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By Nicholas Fondacaro
 The three network newscasts seemed to be doing their best to stir the public up into a full-blown panic Wednesday evening, feverishly slamming President Trump’s decision to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. They were clutching their pearls as they freaked out about how Trump was “ reversing nearly 70 years of U.S. policy.” But they failed in their duty to report how in 1995 Congress passed a law requiring the U.S. to move the embassy there.
As CBS Evening News came on the air, new anchor Jeff Glor sounded out of breath when he hastily announced that the State Department wanted diplomats to limit their travel to the holy city. “The department is concerned about any possible violent reaction to President Trump's announcement today that the United States now recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel for the first time since the Jewish state was founded nearly 70 years ago,” he reported.
“President Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel rejects the policy of previous presidents and the recommendations of his secretaries of state and defense,” CBS White House Correspondent Major Garrett would go on to complain. CBS was the only network to begin with the embassy move instead of the wildfires in California, which was rather interesting.
The reporters on ABC’s World News Tonight came off as acting the most distraught. “And the other major news tonight, President Trump reversing nearly seven decades of U.S. Policy. Now recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital,” declared anchor David Muir, echoing Glore.
“He had promised this day would come, but to hear these words from the White House was jaw-dropping,” shuddered ABC’s Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz. “Not only signing a proclamation reversing nearly 70 years of U.S. policy, but starting plans to move the embassy to Jerusalem. No one else on Earth has an embassy there!” Throughout her entire report, one would infer a sense of great angst from her as if she was preparing for a catastrophe.
Raddatz highlighted the dire warnings of Palestinian President and glorified terrorist Mahmoud Abbas who claimed the move would cause “wars that will never end.” And when it came to those who supported the President’s decision: “Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, clearly relishing the move,” she spat.
NBC Nightly News also focused on claiming the move upended “seven decades of US policy changed in an instant.” The move “puts the U.S. on an island. Every other country more than 80 of them with an embassy in Israel has theirs in Tel Aviv,” noted White House Correspondent Hallie Jackson.
Jackson was the only one to recall that previous presidents wanted to move the embassy. But she claimed “widespread consensus and United Nations policy that the fate of Jerusalem should be one of the last decisions negotiated between Israelis and Palestinians,” changed their minds.
While they all parroted the assertion Trump was destroying 70 years of U.S. policy, all three refused to acknowledge the fact that what Trump was doing WAS and HAD BEEN our policy since 1995. The law passed by Congress was literally titled “Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995.” The law’s directive stated that “the United States Embassy in Israel should be established in Jerusalem no later than May 31, 1999.” But ever since its passage, presidents have been signing waivers to put it off.
The law was a crucial fact that the media were willfully omitting. It was also a fact that was called out by HLN host S.E. Cupp before the nets came on the air. “Even though a 1995 act directed this exact thing to happen 22 years ago and prior presidents just signed waivers to avoid doing it, Trump's announcement is being framed as a controversial move that could shake up the mid-east peace process, undermine regional stability, and lead to violence.”
Transcripts below:
CBS Evening News
December 6, 2017
6:31:23 PM Eastern
JEFF GLOR: Good evening. The State Department is asking U.S. diplomats around the world to put off all non-eventual travel to Israel, Jerusalem, and the West Bank until later this month. The department is concerned about any possible violent reaction to President Trump's announcement today that the United States now recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel for the first time since the Jewish state was founded nearly 70 years ago. Mr. Trump also ordered the State Department to begin planning to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a campaign promise. Major Garrett is at the White House.
(…)
MAJOR GARRETT: President Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel rejects the policy of previous presidents and the recommendations of his secretaries of state and defense.
...
ABC
World News Tonight
December 6, 2017
6:36:07 PM Eastern
DAVID MUIR: And the other major news tonight, President Trump reversing nearly seven decades of U.S. Policy. Now recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and planning to move the American embassy there, saying it will advance the peace process. But tonight, swift reaction from some of our key allies. One calling it unhelpful, another calling it regrettable. Here's ABC's Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz again tonight.
[Cuts to video]
MARTHA RADDATZ: He had promised this day would come, but to hear these words from the White House was jaw-dropping.
(…)
RADDATZ: Not only signing a proclamation reversing nearly 70 years of U.S. policy, but starting plans to move the embassy to Jerusalem. No one else on Earth has an embassy there.
