Wednesday, October 26, 2016

CYBERALERT 10/26/2016 OBAMACARE SOARING COSTS JUST "NAGGING PROBLEMS" TO HILLARY

1. ABC Ignores Revelation that Obama Knew About Clinton's Private Server


WikiLeaks, Tuesday, exposed a massive lie President Barack Obama told to the American people following the first reports of Hillary Clinton’s private e-mail server. In March of 2015 Obama told CBS News’ Bill Plante that he learned about the server, “The same time everybody else learned it through news reports.” According to the newly leaked e-mails, that is not true because he had received e-mails from Clinton’s account. But ABC News didn’t think such a deception to the public warranted anytime at all, instead touting his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

2. NBC’s Mitchell: ObamaCare Hikes Just ‘Nagging Problems’ for Clinton


NBC reporter and Hillary Clinton fan club president Andrea Mitchell showed off her infatuation with the Democratic presidential nominee Tuesday evening, as she wrote off the massive 25 percent ObamaCare premium hikes as part of a series of “nagging problems.” “A second problem, the rise in Obamacare premiums, an issue [Donald] Trump is exploiting,” Mitchell whined during her report on NBC Nightly News.

3. WashPost’s Dana Milbank: ‘Press Neutrality’ on Trump ‘Legitimizes the Illegitimate’


Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank on Tuesday dismissed the idea of media bias against Donald Trump and, instead, called for even more of it. According to Milbank in his column, “press neutrality” on the businessman “legitimizes the illegitimate.”

4. CBS Finally Discovers ObamaCare Price Spike, Baffled as to Plan’s Problems


The baffled journalists at CBS finally discovered what should be a massive story: ObamaCare premiums will skyrocket in 2017 by 25 percent. Yet, after ignoring the story on Monday, CBS This Morning allowed a scant 88 seconds on Tuesday. This is despite the fact that co-host Norah O’Donnell called the development a “big story” and “really interesting.” NBC, which also initially skipped the report, managed to cover it on Tuesday.

5. CNN’s Blitzer Brushes Off Project Veritas Videos; ‘We Haven’t Confirmed’ Their Authenticity


On Monday’s Situation Room, CNN host Wolf Blitzer brushed aside the latest bombshell Project Veritas videos showing liberal operatives planning to instigate violence at Donald Trump rallies simply because “we haven't confirmed those videos” are real before cornering the Republican National’s Sean Spicer over reporters being harassed at Trump events.

6. Networks Fawn Over Obama's Anti-Trump 'Phone Drop Moment' on 'Kimmel'


On Tuesday, the Big Three networks' morning newscasts all hyped President Obama's appearance on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live the previous evening. On CBS This Morning, Gayle King, a political donor for the Democrat, marveled how the President's "timing is good. He seems to have a lot of fun with 'Mean Tweets.' He takes it all in stride." On Today, NBC's Matt Lauer touted Obama's "phone drop moment" after he mocked Donald Trump on the late-night program. Cecilia Vega spotlighted the same "Mean Tweets" segment on ABC's Good Morning America.

7. Whoa: Matthews Shuts Down NYT Reporter By Wondering If She Has Any Pro-Life Co-Workers


Occasionally, MSNBC’s Hardball host Chris Matthews flashes a pillar of his Catholic upbringing and Monday night was one such instance as he pressed New York Times reporter Yamiche Alcindor on whether or not she has any pro-life co-workers at the liberal paper after she laughed at the idea of liberal media bias.


