During NBC’s live special coverage Thursday afternoon of the Senate confirmation vote for President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, Nightly News anchor Lester Holt and a parade of network correspondents swooned over “history” in the making while taking partisan jabs at Republicans.
“Peter, I suspect that I know what the TVs are tuned to right now at the White House,” Holt remarked to chief White House correspondent Peter Alexander early in the special report. Alexander responded by repeating the hyperbolic talk points of Democrats. “The press secretary delaying her briefing to reporters today so that the White House, the staff, and those other officials could watch this historic moment. What Chuck Schumer described as one of the great moments in American history.”
“Gush!” The reporter continued to exclaim: “…this is a moment that the White House is celebrating, celebrating this new soon-to-be justice as a woman of deep qualifications and a strong personal story….and she is someone who’s following grew, the support of Americans grew over the course of her testimony before the American public.”
Holt then reached out to Yamiche Alcindor (Washington correspondent), who increased the swoon factor.
Alcindor went on to add: “So this is a moment where so many people who know her are emotional and they’re also in some ways feeling that this is a great end to what was a painful process.”
Minutes later, Holt and Alexander took a break from fawning over the “history” Jackson was making to hail the “historic” nature of Vice President Kamala Harris presiding over the vote:
However, amid all the celebration and histrionics, when “history” had to be delayed by just a few more minutes because Republican Senator Rand Paul was running a little late for the vote, Alcindor immediately assumed it was part of some nefarious GOP plot. Holt fuelled the wild speculation. “But still waiting, again, for Senator Paul. Now let me return to Yamiche. Yamiche, you have to start wondering now whether there’s a statement being made here.”
Only moments later, Senator Paul arrived and voted against Jackson’s nomination, as expected.
Holt proclamed: “A historic moment. The first black woman Vice President of the United States giving that final tally, 53 to 47, propelling Ketanji Brown Jackson to be the first black woman justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Alcindor came back yet again to cheer “This is a profound moment that took 233 years to achieve as a country. For so many who had supported her and believed in her idea, this is a moment of joy. before she was the one who was chosen, the idea of a black woman ascending to the highest court of the land.”
NBC’s coverage was completely indistinguishable from a press release put out by the Biden White House or Senate Democrats.
There were no commercial breaks during the network’s live special coverage.
1.58 PM ET
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LESTER HOLT: Let’s bring in our chief White House correspondent Peter Alexander. Peter, it is likely that I am aware of the White House’s TV channel. We will hear the President speak today.
PETER ALEXANDER: Well, we’re not going to hear from the President on camera today, but it’s likely we’ll hear from him in the form of some statement. To ensure that this moment could be seen by all officials, including the White House and staff, her press secretary delayed her briefing. Chuck Schumer called it one of America’s greatest moments.
Lester is being portrayed by the White House as fulfilling a promise made by the President to his country. Biden, then-candidate, stated just two years ago that he would nominate the first African woman to the Supreme Court if elected president. It looks like he has carried out his promise and that the nomination will be made official in just a few minutes.
The White House will be hosting an event tomorrow honoring Judge Ketanji brown Jackson, and it seems likely that President Biden will do so. We are not sure what legislators will be there, as several of those who were present with President Biden in the last 48-hours, such as Nancy Pelosi (House Speaker), have recently tested positive for COVID-19.
The White House celebrates this moment, celebrating the soon-to be justice, celebrating a woman with deep qualifications and strong personal stories. She will have been confirmed for the fourth time by the Senate today and she is someone who’s following grew, the support of Americans grew over the course of her testimony before the American public. Lester?
HOLT : Okay, only a few senators have yet to vote. Yamiche is Washington’s correspondent. Yamiche was the Biden government’s candidate. They were what, and how did they end up?
YAMICHE ALCONDO: President Biden promised that a nominated woman would be a consensus-builder and be able get bipartisan support. They wanted a woman who would not only be intelligent, had the necessary background to fill this role, but who could also be calm and composed during what they thought was a long confirmation process.