(…)
RADDATZ: But the reaction, swift. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas saying it could lead to "Wars that will never end." The Turkish foreign minister calling it "A grave mistake." Britain's prime minister calling it "Unhelpful" to the peace process. French President Macron saying it was "Regrettable." And protests. Palestinians burning the U.S. and Israeli flag, declaring Jerusalem their capital and saying the blood of martyrs won't be wasted. The only positive comments overseas?
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: This is a historic day.
RADDATZ: Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, clearly relishing the move.
(…)
...
 NBC Nightly NewsDecember 6, 2017 7:05:28 PM Eastern
(...)
HALLIE JACKSON: Good evening, Lester. The President here is making a risky bet that doing something different will eventually end up productive for peace talks, but he's about the only one making that bet. This decision, which is not likely to be undone by future presidents, is one of the most controversial and potentially consequential of his administration.
(…)
JACKSON: Seven decades of US policy changed in an instant.
DONALD TRUMP: Today we finally acknowledge the obvious, that Jerusalem is Israel's capital.
JACKSON: President Trump will also move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, which could take three or four years, and which puts the U.S. on an island. Every other country more than 80 of them with an embassy in Israel has theirs in Tel Aviv.
TRUMP: While previous presidents have made this a major campaign promise, they failed to deliver. Today I am delivering.
JACKSON: There are reasons those other presidents changed their views. Like widespread consensus and United Nations policy that the fate of Jerusalem should be one of the last decisions negotiated between Israelis and Palestinians, but this president made a promise –
(...)
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By Curtis Houck
MSNBC suffered a meltdown for the ages on Wednesday afternoon following President Trump’s speech recognizing of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, unleashing guest after guest condemning the “delusional” and “Orwellian” speech that will cause people to die now that America’s credibility has been “shot.”
For the duration of the 1:00 p.m. Eastern hour following the President’s remarks, MSNBC Live host Craig Melvin brought on nine guests to comment on the speech and not a single one expressed support for it. In fact, some were rather enraged at the decision to recognize what’s already a reality with the Israeli government being housed in Jerusalem.
Former Palestinian official Khlaed Elgindy kicked things off, trashing the announcement as possessing an “Orwellian disconnect between what he was saying and the actual political and practical practicalities on the ground.”
He added that the President “couched the statement as a step toward peace, which is quite contrary to the international consensus” and proved how “this administration really appears to be in sort of a bubble when it comes to this issue.” Translation? They’re too pro-Israel.
MSNBC contributor Steve Clemons was up next, bemoaning the “enormous change” that could be symbolized by “Donald Trump essentially smiling at both parties but he stuck a knife in the back of the two-state process.” He also offered comments from liberal Israeli politician Tzipi Livni:
I spoke to Tzipi Livni former foreign minister of Israel — a former Likud Party member who’s still in the Knesset in Israel just a week ago and she fears that these kind of steps, not having anticipated this particular step, but the various directions in both U.S.-Israel relations and what's happening in Israel, if we didn't get to a credible two-state solution, that Israel would not be able to maintain its democratic character, that we would see elements of apartheid develop, that we would see an illiberal democratic state with Arab — I won't call them citizens but with Arabs and Palestinians living in the country under occupation forever[.]
Former Kerry official Joel Rubin was arguably the worst due to his smugness and disdain. He decried Trump’s thought-process as “delusional and this is a significant move for American national security” in that it’ll “reflect very badly on our ability to advance many American security interests in the region.”
Later in the hour, Rubin sounded even more despondent, arguing that “American credibility is shot and in diplomacy, credibility relies on your word and our word is, at this moment, not to be trusted from a peace process perspective, certainly.”
“I mean, the Middle East is a tinderbox and Jerusalem is the match. Jerusalem speaks to the heart of the Jewish people, of the Muslim people, of the Arab world, the Christian world. It has time and again throughout history, throughout millennia, been the source of major friction. Nothing should be done unilaterally that upsets this. It should be done in a cohesive, unified way,” he added.
An anti-Israel gabfest wouldn’t be complete without comment from foreign correspondent Ayman Mohyeldin, who went on a rant about Israeli claims to east Jerusalem being against the (borderline anti-Semitic) United Nations:
Well, the counterargument to that is the way Israel acquired control of east Jerusalem and those who follow history, those who follow international law, those who pay tribute to the legal order of the International Legal Order of the United Nations Security Council and what have you will tell you the annexation of east Jerusalem, the unification of it, the way that Israel went about to depopulate certain parts of east Jerusalem, move settlements into east Jerusalem, all of that was considered illegal under international law. So, what Israel has been doing to the city of Jerusalem for decades is a violation of multiple standing U.N. Security Council resolutions, it has been condemned.