1

ABC Ignores Revelation that Obama Knew About Clinton's Private Server

By Nicholas Fondacaro

WikiLeaks, Tuesday, exposed a massive lie President Barack Obama told to the American people following the first reports of Hillary Clinton’s private e-mail server. In March of 2015 Obama told CBS News’ Bill Plante that he learned about the server, “The same time everybody else learned it through news reports.” According to the newly leaked e-mails, that is not true because he had received e-mails from Clinton’s account. But ABC News didn’t think such a deception to the public warranted any time at all, instead touting his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
ABC’s Cecilia Vega started out her report on World News Tonight flaunting how confident Clinton was with just two weeks to go until the election. She then went on to hype Clinton’s endorsement from former Secretary of State Colin Powell, although the ABC reporter did mention Powell’s previous criticisms of her. From there she praised Obama for tearing into Donald Trump, “The president taking his own shots at Trump, playing along with Jimmy Kimmel's mean tweets.”
BARACK OBAMA: President Obama will go down as perhaps the worst president in the history of the United States, exclamation point, @realdonaldtrump. Well, @realdonaldtrump, at least I will go down as a president.
Even though NBC did mention the WikiLeaks e-mail exposing Obama’s knowledge of the server on NBC Nightly News, Clinton fangirl Andrea Mitchell downplayed it as just a “nagging problem” for Clinton.
With their other competitors paying it little mind, it was left up to CBS Evening News to do the grownup reporting since it was their reporter Obama had lied to. Reporter Nancy Cordes noted that, “Within minutes of the interview, Clinton's former chief of staff, Cheryl Mills told campaign aides, "We need to clean this up. He has e-mails from her. They do not say state.gov.””
Cordes also reported that Trump was using the revelation to slam both the president and Clinton. She said Trump was calling for an investigation of the president and played a clip of Trump saying, “This guy, he's as bad as she is, and he's got to stop campaigning and bring us some jobs, okay!”
Transcript below:
ABC
World News Tonight
October 25, 2016
6:37:06 PM Eastern
DAVID MUIR: And you heard Donald Trump there warning that Brexit is coming, that surprise outcome in the UK. He says it's going happen here, too, with him. Hillary Clinton telling her supporters, this is not over yet. And tonight, Colin Powell revealing he's now voting for Hillary Clinton. Here's ABC's Cecilia Vega, also in Florida tonight.
[Cuts to video]
CECILIA VEGA: Hillary Clinton feeling confident on a two-day swing through Florida.
HILLARY CLINTON: I feel good, but boy, I'm not taking anything for granted.
VEGA: With 14 days to go, Clinton's not so subtle message spelled out right there behind her. There are volunteers from the campaign right now trying to gather all of these people up to send them across the street, where they can actually vote today.
CLINTON CAMPAIGN STAFFER: Let's go vote! Let's go vote!
CLINTON SUPPORTER 1: I voted yesterday!
CLINTON SUPPORTER 2: We're going to vote right now.
VEGA: Florida, one of 36 states where voting is under way. Nationwide, nearly 9 million votes already cast. And tonight, Clinton is getting a boost from a top Republican. Former secretary of state Colin Powell. Powell and Clinton publicly sparred over her use of private e-mails. Clinton's team implying Powell was the one who suggested she use it. Powell telling People magazine, "Her people have been trying to pin it on me." In hacked e-mails, Powell saying of Clinton, "I would rather not have to vote for her, although she is a friend I respect." And "Clinton doesn't look good. She’s working herself to death."
But today, Powell announced he will vote for Clinton, reportedly saying "She is balanced, she had temperament and no matter what anyone says, she has stamina." He also attacked Donald Trump, saying, "He has insulted America in one way almost every day." Powell twice voted for President Obama. The president taking his own shots at Trump, playing along with Jimmy Kimmel's mean tweets.
BARACK OBAMA: President Obama will go down as perhaps the worst president in the history of the United States, exclamation point, @realdonaldtrump. Well, @realdonaldtrump, at least I will go down as a president.
[Cuts back to live]
MUIR: And Cecilia Vega also in Florida tonight. The key battleground. Joining us now from Pompano Beach. And Cecilia, late today, Hillary Clinton now weighing in about those headlines, the skyrocketing premiums under ObamaCare in the year to come. How does she explain it?
VEGA: Well, David, she says she and President Obama have spoken about this, that she says she's going to, quote, “make changes to fix problems like that.” Clinton making sure to point out that she is for Obamacare, that Donald Trump is not, but David, few specifics tonight From Hillary Clinton on how she would fix this problem. David?
MUIR: All right, Cecilia Vega live from Florida where she will be quite often these next few days. Cecilia, thank you.
...
CBS
Evening News
October 25, 2016
6:31:07 PM Eastern
...
Everywhere she goes, she is stalked by WikiLeaks, a batch of hacked e-mails released today included one that seemed to contradict what the president told CBS' Bill Plante in March of 2015.
BILL PLANTE: When did you first learn that Hillary Clinton used an e-mail system outside the US government for official business while she was secretary of state?
BARACK OBAMA: The same time everybody else learned it through news reports.
CORDES: Within minutes of the interview, Clinton's former chief of staff, Cheryl Mills told campaign aides, "We need to clean this up. He has e-mails from her. They do not say state.gov.”
DONALD TRUMP: He's caught up now, folks.
CORDES: In Orlando, Trump said the president should be investigated.
TRUMP: This guy, he's as bad as she is, and he's got to stop campaigning and bring us some jobs, okay!
...
2

