Over the weekend, The New York Times claimed in an article that Vice President Mike Pence was running a “shadow campaign for 2020,” which brought a scathing rebuke from Pence and President Trump. But despite the denials from the White House, on Monday, ABC’s World News Tonight ran an entire segment about the idea, laying out the evidence and only briefly mentioning the Vice President’s reaction. And they were the only network evening newscast in the Big Three (ABC, CBS, and NBC) to give the non-story any significant time.
“We turn now to President Trump lashing out tonight after a report in The New York Times suggesting Vice President Mike Pence might be getting ready to run for president himself in 2020,” hyped sensationalist Anchor David Muir. “The report points to among other things, the many trips Pence has made in just the first 200 days in office.”
The network’s Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl started off his report by mocking how angry President Trump got on Twitter after reporters incessantly called his New Jersey stay a vacation. “But that isn't all President Trump's tweeting about,” Karl quipped.
“He's upset with The New York Times, apparently, about this report suggesting that fellow Republicans and possibly even his own Vice President are positioning themselves to run for president in 2020 if Trump himself does not run,” he reported.
Karl read from the Times piece where they claimed Pence was “acting more like a second-term vice president hoping to clear the field than a no. 2 sworn in a little over six months ago,” because of a busy schedule.
To seemingly back up the claims of the Times, Karl noted that “Pence has traveled extensively since the inauguration.” He then added that “in just the first 200 days he's made at least 26 trips across the country, including stops in Ohio, Florida, and Iowa.”
Only then did Pence’s strong denouncement of the assertions get mentioned by the ABC correspondent. “The Vice President shot down the report, issuing an official statement calling it, quote: ‘Disgraceful and offensive,’” Karl stated. But he failed to mention the part where the Vice President said: “the allegations in this article are categorically false.”
And it wasn’t until they were about to move onto the next story, did they think to mention why Trump was in New Jersey. “And Jon, the President has said he is away at his golf club for 17 days in part, because of the renovations at the White House,” Muir asked. “This is a $3.4 million renovation project that was approved and planned under the Obama administration, and we expect it to be finished by the time the President returns later this month,” Karl answered.
The harping on this non-story by The New York Times only serves to try and drive a wedge between the President and the Vice President. Since they know Trump likes to watch the news, they hope to work him up enough to get him to turn on Pence. Meanwhile, on CBS and NBC, Pence’s stern push back seemed to be enough to get them to back off.
Transcript below:
ABC
World News Night
August 7, 2017
6:36:12 PM EasternDAVID MUIR: We turn now to President Trump lashing out tonight after a report in The New York Times suggesting Vice President Mike Pence might be getting ready to run for president himself in 2020. The report points to among other things, the many trips Pence has made in just the first 200 days in office. ABC's Chief White House Correspondent, Jonathan Karl, with what the Vice President is now saying tonight.
[Cuts to video]
JON KARL: President Trump tonight is settling into his 17-day stay at his New Jersey golf club –
DONALD TRUMP: Everyone having a good time?
KARL: But don't call it a vacation. Trump tweeting: “This is not a vacation. Meetings and calls.” And that he's "Working hard" and is "Going to New York next week for more meetings."
But that isn't all President Trump's tweeting about. He's upset with The New York Times, apparently, about this report suggesting that fellow Republicans and possibly even his own Vice President are positioning themselves to run for president in 2020 if Trump himself does not run.
The New York Times says Vice President Pence's “schedule is so full of political events that Republicans joke that he is acting more like a second-term vice president hoping to clear the field than a no. 2 sworn in a little over six months ago.”
Pence has traveled extensively since the inauguration. In just the first 200 days he's made at least 26 trips across the country, including stops in Ohio, Florida, and Iowa. The Vice President shot down the report, issuing an official statement calling it, quote: "Disgraceful and offensive."
Meanwhile, one of the President's top advisers is conceding that his support has begun to slip a bit.
KELLYANNE CONWAY: His approval rating among Republicans and conservatives and Trump voters is down slightly. It needs to go up. They are telling him just enact your program –
KARL: But the President himself seems to disagree, tweeting today: "The Trump base is far bigger and stronger than ever before."
[Cuts back to live]
MUIR: So let's bring in Jonathan Karl live in Washington tonight. And Jon, the President has said he is away at his golf club for 17 days in part, because of the renovations at the White House?
KARL: David, the entire West Wing has been emptied, including the Oval Office. Contractors are repainting the walls, refinishing the floors, putting in new carpet. They’re also replacing a 27-year-old heating and air-conditioning system. This is a $3.4 million renovation project that was approved and planned under the Obama administration, and we expect it to be finished by the time the President returns later this month.