Fellow foreign correspondent Richard Engel upped the ante on this MSNBC meltdown, declaring that “I think a lot of countries are going to look at this and say the President took a dangerous foreign policy decision that has real world consequences, could — can cost lives for domestic reasons.”
Former Clinton administration Ambassador to Morocco Marc Ginsberg was also concerned about violence, citing Mohyeldin’s reports that “Palestinians have been calling for starting this Friday prayer day, days of rage” that, two years ago, led to “average citizens in Jerusalem...being stabbed by Palestinians.”
“This was — this decision was made to appease his supporters and his donors like Sheldon Adelson and provide political cover for the Vice President with his evangelical supporters,” Ginsberg added.
NBC News correspondent Ron Allen was also over in the Middle East (as were Engel and Mohyeldin), touting how he’s heard “a lot” about “apartheid” being carried out against the Palestinians by Israelis.
Allen explained that “apartheid...is something that you haven't heard here very much but that gives you a sense of how people feel things are so — so crystallized, so — so set in stone and aren't able to move forward and on this side, people feel like this is the way it should be.”
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By Kyle Drennen
On Wednesday, all three network morning shows were in full panic mode over President Trump’s upcoming decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. In the midst of the collective freak-out, hosts and correspondents warned that the “dangerous” move could lead to a “new wave of violence” across the Middle East and even inspire “terrorist attacks in the west.”
Opening NBC’s Today, co-host Savannah Guthrie sounded the alarm: “Controversial Move. President Trump set to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel today. Israeli officials hailing the landmark decision, other world leaders outraged. Could it lead to a new wave of violence?” Minutes later, fellow co-host Hoda Kotb fretted: “It would up-end decades of U.S. policy and is already being met with warnings that could prompt new violence and disrupt the peace process.”
Reporting from Jerusalem, Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel warned: “There have already been some demonstrations, they are expected to intensify, with Palestinians calling for three days of rage if President Trump goes through with it.” He added: “Palestinians took to the streets to oppose what they say is a needless and provocative move by President Trump...”
Throughout the segment, the headline on screen blared: “Trump to Recognize Jerusalem as Capital; Controversial Decision Could Lead to Upheaval.”
“Breaking news, bracing for violence. The Middle East on edge this morning. Protests erupting as President Trump prepares to make that major announcement recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel....World leaders call the decision dangerous,” co-host George Stephanopoulos proclaimed at the top of ABC’s Good Morning America.
Talking to Chief Global Affairs Anchor Martha Raddatz minutes later, he touted “a growing chorus of world leaders warning the President against this move.” Raddatz helpfully recited their objections:
Of course, indeed, George. The Turkish foreign minister is calling it a grave mistake that would bring chaos and instability to the region. Britain’s foreign minister is expressing concern. Jordan’s king saying it will provoke Muslims and Christians alike. And Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called it unacceptable. I could go on and on, George, but the bottom line is no one else in the world has an embassy in Jerusalem.
“So it’s safe to say this has alarmed leaders around the globe, George,” she concluded. Stephanopoulos agreed: “It certainly has.”
Later in the discussion, Senior White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega suggested that the President was simply trying to appeal to “evangelicals” in his base and Jewish “mega-donor” Sheldon Adelson.
Leading off CBS This Morning, co-host Gayle King joined her network colleagues in the fearmongering: “President Trump will announce a high-stakes decision today to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. U.S. allies and leaders around the world say it’s a big mistake that will torpedo any chance of Middle East peace.”
Introducing the report minutes later, fellow co-host Norah O’Donnell breathlessly declared: “President Trump is set to reverse nearly seven decades of U.S./Middle East policy today.” After playing a clip of Trump promising to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, correspondent Margaret Brennan scolded: “That campaign pledge, popular with evangelicals and hard-line Israel supporters, is why President Trump will recognize Jerusalem as Israeli territory against the advice of allies and his national security team.”
During a follow-up report early in the 8 a.m. ET hour, Brennan again let the political labels fly: “It’s going to be very, very popular with some of the evangelical voters who helped propel President Trump into this office. It’s also going to be popular with some of the harder, right-wing, pro-Israel supporters, many of whom supported the Trump campaign.”
In addition to Brennan’s reporting, fellow correspondent Seth Doane joined the broadcast from Jerusalem and predicted worldwide violence:
Recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is of course popular with the Israeli government because it strengthens their hold on the city. The Palestinians say it could damage the peace process and we’re already starting to see protests in Gaza City. There are concerns about violence not only here and across the Middle East, but this also could provide rationale for terrorist attacks in the west as well. We spoke with one senior Palestinian official who told us that there are plenty of extremists already in the world and this provides a ready-made excuse.
