve of how President Biden is handling the pandemic and more than half say he’s doing well on the economy and uniting the country.” However, she acknowledged that “only about three in ten voters approve of his work on immigration, with a record number of unaccompanied migrant children crossing the border.”
Turning to Arizona Biden voter Larry Vroom, Jackson highlighted that he “had never voted for a Democrat for president until November.” A clip ran of Vroom asserting: “I think Biden is right in there trying to face this problem and work with it.”
“For Joy Kinser, in Oklahoma City, the President’s pledge on refugees was partly why she voted for him after reluctantly backing Donald Trump four years earlier,” Jackson declared. She then voiced left-wing complaints on the issue: “Just last week, President Biden first backtracked on a promise to raise the refugee limit, then after backlash, reconsidered.” Kinser was glad that Biden caved: “I do think that we saw that we needed to keep the pressure up to ask him to keep his word and to keep his campaign promises when it comes to refugee resettlement.”
Jackson asked: “Well, what kind of scorecard would you give him for these first 100 days so far?” Kinser hailed: “I just felt like humanity had come back to the office of the president.”
The reporter cheered: “Again and again, new Democratic voters like Orth, Vroom, and Kinser, cited President Biden’s temperament as a big reason why they feel confident in his first 100 days.”
While Jackson admitted that achieving national “unity” was “still proving elusive” for Biden, she assured: “...that issue of uniting the country is one that President Biden is going to talk about in his speech tonight. A White House official telling me he will talk about the power of coming together to deal with some of the issues facing our country.”
The point of talking exclusively to Biden voters ahead of his congressional address was to sell his first 100 days in office as a success because his backers like his “personality.” It’s easy to find support for a politician when you only talk to their supporters.
This propaganda piece was brought to viewers by Capital One and Dove. You can fight back by letting these advertisers know what you think of them sponsoring such content.
Here is a full transcript of the April 28 segment:
7:39 AM ET
CRAIG MELVIN: We are back, 7:39 on this Wednesday morning, with our special network-wide series taking an in-depth look at President Biden’s first 100 days in office.
HODA KOTB: So what campaign promises has he kept and where is he falling short in the mind of voters who elected him?
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Alright, let’s get to NBC’s senior Washington correspondent Hallie Jackson. She’s been talking to folks across the country for this. Hi Hallie, good morning.
HALLIE JACKSON: Good morning, Savannah, Hoda and Craig. You know, for this story in particular, we really focused on people who are new to the Democratic fold, folks all across the country who voted Republican in 2016 but who flipped in 2020, to see how they think the President’s doing in his first 100 days. And you know, we kept hearing a couple of the same themes: A little bit of hesitation on some of the President’s policies, specifically immigration, but overall, praise for the President’s personality.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Voters Speak Out; Weighing In President Biden’s Performance for First 100 Days]
Life-long Republican Sandy Orth in Iowa voted for her party’s candidate in 2016. But last year –
SANDY ORTH [BIDEN VOTER]: There would have been no way that I could have voted for Donald Trump again.
JACKSON: So this November, she made a different decision.
ORTH: I really feel that Joe Biden had the temperament to help heal our country.
JACKSON: How do you feel about him now?
ORTH: I think he is trying very, very hard to unite the country.
JACKSON: Is there anything of the last 100 days of President Biden that you have some discomfort with, that you are not onboard with?
ORTH: Well, the situation at the border. He just hasn’t come up with the right solution to the problem yet.
JACKSON: Orth’s view of the President – high marks on unity, hesitation on immigration – reflects how many Americans feel 100 days in. Our new NBC News polling shows 7 in 10 voters approve of how President Biden is handling the pandemic and more than half say he’s doing well on the economy and uniting the country. But only about three in ten voters approve of his work on immigration, with a record number of unaccompanied migrant children crossing the border. An issue especially relevant in Arizona, a state that flipped blue in 2020, partly because of voters in Maricopa County.
LARRY VROOM [BIDEN VOTER]: I think I was probably a “build the wall” guy. But that’s obviously not been the answer, has it?
JACKSON: Larry Vroom lives there and had never voted for a Democrat for president until November.
VROOM: I think Biden is right in there trying to face this problem and work with it.
JACKSON: For Joy Kinser, in Oklahoma City, the President’s pledge on refugees was partly why she voted for him after reluctantly backing Donald Trump four years earlier.
Did the Trump presidency galvanize you to be more politically aware and politically involved?
JOY KINSER [BIDEN VOTER]: Yeah, I think that’s fair to say.
JACKSON: Just last week, President Biden first backtracked on a promise to raise the refugee limit, then after backlash, reconsidered.
KINSER: I do think that we saw that we needed to keep the pressure up to ask him to keep his word and to keep his campaign promises when it comes to refugee resettlement.
JACKSON: Well, what kind of scorecard would you give him for these first 100 days so far?
KINSER: I just felt like humanity had come back to the office of the president.
JACKSON: Again and again, new Democratic voters like Orth, Vroom, and Kinser, cited President Biden’s temperament as a big reason why they feel confident in his first 100 days. But for a president who pledged unity...
JOE BIDEN: Turn division into unity.
JACKSON: ...that is still proving elusive. As they Penas illustrate. The mother-daughter duo joined our NBC News town hall in Miami before the election. Isa voted for President Biden, Barbara did not. We checked back in with them 100 days in.
BARBARA PENA [TRUMP VOTER]: When you have Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, AOC, saying that he has exceeded her expectations in his first 100 days, that makes me shutter.
ISA PENA [BIDEN VOTER]: I think Biden is doing a really great job bringing the drama down.
JACKSON: A divided family reflecting a divided nation, with many still hoping for healing.
ORTH: I’m not convinced that it’s impossible. But it’s gonna take time. It’s gonna take more time than 100 days, yeah.
JACKSON: And that issue of uniting the country is one that President Biden is going to talk about in his speech tonight. A White House official telling me he will talk about the power of coming together to deal with some of the issues facing our country. And actually, the issue of unity is considered the second most important issue to folks that we polled in our recent NBC News polling. The first, getting a handle on the COVID crisis, something that you’ll also hear the President talk about. Back to you.
GUTHRIE: Alright, Hallie, thank you so much. And another reminder, the President’s first speech to Congress is tonight. NBC News will have live coverage, it starts at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific. Then Craig gets up early and sits down with the President for an exclusive interview tomorrow morning.
MELVIN: Well, I was going to say, we’ve got a late night for you, too.
GUTHRIE: For everybody, all concerned.
