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By Kyle Drennen
In a staggering example of the press lacking any self-awareness, on Monday’s NBC Today, co-host Savannah Guthrie fretted over “a recent poll that said nearly half of people think the media make up stories” and unbelievably turned to disgraced former CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather to suggest ways in which the news media could “enhance its own credibility.”
Citing a Politico poll from October that found 46 percent of voters “believe the news media fabricate news stories about President Donald Trump and his administration,” Guthrie asked Rather: “The media itself is under fire. And what do you think the media needs to do better to enhance its own credibility? And what do people need to understand about the value of the press?”
The ex-network anchor, who was fired for using fraudulent documents to smear former President George W. Bush in a series of reports ahead of the 2004 election, was shameless as he replied to Guthrie’s softball: “Well, first, those of us who are in the media....we need to do a better job, we need to do our job. Our job is to bear witness, to be honest brokers of information. To be as accurate and fair as we possibly can.”
He then went on the attack against the country’s most vocal media critic:
I think most of the public understands that we’re under attack by very powerful people, including the President, for their own partisan, political, and ideological reasons. They want people – they’re basically saying, “Believe us, believe only your president and believe only the people who are in power. Don’t believe these people out in the press.”
And what about Rather’s “partisan, political, and ideological reasons” for promoting a phony attack against a sitting Republican president in order to influence an election?
Amazingly, Guthrie never even mentioned Rather’s infamous exit from CBS News. It was the newsman himself who vaguely alluded to his controversial past: “...heavens knows I’ve made my mistakes, have my open wounds from some self-inflicted wounds...”
Rather was on the morning show to promote his new book, What Unites Us, and ended the exchange on this note: “So if we just can keep emphasizing those things about which we agree, keep a civil conversation, I think we’re going to be alright. I’m an optimist by experience and by nature.” Guthrie gushed: “Absolutely, I’m an optimist, too. And the book is right on that tone.”
Here are just a few examples of Rather promoting “civil conversation” over the past year:
Dan Rather’s Grave Diagnosis: President Trump 'Psychologically Troubled'
Lunacy: Dan Rather Claims ‘Prayer Will Not Be Enough’ to Save Us from Trump’s Evils
Dan Rather: Don’t Be Distracted By Trump’s ‘Trained Monkey’ Act
Rather: White House ‘Flames’ ‘Burning Down’ ‘Very Pillars of Our Democracy’
Disgraced Dan Rather: Those Who ‘Normalize’ Trump Will Answer to the Future
Reality-Denier Rather Blasts Conservatives as 'Reality Deniers'
Rather was also treated to fawning promotion of his book on NPR’s All Things ConsideredFriday night, where the liberal hosts applauded him for entering a “new phase” in his career.
The biased exchange with Rather on the Today show was brought to viewers by Brighthouse Financial and Dunkin Donuts.
Here is a excerpt of the November 6 interview:
8:36 AM ET
(...)
 SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Our institutions aren’t perfect, of course. No one will be surprised that you have an impassioned defense of a free press in the book. And I mean, there’s a recent poll that said nearly half of people think the media make up stories. The media itself is under fire. And what do you think the media needs to do better to enhance its own credibility? And what do people need to understand about the value of the press?
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Rather on “What Unites Us”; Anchor’s Take on Political Discourse in the U.S.]
DAN RATHER: Well, first, those of us who are in the media – I prefer the world “press” because we have freedom of the press, but let’s set that aside – we need to do a better job, we need to do our job. Our job is to bear witness, to be honest brokers of information. To be as accurate and fair as we possibly can. So we need to do a better job.
I think most of the public understands that we’re under attack by very powerful people, including the President, for their own partisan, political, and ideological reasons. They want people – they’re basically saying, “Believe us, believe only your president and believe only the people who are in power. Don’t believe these people out in the press.”
And this is a fundamental American trait and value, to understand the press is not perfect, we’re going to make our mistakes, but we’re a check on power. And I think when people stop and think about it, remind themselves of that, they’ll say, “Yeah, with all of their flaws” – and heavens knows I’ve made my mistakes, have my open wounds from some self-inflicted wounds – but I do think people understand about the press.