Rather than provide calm, reasoned coverage of the foreign policy decision, the liberal media instead decided to escalate tensions by employing incendiary rhetoric.
Here are excerpts of the December 6 coverage:
Today
7:05 AM ET
 HODA KOTB: Also breaking overnight, a controversial move by President Trump. Later today he is expected to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. It would up-end decades of U.S. policy and is already being met with warnings that could prompt new violence and disrupt the peace process. NBC’s Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel is in Jerusalem this morning. Good morning, Richard.
RICHARD ENGEL: Good morning. This would be a significant step, not just a symbolic step. And there is real tension in this city this morning. There have already been some demonstrations, they are expected to intensify, with Palestinians calling for three days of rage if President Trump goes through with it.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Trump to Recognize Jerusalem as Capital; Controversial Decision Could Lead to Upheaval]
Palestinians took to the streets to oppose what they say is a needless and provocative move by President Trump, giving Israel what it has long wanted, recognition of its claim to all of the city of Jerusalem. U.S. Government employees and their families have been ordered, for their safety, to stay out of Palestinian areas today, including the center of Jerusalem and the nearby city of Bethlehem. For Israelis, the U.S. is merely recognizing land they already control.
AMALIA BEHAL [JERUSALEM NATIVE]: This is our country, this is the promised land. This is the promised city. This is the capital of Israel.
ENGEL: For Palestinians, however, it’s a sign the peace process hasn’t worked for them.
DR. MOHAMMAD JAMAAL [JERUSALEM NATIVE]: We are the landowners of this land. We are the owners of this place. We were here before any other.
ENGEL: So, what’s the issue? Both Israelis and Palestinians claim Jerusalem to be their capital. Israelis say the united city is the heart of the Jewish state reaching back thousands of years. Palestinians say east Jerusalem, home to Islam’s third-holiest mosque, should be the capital of their future state. This was never an easy dispute, sorting out who controls what in Jerusalem was the core of the U.S.-sponsored peace process. The subject of decades of talks. Talks now thrown into disarray.
White House officials say the President today will recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and order the State Department to initiate the process of moving the U.S. embassy to the city from Tel Aviv. U.S. officials say a location in Jerusalem has yet to be chosen. And that the embassy move will take years. It’s a move opposed by many across the Muslim world, who wonder why President Trump’s first foray into Middle East diplomacy was to upend it.
Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, China, Egypt, and a whole host of other countries, including just this morning, the Vatican City, with the Pope making the statement, have all expressed concern about what this statement, this anticipated statement from President Trump, could do. And several of the countries calling on the President not to make it. Hoda, Savannah, back to you.
HODA KOTB: Alright, Richard Engel in Jerusalem. Richard, thank you.
Good Morning America
7:09 AM ET
 GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: We’re going to move on now to that major new move from President Trump. The Middle East on edge this morning as the President set to become the first American president to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. He will also say he wants to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. So let’s bring in our Chief Global Affairs Anchor Martha Raddatz, our Senior White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega for the latest on all this. Martha, you’ve got this growing chorus of world leaders warning the President against this move.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Trump’s Major Middle East Announcement; President to Recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital]
MARTHA RADDATZ: Of course, indeed, George. The Turkish foreign minister is calling it a grave mistake that would bring chaos and instability to the region. Britain’s foreign minister is expressing concern. Jordan’s king saying it will provoke Muslims and Christians alike. And Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called it unacceptable. I could go on and on, George, but the bottom line is no one else in the world has an embassy in Jerusalem. So it’s safe to say this has alarmed leaders around the globe, George.
STEPHANOPOULOS: It certainly has. But, Cecilia, the President been itching to do this for a long time and getting a lot of pressure behind the scenes.
CECILIA VEGA: Yeah, George, and I’m told that this really is about making good on that campaign promise. Sources here tell me that this is something the President actually wanted to do right after he took office but there was – we talk about regularly that learning curve, one source told me he basically realized you can’t snap your fingers and move an embassy.
There has been pressure, strong pressure behind the scenes from evangelicals and others like Sheldon Anderson [sic] that Las Vegas casino magnate who’s a mega-donor to Donald Trump. But I’m told today the White House has a conference call scheduled with evangelicals, with pro-Israeli groups to really talk about this plan.
