President Biden concluded his Geneva, Switzerland summit with nothing to show for it but some nice photos of him shaking hands with Russian authoritarian Vladimir Putin and footage of Russian security manhandling the American press. But that didn’t stop CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell from delivering a doting segment proclaiming it a “legacy-defining” summit, despite admitting it went nowhere.
Meanwhile, there was a strange sight on ABC’s World News Tonight where anchor David Muir and chief White House correspondent Cecilia Vega were so sycophantic for Biden, that they lauded him for snapping at CNN chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins. They also ignored Biden's apology.
O’Donnell had teased her doting closing comments at the top of the program. “And diplomacy in action. While two world leaders practice the politics of personal relationships,” she gushed. “Tonight, we wanted to end with what we've witnessed here in Geneva, the Swiss city of peace,” she announced when they finally got to the segment.
She then proceeded to swoon for how Biden handled the summit:
The Presidents’ summit started with a handshake, but the initial efforts to cover it turned chaotic with the Russians trying to force the press from the room with shoving, as if to cut short a meeting the international journalists seemed hungry to document: a moment to solve problems face to face, not with confrontation, but with conversation.
“It's worth noting that Joseph R. Biden began his presidency declaring American diplomacy is back. Today, he said all foreign policy is the logical extension of personal relationships,” she added.
And as O’Donnell was wrapping up the segment, she argued “that is the test and perhaps the legacy-defining moment for President Biden, whether his personal relationships will change anything as our 46th president makes the case that diplomacy, dialogue, and democracy are America's greatest exports.”
Over on ABC, Muir’s opening comments seemed to boast about Biden snapping at Collins when she asked a simple question:
And President Biden tonight, not happy with a final question. A reporter here asking, “why are you so confident he'll change his behavior?” Biden stopping and then answering, saying, "That is not what I said." The President making it clear this is not about trust, it is about what he sees in the coming months from Putin and from Russia.
Further in the report, Vega noted that Biden was left “bristling” by the question. “And Cecilia, President Biden clearly unhappy with one of those final questions,” Muir declared as he proceeded to stand up for the President:
He made it clear today that he says he's not confident that Putin will change, he says he doesn't trust Putin, in fact, he repeatedly said many different ways that it will take months, it’ll take time to see whether relations between the U.S. and Russia actually improve.
“You just said it. The President made it extremely clear today, he is under no illusions. This is not about trusting Vladimir Putin. President Biden says this is about verifying and then trusting,” Vega agreed.
These doting and sycophantic reports for President Biden were made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Consumer Cellular on both ABC and CBS. Their contact information is linked so you can tell them about the biased news they fund.
The transcripts are below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s World News Tonight
June 16, 2021
6:34:20 p.m. Eastern(…)
DAVID MUIR: And President Biden tonight, not happy with a final question. A reporter here asking, “why are you so confident he'll change his behavior?” Biden stopping and then answering, saying, "That is not what I said." The President making it clear this is not about trust, it is about what he sees in the coming months from Putin and from Russia.
(…)
6:38:17 p.m. Eastern
CECILIA VEGA: As the press conference ended, the President bristling at this question.
KAITLAN COLLINS (CNN): Why are you so confident he'll change his behavior, Mr. President?
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: I’m not confident he’ll change his behavior. What the Hell-- What do you do all the time? When did I say I was confident? [Transition] I said, what will change their behavior is that the rest of the world reacts to them and it diminishes their standing in the world. I'm not confident of anything.
[Cuts back to live]
MUIR: And Cecilia Vega with us live tonight right here in Geneva. And Cecilia, President Biden clearly unhappy with one of those final questions. He made it clear today that he says he's not confident that Putin will change, he says he doesn't trust Putin, in fact, he repeatedly said many different ways that it will take months, it’ll take time to see whether relations between the U.S. and Russia actually improve.
VEGA: Six months to a year, he says, David, to establish this meaningful dialogue on things that matter, everything from cyber security to human rights. You just said it. The President made it extremely clear today, he is under no illusions. This is not about trusting Vladimir Putin. President Biden says this is about verifying and then trusting.
But we saw those handshakes today, we heard this tone today. You still heard the President say after all of that, this is about -- there is more work to do.
CBS Evening News
June 16, 2021
6:31:46 p.m. Eastern [Opening tease]NORAH O’DONNELL: And diplomacy in action. While two world leaders practice the politics of personal relationships.
(…)
6:54:02 p.m. Eastern
O’DONNELL: Tonight, we wanted to end with what we've witnessed here in Geneva, the Swiss city of peace.
[Cuts to video]
The Presidents’ summit started with a handshake, but the initial efforts to cover it turned chaotic with the Russians trying to force the press from the room with shoving, as if to cut short a meeting the international journalists seemed hungry to document: a moment to solve problems face to face, not with confrontation, but with conversation.
It's worth noting that Joseph R. Biden began his presidency declaring American diplomacy is back. Today, he said all foreign policy is the logical extension of personal relationships.
[Cuts back to live]
And that is the test and perhaps the legacy-defining moment for President Biden, whether his personal relationships will change anything as our 46th president makes the case that diplomacy, dialogue, and democracy are America's greatest exports.