And such things as the right to vote. You know, there’s always some controversy about should people have a driver’s license and that sort of thing. But we believe in a fundamental right to vote. So if we just can keep emphasizing those things about which we agree, keep a civil conversation, I think we’re going to be alright. I’m an optimist by experience and by nature. It may be a long valley, but we’ll get through it. And have to keep hope alive.
GUTHRIE: Absolutely, I’m an optimist, too. And the book is right on that tone. Thank you so much, Dan Rather, for being with us.
(...)
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By Nicholas Fondacaro
 After chastising President Trump for ‘politicizing’ lottery visas after the New York City terror attack last week, the Big Three Networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) spent time during their Monday evening broadcasts pushing for more gun control while slamming Trump for saying the Sutherland, Texas mass shooting was a mental health issue. ABC took it a step further and made misleading claims that Trump had made it easier for the mentally ill to buy firearms, an assertion that was proven false back in February.
Their disdain for the President, Republicans, and Second Amendment advocates was palpable. “The mass shooting here in Texas has prompted some in Congress to once again call for gun control. Will this time be different,” declared soon-to-be-minted CBS Evening News Anchor Jeff Glor. And Congressional Correspondent Nancy Cordes seemed dismayed that “President Trump blamed [the shooter’s] psyche, not his weapon” for the taking of innocent lives.
After noting that, so far, there was no news of the shooter being diagnosed with a mental illness, she claimed it “may explain why he was able to obtain a Ruger AR-556 rifle within days of it being named the NRA's gun of the week.” Besides the obvious smear of the NRA, Cordes’ comment neglected what CBS had previously reported, which was the shooter had slipped through the cracks because the Air Force failed to have the FBI add his to the Criminal Background Check System after his court-martial.
“And while U.S. levels of mental illness are comparable to those in other western countries, our rate of firearm homicides is 6 to 16 times greater,” Cordes continued, failing to take into account most of those deaths were crime between criminals and suicides.
Cordes also touted Democrats for pushing gun control and lamented how the GOP hadn’t done anything. “Congress does have all the facts about dozens of past mass shootings, of course, but that hasn't led to much action either,” she whined, failing to mention that most liberal gun control schemes would not have stopped any of the recent mass shootings.
On NBC Nightly News, White House Correspondent Hallie Jackson sneered as she began her report: “It happened again, a shooting then tweets, thoughts and prayers … And on gun control, any debate delayed.” “Too soon, the President says, echoing his comments last month two days after the worst mass shooting in U.S. history,” she continued to bemoan.
“Talking about mental illness after a mass shooting is absolutely a political diversion,” a Sandy Hook parent told NBC in an interview and played by Jackson. And still, there was no mention of how any of the liberal proposed gun control measures would have stopped the shooting. Again, a background check would have stopped the Sutherland shooter from purchasing all of his weapons if he was properly added to the Criminal Background Check System.
Meanwhile, on ABC’s World News Tonight, sensationalist Anchor David Muir and White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega were claiming Trump had made it easier for the mentally ill to buy weapons, a charge that had been debunked months ago.
“And tonight, a move by President Trump just weeks after his inauguration is now taking on new scrutiny. He signed a measure making it easier for some people with mental illness to buy a gun,” Muir announced as the segment began. And after playing a clip of Trump in Japan saying the problem was one of mental health, Vega proclaimed:
But shortly after the President took office, he signed a measure rolling back a regulation that made it harder for some people with mental illnesses to purchase guns. Critics said the rule -- which affected about 75,000 people -- violated the second amendment.
That was false. There’s also the matter of Vega seemingly being fine with 75,000 people losing their rights because it was a relatively small amount.