But really it came down to the President not wanting to sign this waiver today to extend – to keep the embassy in Tel Aviv, that extension waiver without making it look like he’s made some progress on this big campaign promise from him.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So he makes progress on the campaign promise, but, Martha, the big question going forward is what does this mean for the Middle East peace process. The President has dispatched his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to lead the U.S. effort there.
RADDATZ: You know, I don’t know how this possibly helps any peace initiative which, as you said, the President’s son-in-law, Kushner, has been charged with. And I think it says a lot about how little progress has been made.
As for violence there, George, Palestinians are calling for protests throughout the region, Americans have been warned not to go where crowds are gathered or into Jerusalem’s old city, and the U.S. is sending in additional Marines to embassies throughout the region. And even if there are not protests, nothing public, this is something that will simmer for a very long time, George.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Yeah, it could set off repercussions across the region.
(...)
CBS This Morning
7:06 AM ET
 NORAH O’DONNELL: President Trump is set to reverse nearly seven decades of U.S./Middle East policy today. He's expected to announce that Washington will recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The President plans to tell the State Department to begin the process of moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv. Seth Doane is in Jerusalem where Israel’s Prime Minister did not mention the issue this morning. But first, let’s go to Margaret Brennan at the White House for more on this. Margaret, good morning.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Good morning. No other country in the world has an embassy in Jerusalem, but today President Trump will make a major concession and recognize Jerusalem as the political capital of Israel. He’ll promise that in the future a U.S. embassy will be built there.
DONALD TRUMP: We will move the American embassy to the eternal capital of the Jewish people, Jerusalem.
BRENNAN: That campaign pledge, popular with evangelicals and hard-line Israel supporters, is why President Trump will recognize Jerusalem as Israeli territory against the advice of allies and his national security team.
TRUMP: If you can't produce peace in the Middle East, nobody can.
BRENNAN: It also undermines the peace process launched by Jared Kushner as the status of Jerusalem is one of the most incendiary issues in the conflict. For nearly 70 years, U.S. policy has been to settle it through diplomacy.
TRUMP: My administration will always stand with Israel.
BRENNAN: Security alerts were sent to U.S. posts around the world to brace for violence ahead of Mr. Trump's declaration. President Trump has boasted about his chance at peace, but four of the five world leaders he spoke with Tuesday said this would be a setback. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas cautioned it would have, quote, “detrimental consequences on the peace process.” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders downplayed it.
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS: He spoke with five leaders. That’s hardly indicative of everybody across the globe.
BRENNAN: As for that peace plan, the Trump administration has yet to present any proposal, saying Jared Kushner's team is still figuring it out. For now, the U.S. embassy stays in Tel Aviv. The White House says that building a new one will take at least four years through the end of Mr. Trump's first term. Gayle?
(...)
7:08 AM ET
SETH DOANE: Recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is of course popular with the Israeli government because it strengthens their hold on the city. The Palestinians say it could damage the peace process and we’re already starting to see protests in Gaza City. There are concerns about violence not only here and across the Middle East, but this also could provide rationale for terrorist attacks in the west as well. We spoke with one senior Palestinian official who told us that there are plenty of extremists already in the world and this provides a ready-made excuse.
(...)
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By Chris Reeves
 Wednesday’s Morning Joedevoted a significant portion of its broadcast to covering President Trump’s speech today that will officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. In response to reports that the Palestinian Authority is reacting to this development by calling for potentially violent protests and a “day of anger,” MSNBC’s top liberal pundits knew precisely where the blame for any resultant violence should fall – Trump, of course.
Guest Chris Matthews even fumed that there would be “hell to pay” and that “deaths are coming” because of the move. Astoundingly, none of the show’s liberal journalists thought to blame any of the expected future perpetrators of violence for any deaths or rioting that may follow Trump’s speech.
Halfway through the first hour of the show, NBC news contributor and former CIA intelligence officer Ned Price raised the possibility that American civilians, soldiers, and diplomats abroad will be targeted in the aftermath of Trump’s Jerusalem speech:
MIKE BARNICLE: Ned Price, Jordan, UAE, Egypt, uh, what's happening in those capitals today in this increasingly and daily more volatile region?
PRICE : Well Mike, I think that's precisely the concern, and that's one of the many reasons why it's been reported that Secretaries Mattis and Tillerson voiced private opposition to this move. This is not an “America First” foreign policy gesture. This is a “Trump First” move, a move that is predicated on a crass political calculation and a crass political, uh, pro-, campaign trail promise. This will not make the American people, diplomats, military personnel, private citizens safer in the countries that you just mentioned. And as we saw, the consulate general in Jerusalem put out a very stern message essentially telling Americans in that part of the world that they should be on lockdown. We have seen similar broad warnings from the State Department warning of violence. This move will certainly lead to violence. The question is: What will be the ramifications of that violence and just how deadly it will be [sic]?
