On Thursday, MSNBC’s 11:00 a.m. ET hour host Craig Melvin informed viewers that he would be leaving his time slot on the left-wing cable channel to focus on co-hosting NBC’s Today show and being a Dateline correspondent. However, before signing off MSNBC for the last time, the liberal anchor laughably claimed: “I’ve tried to cover the news fairly and steer clear of inserting my opinion or perspective.”
“This nearly decade-long stretch of hosting a cable news program has been a tremendous honor and I’m so very thankful for the opportunity to really have had a front row seat to so much history,” Melvin proclaimed. He then engaged in some revisionist history of his tenure at MSNBC: “And I’ve tried to cover the news fairly and steer clear of inserting my opinion or perspective. We’ve tried to traffic in facts and truth and let you makeup your mind every day, and I’m very proud of that.”
Despite those assertions, a look back through the NewsBusters archive shows that Melvin has been far from fair and inserted plenty of opinion into his left-wing coverage over the past decade:
Will Election of Black Republican Tim Scott ‘Come With An Asterisk?’
That was the question Melvin asked on February 18, 2014 while advancing despicable partisan attacks from South Carolina Democrats against the GOP Senator who had been appointed by then-Governor Nikki Haley and was up for election for the first time that year.
Hailing ‘Classic Obama’ Issuing ‘Call to Action’ In Partisan Campaign Speech
On September 7, 2018, Melvin was truly in awe of former President Obama campaigning for fellow Democrats ahead of that year’s midterm elections by hurling repeated partisan attacks against then-President Trump and Republicans.
Is Left-Wing Beto O’Rourke Really ‘Liberal Enough’ for Democrats?
Melvin actually voiced that absurd concern on March 14, 2019 when discussing O’Rourke’s chances in the upcoming 2020 Democratic Party presidential primary after the former Texas Congressman entered the race.
Only ‘Whackos’ Believe ‘Nonsense’ About the Bidens Being Corrupt
A September 30, 2019 comment from Melvin that aged particularly badly was when the visibly frustrated anchor wailed that legitimate questions swirling around Hunter Biden’s suspicious foreign business dealings (for which President Joe Biden’s son is currently under federal criminal investigation) were nothing but “nonsense.”
Rally for Gun Rights Filled With ‘White Nationalists’
That is how Melvin falsely smeared a peaceful rally of Second Amendment activists in Richmond, Virginia on January 20, 2020.
Dismissing Black Democrat Supporting Trump as ‘Paid Campaign Surrogate’
In a hostile July 29, 2020 exchange with Democrat Georgia State Representative Vernon Jones, who endorsed Donald Trump in that year’s presidential race, Melvin questioned the public official’s integrity and accused him of being a “paid campaign surrogate.”
Granting a Lengthy, Almost Uninterrupted Infomerical to Nancy Pelosi
During an “interview” with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on September 14, 2020, Melvin only asked four questions and allowed the Democrat to speak for nearly 11 minutes out of the 12 and a half minute segment – an astonishing 85 percent of the air time.
Asking Climate Radical if Media Is Pushing Enough Environmental Propaganda
Marking Earth Day on April 22, 2021, Melvin talked to a radical climate activist and wondered if the hysterical media were doing a good enough job of “sounding the alarm and raising awareness” about the issue.
Melvin wrapped up his Thursday statement by telling viewers: “I appreciate you seeing the value in journalism showcasing the plight of the least among us, simply asking questions and waiting for answers. We need it now perhaps more than we ever have.”
The evidence is clear, Melvin was not interested in being “fair” during his 10 years at MSNBC and was eager to offer his “opinion” on all manner of political topics. While this look back focuses on his work on cable, his time at NBC has shown the same left-wing slant and it will likely continue.
Melvin’s farewell spin was brought to viewers by E-Trade and Colonial Penn. You can fight back by letting these advertisers know what you think of them sponsoring such content.
Here is a transcript of Melvin’s March 31 sign-off:
11:55 AM ET
CRAIG MELVIN: So, ten years is long enough to host a daily newscast. So, this is it for me. I’m stepping away from this hour on MSNBC. I’m not leaving NBC News. In fact, I’ll still be over at the Today show for three hours every morning, I’ll be criss-crossing the country to tell stories, doing Dateline, working on a host of other projects. But I sure will miss our time together here every day.
This nearly decade-long stretch of hosting a cable news program has been a tremendous honor and I’m so very thankful for the opportunity to really have had a front row seat to so much history. Tumultuous campaigns, elections, natural disasters, far too many a mass shootings, and of course a global pandemic. So many of the stories I've covered here and the people I've met on assignments have moved me in myriad of ways. Some days sad, angry, confused, but always hopeful.
And I’ve tried to cover the news fairly and steer clear of inserting my opinion or perspective. We’ve tried to traffic in facts and truth and let you makeup your mind every day, and I’m very proud of that. We’ve gone out of our way to highlight, not merely the death, doom or destruction. We’ve tried to introduce you to ordinary people doing the extraordinary.
And before I go, I did want to take just a few moments to thank the amazing team of producer journalists who’ve put me on their shoulders for nearly a decade. The list is too long to mention by name but they know who they are and they know how much they’ve meant to me. In fact, many have become dear friends.
I did want to name check my executive producers over the years, though – Angie Dorr and Shirley Zilberstein and Matt Pitzer and Marty Hawse, who I’ve known nearly half my life now. And thank you to Yvette Miley for taking a chance on a kid from South Carolina who was working in D.C. And thank you to Phil Griffon and to Rashida Jones, especially, who gets it and whose vision for news and what this place can be is quite exciting.
I wanted to thank the contributors, the experts, the panelists, the crews here in the studio and also our crews in the field, including our indefatigable correspondents – again, too numerous to mention – who’ve taken us along on campaign trails and done their level best to help us make sense of so much madness. You have afflicted the comfortable and comforted the afflicted, spending countless hours away from your families to tell stories that matter, and especially lately. You’ve risked so much to take us to the frontlines of war. Your reporting has been the backbone of our work. Thank you for being so good at your jobs.
(...)
And thank you for letting me into your homes, your businesses, and your vehicles for an hour every day. I appreciate you seeing the value in journalism showcasing the plight of the least among us, simply asking questions and waiting for answers. We need it now perhaps more than we ever have.
(...)