But as expertly explained by the National Review’s Charles C.W. Cooke, shortly after Trump inauguration, the rule which was removed regarded the Social Security Administration unilaterally declaring people violent and mentally defective because they needed aid with their personal finances. The repeal of the rule was backed by the NRA, the liberal ACLU, many mental health groups, and, as noted by the Review, the American Association of People with Disabilities wrote:
This rule would require the Social Security Administration to forward the names of all Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit recipients who use a representative payee to help manage their benefits due to a mental impairment to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
“The rule would have allowed bureaucrats within one of our federal agencies to bar American citizens from exercising a constitutional right — and on the highly questionable grounds that to be incapable of managing one’s finances is, by definition, to be a ‘mental defective,’” with no mental health professional involved, Cooke explained.
The evening broadcasts of the Big Three Networks were a disgusting and blatant political push for liberal gun control policy that would ultimately be ineffective and pointless. And it’s hypocritical for them to lambaste Trump for not wanting to limit Americans’ rights while chiding him for wanting to trip up a terrorist organization. But then again, many in the media treat the NRA and gun owners as the real terrorist.
The gun control campaign by the networks was made possible by their commercial sponsors. ABC's include Prudential Insurance and Anoro. CBS was sponsored by Consumer Celluar and Prudential Insurance too. NBC's ran commercials for Trintellix, Advil and Meta Mucil.
Transcripts below:
CBS Evening News
November 6, 2017
6:43:14 – 6:45:25 PM Eastern [2 minutes aa seconds]
JEFF GLOR: The mass shooting here in Texas has prompted some in Congress to once again call for gun control. Will this time be different? Here's Nancy Cordes.
(…)
NANCY CORDES: America's mass shooting problem came up in Tokyo today, where President Trump blamed Kelley's psyche, not his weapon.
DONALD TRUMP: I think that mental health is your problem here. This was a very, based on preliminary reports, a very deranged individual.
 CORDES: But there is no evidence yet that the suspect was ever diagnosed with a mental health disorder. Which may explain why he was able to obtain a Ruger AR-556 rifle within days of it being named the NRA's gun of the week. [Gunfire] And while U.S. levels of mental illness are comparable to those in other western countries, our rate of firearm homicides is 6 to 16 times greater.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott told CBS This Morning it's up to the Almighty to turn things around.
GAYLE KING: We all agree praying and hugs are very good, but what can we do the keep these weapons out of people that you are saying yourself are evil?
(…)
CORDES: Here on Capitol Hill, the debate has become as predictable as mass shootings themselves.
NY SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND: Americans are being slaughtered, and Congress is refusing to protect them!
CORDES: Democrats pushed for stricter gun laws today as Republicans pushed for patience.
JOHN CORNYN: I think being rational people, we ought to want to know exactly what the facts are before we decide what the best course of action might be.
[Cuts back to live]
CORDES: Congress does have all the facts about dozens of past mass shootings, of course, but that hasn't led to much action either, whether you're talking about guns or mental health or anything else, Jeff.
(…)
...
 ABC World News TonightNovember 6, 2017 6:43:19 PM -6:45:16Eastern [1 minute 56 seconds]
DAVID MUIR: President Trump sending his condolences to the victims here in Texas from Tokyo tonight. The first stop on his 13-day tour of Asia. Saying “it is not a guns situation, but a mental health problem at the highest level.” And tonight, a move by President Trump just weeks after his inauguration is now taking on new scrutiny. He signed a measure making it easier for some people with mental illness to buy a gun. Here's ABC's Cecilia Vega, traveling with the president.
(…)
DONALD TRUMP: Mental health is your problem here. This was a very -- based on preliminary reports, a very deranged individual. A lot of problems over a long period of time.
CECILIA VEGA: But shortly after the President took office, he signed a measure rolling back a regulation that made it harder for some people with mental illnesses to purchase guns. Critics said the rule -- which affected about 75,000 people -- violated the second amendment. In Tokyo, the president said now is not the time to talk about gun control.
(…)
VEGA: Too soon. He said the same thing in the wake of last month's Las Vegas massacre, despite his immediate call for changes in immigration policy in the wake of last week's truck rampage in New York City. Hours after that attack, he tweeted, "I have just ordered Homeland Security to step up our already extreme vetting program."