But who would be responsible for any such violence? Co-host Mika Brzezinski and MSNBC political contributor Elise Jordan knew the answer to that:
BRZEZINSKI: Yeah. I mean, Elise, the image in my mind as the President is this massive drunk bull and the world is a china shop?
ELISE JORDAN: This to me seems to have more in terms of public diplomacy implications than practical implications just because this isn’t -- he's actually signing another six month waiver to keep the embassy in Tel Aviv. He's saying he's moving it, but not really taking action necessarily to build a new embassy in Jerusalem and start that process of shifting operations. So, I don't get what we gain other than just inflaming people.
During the second hour of their broadcast, Morning Joe returned to these same talking points in another segment on Trump’s Jerusalem speech. Reporting live from the holy city itself, MSNBC host Ayman Mohyeldin repeatedly put the onus for any possible violence on Trump’s choice of language:
BRZEZINSKI: Later today, President Trump intends to announce that the United States now recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Joining us live from just outside the old city in East Jerusalem, co-host of Morning Joe First Look, Ayman Mohyeldin. Ayman, what's the atmosphere on the ground there?
MOHYELDIN: Yeah, Mika, I mean, that is a very good question because it is a very tense atmosphere right now. And everything is gonna come down really to how President Trump delivers this statement. This is, in some ways, a diplomatic crisis, a potential diplomatic crisis, that is the doing of the President himself because this was something that has been a longstanding policy of the United States – not to touch the issue of Jerusalem or move the embassy here. But now, as we’ve seen in the last 24 hours, world leaders are reacting and the t- -- the mood on the street here is very tense. On one hand, you have the Israeli side. Security has been beefed up. On the other side, you have the Palestinian authority calling for massive protests and demonstrations over the course of the next three days. They've already labeled it a day of anger over what could be an explosive decision by the U.S. President to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
But going back to the original point, Mika, it is really gonna come down to how President Trump delivers this statement. Is he going to be very provocative in the language that he uses? Is he going to make it sound like there is no open door for East Jerusalem to be a part of a future Palestinian state? It’s all gonna come down to the language the President uses, and I think that is what has a lot of people here somewhat concerned, particularly on the Palestinian or Arab streets, so to speak. They don't necessarily have a lot of confidence that the diplomatic niceties will be finessed into that speech that can give them an opportunity to find some kind of wiggle room to say: We’re gonna be committed to the process, the peace process, and see where this goes from here.
So, the same Palestinian Authority that pays Palestinian and Israeli Arabs to kill Israelis in terrorist attacks is calling for protests and demonstrations in response to America recognizing the capital of a sovereign state, but Trump is the one who needs to refrain from being too provocative?
At least we know where MSNBC’s priorities are:
Trump = Bad
Terrorist murderers attacking Americans = What? Huh?
Co-host Joe Scarborough’s conclusion from Mohyeldin’s report was very similar to his fiancé’s take earlier: “[Trump]'s not really doing anything other than destabilizing the Middle East with this announcement.” So, again, terrorists threatening violence against their political opponents for saying things they don’t like isn’t the problem, but Trump is.
Has Trump existed in the Middle East for the past 1400 years? Is that really what has made the region so volatile for so long? Maybe Morning Joe is really onto something here.
Columnist George Will tried to respond to Scarborough’s assertion by pointing out that no real peace process exists at the moment for Trump to even disrupt, but MSNBC host Chris Matthews had a very different reaction. Putting on the mantle of a prophet of doom, Matthews confidently proclaimed that there would be “hell to pay” and “deaths are coming now because of [Trump’s speech]”:
MATTHEWS: I think the only hope for peace is to give a portion of East Jerusalem, maybe all of it, and that's what Clinton tried to do at Taba at the end of his second term. ‘Cause if you don't give the Palestinians hope that they can have national integrity and have a capital where they believe it should be, you're gonna have an unending problem. By the way, deaths are coming now because of this.
BRZEZINSKI: [loud sigh]
MATTHEWS: You can just bet that the next few weeks, we’re gonna have hell to pay for this totally erratic decision by this president. Every party that has had the White House since ‘48 has recognized you have to be careful over there. I lived over there, right up Damascus Gate, right where that picture was. And I gotta tell ya, everything is intricate over there. Bethlehem is intricate with the Armenian church, and the Chri- -- and the Catholic church. Everything is intricate. The guys with the -- the ultra-religious people in the Jewish community and the Arab call to prayer, it's all intermingled and intricately combined. And to mess that up now makes no sense for anybody to do that. It's not in America's interests. And I don't know whose interest in Israel it is.