NBC’s Mitchell: ObamaCare Hikes Just ‘Nagging Problems’ for Clinton

By Nicholas Fondacaro

NBC reporter and Hillary Clinton fan club president Andrea Mitchell showed off her infatuation with the Democratic presidential nominee Tuesday evening, as she wrote off the massive 25 percent ObamaCare premium hikes as part of a series of “nagging problems.” “A second problem, the rise in Obamacare premiums, an issue [Donald] Trump is exploiting,” Mitchell whined during her report on NBC Nightly News.
So according to Mitchell’s view, the skyrocketing healthcare costs for millions of Americans was merely a “nagging problem” being “exploited” by her nominee’s opponent. But it appears that Mitchell’s own network betrayed her, because immediately following her downplaying of the issue NBC reported on how it was putting the squeeze on Kentucky mother of two:
TOM COSTELLO: Occupational therapist Sarah Halfacre says she's caught in the middle. She needs the ObamaCare coverage offered in Kentucky, but her insurer, United Healthcare is losing money in the state and pulling out. Now Sarah will have to choose a new Kentucky plan and her premiums are sure to rise above her current $340 monthly payment.
Mitchell’s “nagging problem” is no laughing matter to Halfacre, who told Costello that if premiums don’t decrease she will lose her healthcare coverage. And it won’t be just Kentucky that will be effected. One fifth of ObamaCare shoppers will have only one option to choose from. That’s in addition to the average cost of premiums skyrocketing by 25 percent, with Arizona’s prices breaking the atmosphere at 116 percent.
In addition to dismissing soaring healthcare costs, Mitchell touted Clinton’s early voting strategy and glorified former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s endorsement. “He had in a hacked e-mail called Donald Trump a national disgrace, tonight saying that Hillary Clinton is fully qualified to serve as president,” she praised. Mitchell seemingly has forgotten how Powell slammed Clinton in another leaked e-mail saying, “Everything HRC touches she kind of screws up with hubris.”
Transcript below:
NBC
Nightly News
October 25, 2016
7:04:16 PM Eastern [2 Minutes]
ANDREA MITCHELL: I'm Andrea Mitchell in Florida, where Hillary Clinton is spending two precious days on Donald Trump's turf out of the final 14 days.
HILLARY CLINTON: Hello! It is so great to be back in Florida.
MITCHELL: Because without Florida, her campaign says, Trump has no path to the White House. Clinton going after him today for saying he won't necessarily concede if he loses.
CLINTON: Americans are coming together. At the very moment when Donald Trump is making an unprecedented attack on our democracy.
MITCHELL: Clinton's biggest challenge. Complacency. Aides fearing her recent narrow lead in most Florida polls, though just a few points ahead, could mean people stay home.
CLINTON: This is bigger than me, it's bigger than any of us. It's even bigger than Donald Trump.
MITCHELL: So in these final days she's going to states where early voting is started.
CLINTON STAFFER: Don't forget to vote.
MITCHELL: So far this year, nearly twice as many people have voted early in Florida than four years ago. And more of them this time are Hispanic. Clinton's campaign believes a good sign for them. Why did you vote early?
UNIDENTIFIED VOTER: Because it's, like, my first time, so I wanted to just get it out of the way.
CLINTON SUPPORTER: I made up my mind a long time ago, the decision was made. It was, why wait? Now I feel relieved and relaxed for the first time in months.
STEVE MCMAHON: Voters are seeing the difference between these two candidates and they're settling in the Clinton camp.
MITCHELL: But two nagging problems for Clinton tonight. Another stolen e-mail from Clinton's campaign chairman, released by WikiLeaks about when President Obama first learned about her private e-mails. When the story first broke, he said he had just learned about it.
BARACK OBAMA: The same time everybody else learned it through news reports.
MITCHELL: But in the e-mail released tonight, long time Clinton aide Cheryl Mills writes, “We need to clean this up. He has e-mail from her they do not say state.gov.” A second problem, the rise in Obamacare premiums, an issue Trump is exploiting. Clinton telling a Miami radio show tonight
CLINTON: The costs have gone up too much. So we're going to really tackle that.
[Cuts to live]
MITCHELL: And Clinton did get an endorsement from a Republican, General Colin Powell who served under Reagan and both Bushes. He had in a hacked e-mail called Donald Trump a national disgrace, tonight saying that Hillary Clinton is fully qualified to serve as president. Lester?
LESTER HOLT: Andrea Mitchell in Florida tonight, thank you.
3