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By Kyle Drennen
An interview with Texas Governor Greg Abbott about the horrific church shooting in Sutherland Springs on Monday’s CBS This Morning turned heated as co-host Gayle King made it clear that the only thing she was interested in was using the attack to push for gun control. “So now we’re at place where you get shot at a concert, at a school, at a movie theater, and now, in church. Do you now think that we have to think this is the new normal in this country for the citizens who live here?,” she asked the Republican.
Abbott listed numerous recent acts of violence, including the truck attack in New York City on Halloween, that did not involve guns: “Just last week we saw a person use a truck to mow down people in a bike lane. As you know, we’ve seen bombings at concerts in London, as well as knife stabbings. And so, we need to understand the reality – ” King cut him off: “But right now we’re just focusing on the guns. Right now we’re just focusing on the guns. What is it going to take, in your opinion?”
Abbott called out her bias: “And that is what you’re focusing on.” He then went on to talk about the importance of faith after such tragedies:
...we have evil that occurs in this world....We have evil that we have to confront and, hence, the greatest response to evil is what I encountered in Sutherland Springs last night, and that is the key focus of these victims’ families that I got to hug and hold and pray with. They wanted one thing, they wanted a stronger connection to God, they wanted to be able to pray as we shared a candlelight vigil. And it’s important that we go back to the fundamentals of our faith-based nation and ensure that we’re connected with –
Again King interrupted him, brushing aside any talk of prayer to again demand new gun laws: “Praying and hugs are good, we all agree. We all agree, praying and hugs are very good, but what can we do to keep these weapons out of people that you are saying yourself are evil? What can we do about that?”
Abbott was also on NBC’s Today and ABC’s Good Morning America to discuss the shooting, but the hosts on those broadcasts managed to keep the focus on the victims and the ongoing investigation.
King’s biased line of questioning was brought to viewers by JCPenney, LegalZoom, and Bounce dryer sheets.
Here is a transcript of the November 6 exchange:
8:08 AM ET
(...)
 GAYLE KING: Governor, we’re hearing stories that eight members of one family lost their lives on that Sunday morning, going to church. So now we’re at place where you get shot at a concert, at a school, at a movie theater, and now, in church. Do you now think that we have to think this is the new normal in this country for the citizens who live here?
GOV. GREG ABBOTT [R-TX]: Well, listen. We need to understand one thing, and that is in this country killing is illegal and we’ve seen challenges in all different kinds of ways, as you know. Just last week we saw a person use a truck to mow down people in a bike lane. As you know, we’ve seen bombings at concerts in London, as well as knife stabbings. And so, we need to understand the reality –
KING: But right now we’re just focusing on the guns. Right now we’re just focusing on the guns. What is it going to take, in your opinion?
ABBOTT: And that is what you’re focusing on. It’s important that we all understand two very important things. And that is, we have evil that occurs in this world, whether it be a terrorist who uses a truck to mow down bikers in New York City, whether it be a terrorist who uses bombs or knives to stab people, or other terrorists who use vehicles – whether it be in Nice, France or any other place in the entire world – who mow down people.
We have evil that we have to confront and, hence, the greatest response to evil is what I encountered in Sutherland Springs last night, and that is the key focus of these victims’ families that I got to hug and hold and pray with. They wanted one thing, they wanted a stronger connection to God, they wanted to be able to pray as we shared a candlelight vigil. And it’s important that we go back to the fundamentals of our faith-based nation and ensure that we’re connected with –
KING: Praying and hugs are good, we all agree. We all agree, praying and hugs are very good, but what can we do to keep these weapons out of people that you are saying yourself are evil? What can we do about that?
(...)
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By Brad Wilmouth
On Monday's New Day, as Arizona Republican Senator Jeff Flake appeared as a guest, CNN host Alisyn Camerota spent nearly five minutes repeatedly pushing in favor of more gun laws in the aftermath of recent mass shootings, lamenting that it seems "hopeless" to expect Congress to take action.