Violent politicians and criminals are responsible for their own evil intent and actions, not the people they are angry at for political reasons. Is that really so hard for MSNBC to understand?
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By Mike Ciandella
 NBC News still hasn’t reported on the sexual harassment accusations against Democratic Congressman Ruben Kihuen, but ABC took things a step farther. ABC isn’t just ignoring Kihuen: the network buried its own bombshell scoop on him.
In an interview with ABC News Congressional Correspondent Mary Bruce that was posted on the network’s website but never made the cut for television, Kihuen accused Democratic leadership for being opportunistic in calling for his resignation: “I do find it interesting that the DCCC, Leader Pelosi and Chairman Ben Ray Lujan – they knew about these allegations last year. They looked into them. They didn't find anything, and they continued investing millions of dollars in my campaign. They went out there and campaigned for me.”
When she called for his resignation, Pelosi claimed that she had just learned about the accusations in a BuzzFeed report that was published the day prior. According to BuzzFeed, Kihuen has been accused of multiple instances of sexual harassment against a staffer on his 2016 campaign, despite her repeated attempts to rebuff him.
The ABC and NBC morning and evening newscasts still haven’t covered the scandal involving Kihuen since the story broke on December 1. While CBS, unlike the other two broadcast networks, has covered the story, it relegated it to a meager 15 seconds on the Saturday edition of CBS This Morning. CBS Evening News still hasn’t mentioned this Democratic debacle at all.
The Washington Examiner reported on December 5 that Kihuen’s chief of staff has been trying to find staffers jobs with other members of Congress. The Examiner’s Anna Giaritellitheorized: “[t]he move indicates Kihuen may be planning to resign from office though he has denied any plans to do so. In addition, his staff may be looking to jump ship due to the association.”
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By Kyle Drennen
During NBC’s Wednesday special coverage of President Trump’s White House address, anchor Lester Holt also covered breaking news about a growing list of Democrats calling on Minnesota Senator Al Franken to resign amid sexual harassment allegations. Meet the Pressmoderator Chuck Todd hoped the move would help the Democrats regain the “high ground” on the issue.
He proclaimed that the calls for Franken’s resignation were really “a response to what happened earlier in the Roy Moore Alabama Senate race when President Trump officially endorsed, the Republican Party, the RNC officially back in” despite the serious harassment accusations against Moore. Todd touted how the liberal lawmakers were “creating a huge contrast” with the GOP.
The Sunday show host then asserted:
So they’re cleaning house while the Republican Party looks like they’re doubling down. And I think that’s the contrast. You know, the Democrats are looking to get their higher ground back on this issue, calling and having it being led by the women of the U.S. Senate allows them, I think, to build their high ground again after sort of, frankly, fumbling the Conyers and Franken issues for the last two weeks.
At no point did Todd explain why he mistakenly thought the party of Bill Clinton ever had any high ground to begin with on the issue of sexual harassment.
Prior to Todd’s slanted analysis, Capitol Hill correspondent Kasie Hunt described how “at least 15 Democratic senators” were “calling on Al Franken to resign,” with New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand “taking the lead” and demanding that “Democrats need to have a zero-tolerance policy.”
Gillibrand recently told The New York Times that Clinton should have resigned over the Monica Lewinsky scandal – conveniently two decades after the fact.
Here is a transcript of the December 6 exchange:
1:25 PM ET
(...)
LESTER HOLT: We’re also following another big story in Washington, it’s the growing number of senators now calling for Minnesota Democrat Al Franken to resign from the Senate following mounting allegations of sexual harassment. Kasie Hunt is on Capitol Hill with the latest on that. Kasie, what seems to be turning the tide here?
KASIE HUNT: Lester, at this hour, at least 15 Democratic senators, at least ten of them women, calling on Al Franken to resign. There was another woman who came forward this morning, saying that he touched her inappropriately, or tried to, and this seems to have contributed to what was, I am told, a rising tide, privately. Especially among Democratic women here in the Senate, they were incredibly frustrated that they were being asked to make a distinction between what Franken has done and some of the other allegations that other public figures have had made against them.
Senator Kirsten Gilibrand sort of taking the lead on this, this morning. And she was very frustrated when she spoke about it. She talks about trying to explain to her two sons what is the difference between inappropriate groping and all of these other allegations. And she said at this point Democrats need to have a zero-tolerance policy.