They got someone who was able to remain calm during the confirmation process, which included a lot of criticisms from Republicans. They tried to portray her as soft on crime. One time, she tried to suggest that she might be supporting Critical Race Theory propaganda. People who know her well said that she stood strong and that it was not surprising that she did as well during the confirmation process. They say that she’s someone who her friends and people around her thought that she was destined to be on the Supreme Court.
The moment she’s about to achieve is the culmination of 233 years worth of work. Her friends tell me that she was someone who took her studies very, very seriously and she was someone who wanted very much to be a judge but also wanted to be someone who would listen to other people who did not always agree with her, something that she’s going to have to be doing on the Supreme Court. They say she’s a person who wants to do that.
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2.05 PM ET
HOLT. Garrett and other Republicans attempted to present Judge Brown Jackson’s softness on sentencing. That was their calculation. What’s the mood now coming out of this vote, knowing the votes were there? How was it among Republicans?
GARRETT HAKE: Republicans were aware from the beginning that this nomination would be difficult to defeat. You would have achieved a 50/50 Senate vote, with Kamala Harir breaking the tie, if Democrats were all united. With Supreme Court politics becoming the mess they are, particularly over the past several nominations it seemed almost certain that this would happen.
Republicans wanted to steal some of Joe Biden’s spotlight. Although they might claim they did it here, they clearly lost three members of their own who voted for Judge Jackson and crossed the line in support of her. And I did hear from both Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski over these last couple of weeks, a bit of a backlash to the way that Judge Jackson’s confirmation was handled by some Republicans. The line of questions about child predators sentencing and child pornography was distasteful, unfair, and too politicized according to them. This contributed to today’s bipartisan vote.
HOLT. Garrett. While we wait to see Senator Paul return to the chambers to cast his vote, I’ll turn my attention to Yamiche. And we’re talking about the history here and it is profound. But what’s the practical matter of the first black woman justice on the Supreme Court?
ALCINDOR: The practical matter is that this will be the first time that someone with her lived experiences will be able to serve on the Supreme Court and it’s not a coincidence. Civil rights activists that I’ve been talking to ahead of this vote tell me that we as a country need to recognize that this was a position that was denied to black women and he or she is going to come and be able to have the conversation with her fellow justices about what it’s like to be a descendent of enslaved people, what it’s like to be a woman who is also balancing, of course, her life as a mother, but also her life as a wife, but also her life as someone who has a substantial amount of public defense in criminal justice background.
I’m also told by her friends that when you – when they think about the moment and the history that she’s making, that she is, they say, the perfect person to make this because she’s someone who has had a nuanced experience in America. Although she had a grandfather who was sentenced to time, her family also included a brother and several relatives who were police officers or chiefs. She’s someone who is also – has balanced a lot of adversity in her own life and that’s also helped other friends through adversity.
One of her friends was telling me about how she – even while she was going through the confirmation process was texting her friends at 2:00 in the morning responding to things that their children were doing and that was going on in their lives. So in some ways, she’s someone who is making history as, they say, her friends, as someone who is both understanding of the ordinary stereotypes and challenges that black women have to deal with, but someone who has excelled past so many things as both a double Harvard graduate, but also someone who has been in – has been really ascending in judicial nominees and in judicial positional positions here.
So this is a moment where so many people who know her are emotional and they’re also in some ways feeling that this is a great end to what was a painful process. Garrett discussed the confirmation hearings. During those hearings, many of Garrett’s close friends were there to stand behind her. She was someone who was alone in this and she also got emotional at the end when Senator Booker spoke about her great American heritage and told her to not be worried because she had a place in the history.
The nation sees this as an extremely important moment. However, it also underlines the hardships that many African American women must go through to achieve such high levels of achievement.
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2:10 PM ET
HOLT: Let’s go to chief White House correspondent Peter Alexander. And, Peter, we’ve been talking about history. Let’s not forget, presiding over this is Vice President Harris, who knows a thing or two about history as well.
ALEXANDER: Yeah, that’s exactly right. Not only is she the first black Vice President of the United States, she serves as the president – as Vice President – of the Senate. This is an historic moment because of a number of factors, including the fact that she is the first African Vice President in the United States and preside over the confirmation process of the Supreme Court’s first woman of color. The nation’s highest court. This moment isn’t lost. The Vice President preside over close elections.