During the interview -- which took place before it was reported that a clerical error had allowed the gunman in Texas to pass a background check and purchase guns in spite of a criminal record -- Flake advised her that it was important to wait long enough to learn how he obtained his guns before rushing to take action.
In her second question, the CNN host sounded like she was repeating liberal gun control talking points as she referred to there being "270 million guns on the streets." Camerota: "Has Congress just sort of decided that this is the cost of living in the United States in a country with 270 million guns on the streets?"
She soon brought up the issue of bump stocks and complained that Congress is not moving quickly enough: "But why doesn't it seem that Congress ever does anything? What's happened with bump stocks, for instance?" She soon pressed: "Why isn't Congress acting? It's been 35 days. Let's do something."
After Senator Flake indicated that, if the ATF does not begin regulating bump stocks, that he would then push for congressional action, Camerota followed up: "I don't know, Senator. It just feels so hopeless, you know. After every one of these, we all say, 'Well, maybe there's nothing we can do. I don't know. We have to change attitudes.' Do you think this is a mental health issue, as the President said?"
Below is a transcript of all of Camerota's questions on guns that came before she shifted to discussing North Korea, from the Monday, November 6, New Day on CNN:
ALISYN CAMEROTA: In the past three weeks, three acts of mass murder have shaken America -- two mass shootings and a terror attack have left 92 Americans dead and more than 500 injured. President Trump says the latest attack was a mental health issue, not a gun issue. So what will Congress do about that?
(...)
Twenty-six people killed -- 20 injured while they were at a Sunday church service. Has Congress just sort of decided that this is the cost of living in the United States in a country with 270 million guns on the streets?
(...)
This guy did a year in jail for assault of his wife and child. He was kicked out of military service as a result. How could this guy get a gun?
(...)
 It can happen anywhere. This is what's happening now. I mean, look at Charleston -- look at what happened in that church service. Look at what happened to you. You were playing baseball in Virginia in the morning with your colleagues, and a gunman opened fire. I mean, do you have a feeling that "enough is enough."
(...)
But why doesn't it seem that Congress ever does anything? What's happened with bump stocks, for instance?
(...)
What do you -- I mean, having been a victim of it now yourself, what do you think is the solution? What can happen today?
SENATOR JEFF FLAKE (R-AZ): I don't think there's any one solution, but there are --
CAMEROTA: What can help?
(...)
CAMEROTA: Why isn't Congress acting? It's been 35 days. Let's do something.
FLAKE: We're waiting for -- to see what the agencies do on their own. If they don't act, then Congress will.
CAMEROTA: And what's the time frame on that?
FLAKE: We'll see. We'll see. I know that it seems like we never take action --
CAMEROTA: It seems like you never take action.
FLAKE: It's a lot easier for the agencies to move on something like this -- I hope they do. But if they don't, Congress needs to act on this.
CAMEROTA: Within the next month?
FLAKE: I would think so. I would think that's enough time for the agencies to actually come back and say we can do this.
CAMEROTA: I don't know, Senator. It just feels so hopeless, you know. After every one of these, we all say, "Well, maybe there's nothing we can do. I don't know. We have to change attitudes." Do you think this is a mental health issue, as the President said?
(...)
CAMEROTA: Do you think there's any element of this that is a guns issue?
FLAKE: We don't know enough yet. We don't know what kind of weapon or if it was an automatic or a semi-automatic --
CAMEROTA: We know he had a semi-automatic weapon and that he had done time for assault. Is that okay?
FLAKE: Well, we don't know how he got the weapon, if that came up or should have come up --
CAMEROTA: I think legally.
FLAKE: I think it should come up if somebody's done time like that.
CAMEROTA: Can you do something about that?
FLAKE: When we find more information, but I, you know, we're less than 24 hours in, so I want to find out more information before I say definitively.