So, Senator Franken has tried to stay in the Senate, but he’s going to make an announcement tomorrow, we’re told, about his future. Lester?
HOLT: Alright, Kasie, thanks. Let me bring back Chuck Todd on that. Chuck, Democrats a little slow now to gain this momentum. What’s going on?
 CHUCK TODD: This is actually, I think, a response to what happened earlier in the Roy Moore Alabama Senate race, when President Trump officially endorsed, the Republican Party, the RNC officially back in. This is about creating a huge contrast so Democrats in the Senate – it almost feels orchestrated, the way it’s come out here, we’ll see what Franken does tomorrow, but it looks like resignation is there.
So they’re cleaning house while the Republican Party looks like they’re doubling down. And I think that’s the contrast. You know, the Democrats are looking to get their higher ground back on this issue, calling and having it being led by the women of the U.S. Senate allows them, I think, to build their high ground again after sort of, frankly, fumbling the Conyers and Franken issues for the last two weeks.
(...)
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By Scott Whitlock
Liberal CNN anchor Chris Cuomo and Donald Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway battled it out again on New Day, Tuesday. The Counselor to the President blasted Cuomo and lobbied that he stop telling “flat-out lies.” At one point, she jabbed, “You work for the Cable News Network, CNN. It's not the CON, C-O-N, Cable Opinion Network.”
Typically, Cuomo accused the administration’s tax bill of only helping the wealthy:
CUOMO: No, I'm saying [the middle class are] not getting as good a treatment as the upper tier, and this was sold as advantaging them.
CONWAY: No. You know what's been horrible treatment? Their taxes have been steadily going up. They've been paying for out-of-control spending. They've been paying higher taxes.
Conway spat back at Cuomo’s claims: “The tax code is longer than the Bible and not quite as inspirational.”
A partial transcript is below:
 New Day12/6/17 7:49am ET
CUOMO: The rich people are complaining because they're not getting enough of a tax cut.
CONWAY: You said earlier in this interview that you don't know quote, "a single person in American who wants their taxes to go up." That's something —
CUOMO: I don't. That's why leadership is hard. That's why leadership is hard —
CONWAY: Yes -- no, that's why this president — that's why this —
CUOMO: -- because sometimes you have to make hard choices instead of rewarding the haves all the times.
CONWAY: Excuse me. That's why this president -- the haves -- give me a break. That's why this President is cutting taxes. Lots of people and promises. That's --
CUOMO: Not for the middle-class the way he is for the upper-class.
CONWAY: That is not true and you know it.
CUOMO: It's true on every objective scoring.
CONWAY: That's a flat-out lie. That's a flat-out lie that middle- class taxes aren't going down.
CUOMO: Well, it's not even close to a lie. It doesn't meet any of the criteria of a lie.
CONWAY: That's just not true.
CUOMO: It's not meant to deceive. It's based on fact --
CONWAY: OK. Chris --
CUOMO: — and it's a straight tell on what an objective analysis reveals.
CONWAY: Are you going to look — are you going to tell the middle- class right now that none of them are getting a tax cut over this package?
CUOMO: No, I'm saying they're not getting as good a treatment as the upper tier, and this was sold as advantaging them.
CONWAY: No. You know what's been horrible treatment? Their taxes have been steadily going up. They've been paying for out-of-control spending. They've been paying higher taxes.
And you know what? We know people all across this country — we hear from them every —
CUOMO: And you want to get rid of the AMT and the estate tax but you want a tax tuition and loans.
CONWAY: No. Here's what we want to get rid of.
CUOMO: Who's that helping?
CONWAY: Here's what we got rid of in this -- here's what we got rid of in this tax plan, if I may speak a full sentence here, please.
Here's what we got rid of in this tax plan. All the special interest stops. All the credits, and deductions, and exemptions that benefit the wealthy and the well-connected, which the tax code does already. The tax code --
CUOMO: Getting rid of the AMT and you're getting rid of the estate tax.
CONWAY: The tax code is longer than the Bible and not quite as inspirational. It needs to be simplified --
CUOMO: Is this thing working?
CONWAY: You spent six million --
CUOMO: You got rid of the AMT and you got --
CONWAY: You spent six million hours --
CUOMO: -- rid of the estate tax.
CONWAY: You know, this is the Cable --
CUOMO: What does that help?
CONWAY: Excuse me. You work for the Cable News Network, CNN. It's not the CON, C-O-N, Cable Opinion Network.
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