Networks Play Lapdog for Biden, Tout SOTU Speech Filled With 9/11-Like ‘Unity’

Reacting Wednesday to President Biden’s State of the Union address from the night prior, the broadcast network mornings newscasts on ABC, CBS, and NBC largely decided to play White House stenographers in touting Biden’s “call[s] for unity” Focus “on common ground and not…partisanship.” According to one network, it resulted in cheers similar to American unity following 9/11.

CBS Mornings Co-host Democratic donorGayle King started by boasting about Biden “call[ed]To combat inflation and to respond, large investments should be made[ed] forcefully to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine” In a masquerade gathering was “jarring”She is loved by so many “interact[ed] without masks.”

King also praised a CBS News poll. “78 percent of Americans who watched the speech approved of it” Even though it is hilarious, “close to half of those polled are Democrats.”

White House correspondent Ed O’Keefe described Biden’s remarks as “a 62-minute speech during which the President mostly tried to dwell on common ground and not on the partisanship that’s divided this capital city and from the beginning, he focused on an issue that’s quickly become a top-of-mind concern: the crisis in Ukraine and holding Vladimir Putin accountable.”

He continued, touting Biden’s plans to address inflation and immigration without pushback while lamenting heckling from two House Republicans “punctured” Biden’s “attempts at bipartisanship” (click “expand”):

Biden was seen without his mask on and made friends with coworkers.

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According to CBS News, 64% of speech watchers believed that President Obama’s policies would decrease inflation. According to him, one way to lower costs would be to revive American manufacturing.

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He advocated for dreamers to become citizens and he disassociated himself from liberal Democrats regarding criminal justice reform.

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He called for the passage of a united agenda that focused on four areas with wide bipartisan support. They were: Ending the opioid epidemic; tackling mental health and supporting veterans. Two Republican legislators, Marjorie Taylor Greene from Georgia and Lauren Boebert, of Colorado, thwarted his efforts at bipartisanship.

(….)

They shouted “build the wall” when he mentioned immigration, and Boebert interrupted again when he was speaking of his son’s death, blaming the President for service members killed in Afghanistan during last year’s chaotic withdrawal.

(….)

This drew applause from the entire chamber and was criticized by both sides over the night.

ABC’s Good Morning America Similarly, he was on Team Biden. Chief White House correspondent Cecilia Vega said that while “Biden delivered this speech…to a divided nation,” his pleas for “the world to save democracy in the face of…Putin”Draw “something he has rarely seen since taking office: unity on both sides of the aisle.”

Following the same pattern of ping-ponging between summarizing White House talking points and Biden soundbites, Vega joined her colleagues in refusing to acknowledge the Biden administration’s energy policies opposing expanded domestic oil and gas production.

And on the economy, Vega passed along Biden’s insistence that “fighting rising prices” was “his top priority” and would do so with “lowering the cost of prescription drugs and childcare.”

After stating Biden won “some Republican cheers with his message on fighting crime” and pointing to Boebert’s heckling, Vega enthused: “But in these divided times, it was his praise for the strength of the American people that brought this chamber to its feet.”

To her credit, she was the only network correspondent to mention Biden’s poll numbers, saying his “37 percent approval rating” in the ABC/Washington Post poll means he’s searching for any momentum.

Vega, who was rehearsing excerpts from her first segment at 8:00 a.m. Eastern time, returned to the show.

And on NBC’s TodaySavannah Guthrie was co-host and stated that Biden was “[t]alking tough” Russia, as he intended “to revive the administration’s stalled domestic agenda.”

Peter Alexander, the Chief White House Correspondent opened on Russia as did his counterparts before moving onto domestic affairs. He reported that Biden “acknowledg[ed] too many people are still feeling the pain of rising prices.”

As Vega was the only one to mention his poll numbers, Alexander was the only one of the three to mention the Republican response, saying Biden’s speech was “immediately panned by Iowa’s governor, Kim Reynolds.”

He declined to blame Biden for inflation, just as he did at 7:00 AM and 8:00 AM Eastern times.

The Today, 3:00 p.m., he returned but with more syrupy language, including the claim that Biden’s applause lines on Ukraine was the first time such unity occurred at a State of the Union since after 9/11.

And on his failed legislative agenda, Alexander lamented Biden’s plans to improve the economy “have run into a brick wall” (click “expand”):

[W]Also, we saw the largest bipartisan cheers since those months or years after 9/11. Republicans and Democrats unified in condemning Vladimir Putin. They actually supported the heroism of President Vladimir Putin, which was praised by Volodymyr Zelensky and the people in Ukraine. But, as you said, the President was — he did slam Vladimir Putin saying this is effectively his war. 

(….)

The tale was a series of speeches. The state of Ukraine was first, then the traditional union state. The President stated that inflation is his number one priority. Everyone sees gas prices right now. Especially in California. They’re paying now a record high price for gas right now. The President said — he laid out some proposals, some ideas to help try to bring down costs for Americans, to try to help with those rising prices right now, but a lot of these policies have run into challenges on Capitol Hill. The current situation is a blockade.

Advertising companies such as Progressive and Liberty Mutual (on NBC), American Express (on ABC), and American Express (on ABC) enabled the media campaign for White House support. Follow the links to see their contact information at the MRC’s Conservatives Fight Back page.

Click here for ABC and CBS and here and hier for NBC to view the pertinent transcripts as of March 2.