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By Curtis Houck
Republican Senator Ted Cruz (Tex.) spoke to reporters on Monday a day after the Texas church shooting and, upon hearing a number of shouted questions about gun control, he laid into the liberal media’s rush to promote the issue as one of the reasons why people don’t trust them.
An unidentified female reporter muttered a question about gun control to Cruz seconds after he opened up to questions and, needless to say, he didn’t take too kindly too that issue.
“You know, it is an unfortunate thing that the immediate place the media goes after any tragedy, after any murder is politicizing it. We don't need politics right now. You know, I would note in New York we saw a terror attack just this week with a truck. Evil is evil is evil and will use the weaponry that is available,” Cruz began while the reporter mumbled back at him.
Cruz instead sung the praises of the Good Samaritan who grabbed his own firearm and engaged the monstrous murderer:
And, I’ll tell you one of the most inspirational aspects in the face of this horror was that an ordinary citizen stepped forward to engage the gunman, heard about what was happening and just in the moments that it transpired, went, got his own rifle and engaged the gunman in an active gunfire. I toured the crime scene just a few minutes ago, saw where that private citizen hid behind a car and took incoming shots from the gunman behind him, and — because of that individual's bravery, shot the gunman and as a result, stopped this murder spree.
“We need to be celebrating that bravery and courage. We need to be celebrating the compassion and love and unity. Evil, tragically, will always be with us but so will good,”Cruz concluded before the press began shouting.
One reporter wanted to know how the gunman obtained the firearms used on Sunday while someone else yelled about the need to make “changes to gun laws now.” After a few seconds, Cruz stepped in and again slammed the media:
[I]t is predictable. There is a reason why there is public distrust of the media because the immediate focus is on a political agenda of gun control. I can say this. The private citizen who used his own rifle saved lives today. This individual was a sick, deranged murderer.
The liberal media gathered before him continued to pester him into a position of being for gun control, but it didn’t work:
UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER #1: But if not gun control, what more can you do?
CRUZ: And — evil —
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you support vigilantism then?
CRUZ: I support of right of individuals to defend themselves. It's a fundamental right that Texans understand, to defend yourself and your family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A fine line between vigilantism though!
CRUZ: And — this community right now is not looking to be drawn into the political circus of the national media, debating the same issues that the national media loves to debate.
CNN cut away from this press availability in the middle of his first answer, but MSNBC stayed with Cruz for a few more minutes before MSNBC Live host Ali Velshi pulled away. Fox News did not show Cruz’s press conference live.
In classic CNN fashion, it chose to flash this snarky chyron smearing Cruz that totally ignored his broader point about evil’s existence to play politics: “Breaking News; Cruz: People Get Killed by Trucks, Not Just Guns; Likens massacre in church that killed 26 to bike path attack that killed 8.”
But sure, CNN. Tell me again how evil should be distinguished like apples and bananas.
Here’s the relevant transcript from November 6's MSNBC Live with Ali Velshi:
MSNBC Live with Ali Velshi
November 6, 2017
3:14 p.m. Eastern
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: Had you any gun control now, sir?
 REPUBLICAN SENATOR TED CRUZ (Tex.): You know, it is an unfortunate thing that the immediate place the media goes after any tragedy, after any murder is politicizing it. We don't need politics right now. [INAUDBILE REPORTER SHOUTING] You know, I would note in New York we saw a terror attack just this week with a truck. Evil is evil is evil and will use the weaponry that is available. And, I’ll tell you one of the most inspirational aspects in the face of this horror was that an ordinary citizen stepped forward to engage the gunman, heard about what was happening and just in the moments that it transpired, went, got his own rifle and engaged the gunman in an active gunfire. I toured the crime scene just a few minutes ago, saw where that private citizen hid behind a car and took incoming shots from the gunman behind him, and — because of that individual's bravery, shot the gunman and as a result, stopped this murder spree. I asked multiple law enforcement agents what would have happened had this private citizen not stepped forward to engage and to a person, every law enforcement person I talked to said the death toll could have been much, much higher. That the reason this depraved gunman finally gave up and got in the car and fled, and didn't murder more, is precisely because one individual demonstrated bravery and courage. We need to be celebrating that bravery and courage. We need to be celebrating the compassion and love and unity. Evil, tragically, will always be with us but so will good.