WashPost’s Dana Milbank: ‘Press Neutrality’ on Trump ‘Legitimizes the Illegitimate’

By Scott Whitlock

Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank on Tuesday dismissed the idea of media bias against Donald Trump and, instead, called for even more of it. According to Milbank in his column, “press neutrality” on the businessman “legitimized the illegitimate.”
On the day that a Media Research Center study found 91 percent of Trump’s coverage to be hostile, the Post journalist complained, “The problem is the media didn’t show bias against Trump earlier and more often.”
Milbank then explained why objectivity wasn’t necessary in the 2016 campaign:
In an ordinary presidential campaign, press neutrality is essential. But in Trump we have somebody who has threatened democracy by talking about banning an entire religion from entering the country; forcing Muslims in America to register with authorities; rewriting press laws and prosecuting his critics and political opponents; blacklisting news organizations he doesn’t like; ordering the military to do illegal things such as torture and targeting innocents; and much more. In this case, attempting neutrality legitimized the illegitimate.
He concluded, “And it is absolutely appropriate to “take sides” in a contest between democracy and its alternative.”
If Trump is the reason the Post is so biased, how does Milbank explain the paper’s 2012 obsession with bashing Mitt Romney, including a 5400 word investigation of the Republican's high school years and breathlessly reporting on a teenage prank as though it was desperately important. It seems as though the paper treated Romney in 2012 as another “contest between democracy and its alternative.”
4