The White House expressed its desire to attend this historic moment, and Murkowski, Collins, and Mitt Romney made it abundantly clear by their support for her. So there is some more history that we’re watching here today.
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2:44 PM ET
HOLT: Senator Paul is still in my thoughts. I’ll turn my attention to Yamiche. Yamiche, you have to start wondering now whether there’s a statement being made here.
ALCINDOR (Interviewer): It is an important question. Garrett’s reporting that the Senator’s aides closed the door and would not answer questions during this historic vote really does say something. And it really, in some ways, begs the question of, is this gonna be yet another hurdle, another unusual thing that’s happening to Judge Jackson as she tries to make history? As she will, This vote, Garrett stated, will take place. The vote count will determine her confirmation.
But it is, in some ways, an unsettling – it’s an unsettling development. In some ways it reminds me of the conversations that I’ve been having with black women who say that they’ve had to navigate all sorts of hurdles, all sorts of, they say, indignities in order to achieve what they want, in order to achieve the things that they’ve earned and that they deserve. Washington seems confused as ever while waiting for Justice to be confirmed. It’s the judge, I would say. She’s not a justice just yet.
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2:19 PM ET
HOLT: An historic moment. Ketanji brown Jackson became the first African-American woman to become the U.S. Supreme Court justice. Now let me return to Yamiche, and think about this moment.
ALCINDOR: It was a moment of greatness that we have been working for for 233 years. For so many of those who had supported her in the past, this is a moment of joy. Today, many of her close friends and family members told me they consider this to be a very inspirational moment for black women and all people of colour in the country. People who wish to follow in her footsteps.
Ketanji Jackson, who is on her journey to becoming Justice Jackson, leans in, reminding everyone that she is a descendent from enslaved persons. That her name, “Ketanji,” is African. Friends often shared with me how she made sure everyone knew her name. She wanted pride in her ancestral heritage. This is an opportunity for the country to reflect upon not only her achievement, but the obstacles that still exist for many other people who are trying to do the same.
And I should say one other thing, which is that some of her friends also told me that representation isn’t always everything. That representation and having her on the Court is a start, but that institutions and so many other things in our country need to change for what we see here today to be – to reach it’s full potential in mattering in our society.
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2.22 PM ET
ALEXANDER – We just found out that the cameras invited to the Roosevelt Room at the White House were allowed into this room. This was as President Biden was inside watching the final vote take place. According to our sources, her confirmation was also received by other members of the senior staff. The photos are being processed right now and we’ll share them with you once we do.
Separately the White House has announced just moments ago that tomorrow, it will continue this celebration by hosting a 12 :15 Eastern Time celebration to celebrate her confirmation. It will be held on the South Lawn at the White House with remarks from President Biden as well Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. That’s gonna be sort of a two-day affair.
The process has been in place for several months. It’s something the President has thought about for years, dating back to his time having served as the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and now tomorrow – well, I guess today and ultimately tomorrow – in person, in front of America, the two will stand in a chance to celebrate this historic achievement. The President said that the Court could look more American. This is a clear indication that the United States Supreme Court will soon seat the first African-American woman as a judge.
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2.23 PM ET
HALLIE JACKSON: And, Lester, you know, beyond I think what you and Yamiche and Peter and Garrett have talked about, the historical sweep of this moment here, one of the things I’m looking at is the political undertone of this, right? The White House could tomorrow at the celebration Peter was referring to, speak about how it was a bipartisan moment. Yes, it is. But it is not entirely bipartisan. The Democrats are represented by three Republicans.
And that’s not how it always used to be, right? It wasn’t always the case that we would see this close of a vote on something as important and as big of a deal as a Supreme Court justice. What you have seen, though, as that has happened, right, and you’ve heard even some of these Republicans and many Democrats decry what they describe as the overly political process now, the confirmation process that we’ve been covering here over this last month or so, that has eroded public support in the institution of the Supreme Court overall it seems. If you take a look at these figures, Gallup shows that 40% of Americans view the Supreme Court as a positive institution, despite the trust in the Court hitting an all-time low. This could potentially have long-term implications, Lester. As we see more Court openings and confirmations, it is possible that this will continue.
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