[REPORTERS SHOUTING]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER #2: How was he able to get a gun?
CRUZ: I have not.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER #2: How was he able to get a gun? He was charged by —
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: We need changes to gun laws now.
CRUZ: I — you know — it is predictable. There is a reason why there is public distrust of the media because the immediate focus is on a political agenda of gun control. I can say this. The private citizen who used his own rifle saved lives today. This individual was a sick, deranged murderer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER #1: But if not gun control, what more can you do?
CRUZ: And — evil —
 UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you support vigilantism then?
CRUZ: I support of right of individuals to defend themselves. It's a fundamental right that Texans understand, to defend yourself and your family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A fine line between vigilantism though!
CRUZ: And — this community right now is not looking to be drawn into the political circus of the national media, debating the same issues that the national media loves to debate. What this community needs and wants and deserves is —
ALI VELSHI: Senator Ted Cruz of Texas behind me taking questions from reporters after meeting with the pastor just in front of the church.
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By Scott Whitlock
Barack Obama’s official photographer has released a new book of pictures and the co-hosts of CBS This Morning on Monday, unsurprisingly, went nuts for it. Norah O’Donnell deemed it “beautiful.” Charlie Rose hailed the “fantastic” cover photo of the ex-President. This comes only a few weeks of a photo book on Michelle Obama. ABC deemed that “picture perfect.”
Regarding the new book by Pete Souza, Obama: An Intimate Portrait, O’Donnell enthused, “It's a beautiful book. It’s really well done.... You were a constant presence and chronicler of history.”
Rose held up the book’s cover and hailed:
 This is as good of a picture as I've ever seen of the President.... That’s a fantastic photograph. Do you have one that you think identifies or sort of portrays the President than any other single photograph here that captures him?
King promoted photographer Souza’s new hobby, bashing Trump: “You've taken a more visible role and on Instagram I've noticed. In the words of some young people, you troll President Trump.”
On October 17, ABC’s Nightline promoted the new “picture perfect” photo book of Michelle Obama.
A transcript is below:
 CBS This Morning11/6/17 8:42:55 to 8:49:29
NORAH O’DONNELL: Over the course of eight years, President Obama was shadowed by former White House photographer Pete Souza. His photos captured nearly every moment during the 44th president's two terms. He sometimes took 2,000 photos a day. His new book Obama: An Intimate Portrait features more than 300 photos. He takes readers behind the scenes with President Obama. Pete Souza, good morning.
PETE SOUZA: Thanks for having me.
O’DONNELL: It's a beautiful book. It’s really well done. I love the forward by the former President who said “I probably spent more time with Pete Souza with anybody other than my family in the eight years in the White House.” You were a constant presence and chronicler of history.
SOUZA: I was. It was a great privilege to do this job. I felt fortunate that I had the opportunity.
CHARLIE ROSE: [Holds up book cover of smiling Obama.] This is as good of a picture as I've ever seen of the President.
GAYLE KING: I do too.
ROSE: That’s a fantastic photograph. Do you have one that you think identifies or sort of portrays the President than any other single photograph here that captures him?
ROSE: You know, I saw him in so many walks of life that it's hard to choose any one. Certainly, some of the one of him interacting with kids or with his family, but also the more weighty pictures of him in the situation room during the bin Laden raid. So there's — I think the pictures together tell you the most about him than any one picture can.
KING: You certainly got to see the variety of him. You got to see his sense of humor. I love the one, page 102, with his foot on the scale of someone who works with him. He was clearly playing a joke on the guy and everyone was in on the joke.
SOUZA: Yeah. Marvin Nicholson was checking his weight because he had been trying to lose some weight. And he kept sliding the scale to the right and unbeknownst to him the President's got his toe on the scale.
