FLASHBACK: How TV News Helped Joe Biden Sell His $1.9 Trillion Spending Spree

The inflation rate is now at an all-time high, surpassing 40 years. This past week, the networks laughably tried to spin a tiny slowing of the rate of inflation, from 8.5 percent to 8.3 as some sort of “sign of hope” and “good news.” All of this is a desperate attempt by the networks to save the floundering Joe Biden and his Democratic Party from disaster in the November midterms.

Don’t forget that the liberal media was huge cheerleaders of the reckless spending that brought us to this point. Ex-Media Research Center Research Director Rich Noyes explains how ABC, CBS, and NBC assisted the President in selling his extravagant $1.9 trillion spending spree. This was explained in a March 11, 2021 study.

Noyes noted, “Instead of scrutinizing the bill’s spending choices, the broadcast networks built their coverage around its most popular provision as well as sympathetic anecdotes about those in need.”

Here’s more from the study:

The networks directed viewers to focus on the $1,400 checks that were sent to individual citizens. This line of item was mentioned in approximately three-fifths (40) of the stories). This was double the amount of times they spoke about money to be used for vaccines and other testing in order to combat the pandemic (20 stories). The $15 minimum wage was also discussed (20 stories), additional unemployment benefits (19 stories), funding of schools (12 stories), as well as support for small- and medium-sized businesses (12 stories).

These newscasts did not reveal what viewers had never seen: The fact that Congress has yet to distribute more than $1 trillion of funds and the failure to meet much-requested shortfalls in tax revenue for state and local governments.

Unbearable to mention is the fact that $1,400 would be paid to fully-employed people who do not require it, as well to those who are unemployed and who have a need for help. The combined cost of individual checks, enhanced unemployment benefits, and other payments amounts to less than 40%.

The establishment media portrayed themselves as truth-tellers during the Trump years. In covering the first major initiative of the Biden administration, the networks executed a full flip-flop — abandoning any pretense of hostility in favor of providing aid and comfort for a massive spending bill that goes far beyond what’s necessary to help those who are actually in need.

What did the network do when inflation started spiraling out of control? Biden signed the bloated Infrastructure Bill into law on November 15, 2021. Next day, 16 seconds were spent by the networks on the issue of inflation.

As all of this money has gone sour, networks raced for the Democrats’ survival. The following is an excerpt. CBS Mornings, co-host Nate Burleson hailed, “There’s a small glimmer of hope for Americans struggling with rising prices. The rate of increase in inflation slowed very slightly last month.”

On NBC’s Today, co-host Hoda Kotb saw the tiny change as “a sign of hope” for the economy: “New numbers on inflation show it is slowing down slightly. We’re live with that new sign of hope affecting your bottom line.”

The networks are trying to save Joe Biden’s presidency. But given that they were cheerleaders for all this spending, they’re also trying to save their own tarnished reputation.

You can find more flashback examples in our Flashback Series, we call it the NewsBusters Time MachineClick here.

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