KING: I thought that was funny. You got hecklers on stage. I thought that was interesting. That here the President is speaking and he’s heckled. But he calls the hecklers back stage. Secret Service must have freaked about that.
SOUZA: It was an immigration policy speech and there were two guys heckling him during his speech and he said, “Let me finish my speech and afterward you can come back stage and I'll have a private conversation with you.” And that’s exactly what he did.
KING: And you see the Secret Service agent there.
O’DONNELL: Were there ever moments — and I know the President praised you for being almost invisible — He didn't know sometimes you were in the room. Were there every moments where you thought this is too personal, I shouldn't be here or there shouldn't be a photograph of this moment?
SOUZA: Not when it came to moments of history. With moments with the family, yes. I would try to give him space. Moments of history, I felt I'm the guy that needs to be there for everything that happens, so — in those cases no.
ROSE: Jim Baker has said about being Secretary of State, you really have to have the complete trust of the President. Is the same thing true about photography?
SOUZA: Same thing. Yes.
ROSE: You really have to have that relationship?
SOUZA: Absolutely. And I think —
ROSE: How do you earn that?
SOUZA: I think you earn that over time. I had known him for four years before I he became president, I had already established a relationship with him. So, coming in, I already knew him. That helps. But then over time, you just have to earn that trust day in and day out.
O’DONNELL: One of the most famous photos that I know is displayed in the White House was of a young boy touching President Obama's hair.
KING: My favorite photo is that one. That photo became so iconic because why?
SOUZA: I think for two reasons. One, the little boy's name is Jacob Philadelphia. He's touching the man who's the president and he looks like him. But it alslso tells you something about President Obama where he would be willing to bend over like that and let a 4-year-old just touch his head.
O’DONNELL: Didn’t he say of the President, “Your hair is just like mine.”
KING: Your hair is just like mine. That’s why I think that photo is so beautiful. And you said of all your pictures,, that one stayed up the longest. Normally, you take them down and recycle them and that kept coming back because people wanted to see that.
SOUZA: We took it down at one point and I had individual staff members come into my office asking me to put it back up.
KING: I love all the pictures of the President with children, him with his super soaker gun. We have a picture. That's a very private moment. He's clearly with a family. I think it was at Camp David.
SOUZA: That’s at Camp David. Squirting Sasha on her birthday weekend.
ROSE: What was it like to be there in the situation room when they're watching the Obama — Osama bin Laden raid?
SOUZA: The thing I like to tell people about that photograph is you have the most powerful people in the federal government watching this unfolding and really there's nothing they can do. They already made their decision and it's up to the guys on the ground and that leads to the anxiety on their faces.
KING: But I love the back story you told about that, Pete. They said, you need to be here at such-and-such time. You didn't know what was going to happen. You said it was a very small room. I have to get in a corner and just stay. And you were trying to figure out which corner should I be in?
ROSE: Who tells you that? The chief of staff?
SOUZA: No. I had about a week's notice that something would be unfolding. It was someone in John Brennan's office that alerted me. So, I knew it was going to be on that Sunday. It was actually all day. It wasn't one 40-minute meeting in that little room. There were meetings throughout the day.
KING: What's your takeaway as the man who knew him before he’s president, while he was president and then after? What's your takeaway of Barack Obama?
SOUZA: My takeaway was when I first met him his first day in the Senate in 2005. That was the first time I ever met him. I obviously still know him today. I don't think the core of his character has changed one iota, I really don't.
ROSE: What's the essence of taking a good picture?
SOUZA: It's capturing a moment, but accurately portraying the mood and emotion that's taking place.
ROSE: Seeing it coming.
SOUZA: Yes.
O’DONNELL: You were invisible in some ways as the President says, before. But now you've taken a more visible role and on Instagram I’ve noticed, in the words of some young people, you troll President Trump. Why?
SOUZA: I mean I think the -- the photographs that I post on Instagram now and the words that I write, I think, speak for themselves.
KING: All right. Pete Souza. Thank you very much.
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