CBS Finally Discovers ObamaCare Price Spike, Baffled as to Plan’s Problems

By Scott Whitlock

The baffled journalists at CBS finally discovered what should be a massive story: ObamaCare premiums will skyrocket in 2017 by 25 percent. Yet, after ignoring the story on Monday, CBS This Morning allowed a scant 88 seconds on Tuesday. This is despite the fact that co-host Norah O’Donnell called the development a “big story” and “really interesting.” NBC, which also initially skipped the report, managed to cover it on Tuesday.
On CBS, Gayle King explained that “millions of Americans face a huge increase in ObamaCare premiums and fewer insurance choices.” She oddly stated that “about one in five consumers will be able to choose from only one provider.” (If you have only one option, it’s not a “choice.”) After O’Donnell’s 32 second news brief, O’Donnell, without any irony, marveled, “That’s a big story.”
In the 8AM hour, the show’s hosts came back to the story, but only for another 56 seconds. After explaining that consumers in 39 states will be hit by this price hike, O’Donnell marveled, “We need a bigger understanding of why this is happening.” As though the problems with ObamaCare were completely foreign, she sputtered:
NORAH O’DONNELL: Because the idea was not only to spread coverage around, but that by spreading the coverage around, not only help people get more preventative care. But then it would ultimately bring costs down. And instead, the premiums are skyrocketing!
CHARLIE ROSE: And so the question is, what happened?
O'DONNELL: Yeah. And who's profiting on this?
She closed the brief segment by reiterating, “It's a really interesting story.” Of course, considering that the CBS program allowed less than a minute and a half total, it can’t be that “big” or interesting."
NBC censored the health care news on Monday night, but mentioned it in on NBC’s Today for a mere 58 seconds (in a news brief and as part of a separate story). Matt Lauer used the same contradictory language, saying, “Many consumers will only have one insurer to choose from.” Reporter Hallie Jackson included the President’s spin, promoting, “The administration argues things are better now than before the law was passed.”
ABC covered the price increase on World News Tonight, Monday, but only in a brief. On Good Morning America, Amy Robach allowed 13 seconds:
AMY ROBACH: Well, get ready for sticker shock if you're looking into the price of ObamaCare plans. The average premiums are expected to rise by 25 percent next year. Many consumers will also be limited to choosing plans from just one provider.
Notice that she, too, used the language of one option being a “choice.”
The totals for Tuesday: CBS allowed 88 seconds. NBC managed 58 seconds and ABC just 13 seconds. Perhaps the networks just aren’t interested in talking about an issue that could be very unpopular for Hillary Clinton.
Transcripts of the CBS coverage can be found below:
CBS This Morning
10/25/16
7:12AM ET
32 seconds
GAYLE KING: Millions of Americans face a huge increase in ObamaCare premiums and fewer insurance choices. The government says the cost of health care next year will increase by an average of 25 percent and that will hit consumers in 39 states. Major carriers are dropping out in some markets. About one in five consumers will be able to choose from only one provider. Government numbers so about two and a half million Americans not currently enrolled could be eligible for subsidies to offset cost increases. Open enrollment begins next week.
NORAH O’DONNELL: That’s a big story.
8:08AM ET
56 seconds
CHARLIE ROSE: Millions of Americans will face big price hikes and fewer choices when ObamaCare open enrollment begins. The government says the cost of mid-level health plans next year will increase by an average of 25 percent. That will hit consumers in 39 states. Major carriers are dropping out in some markets. About one in five consumers will be able to choose from only one provider. Government numbers show about two and a half million Americans not currently enrolled could be eligible for subsidies to offset cost increases.
NORAH O’DONNELL: We need a bigger understanding of why this is happening.
ROSE: We sure do.
O’DONNELL: You know? Because the idea was not only to spread coverage around, but that by spreading the coverage around, not only help people get more preventative care. But then it would ultimately bring costs down. And instead, the premiums are skyrocketing!
ROSE: And so the question is, what happened?
O’DONNELL: Yeah. And who's profiting on this?
GAYLE KING: And what can be done?
O’DONNELL: Or is the way the law set up, failed? It’s a really interesting story.
5

CNN’s Blitzer Brushes Off Project Veritas Videos; ‘We Haven’t Confirmed’ Their Authenticity

By Curtis Houck

On Monday’s Situation Room, CNN host Wolf Blitzer brushed aside the latest bombshell Project Veritas videos showing liberal operatives planning to instigate violence at Donald Trump rallies simply because “we haven't confirmed those videos” are real before cornering the Republican National’s Sean Spicer over reporters being harassed at Trump events.
Blitzer began the interview by promoting the fears of violence being inflicted on reporters like CNN’s Jim Acosta and hoping that Spicer shared his concerns that everyone should be uncomfortable and “pretty upset about that.”
Spicer immediately denounced any and all threats because “violence is never acceptable, whether it's at a reporter or any other human being” before turning to the videos by noting that “ironically, I mean, it was Hillary Clinton's campaign, as we found out in a video today, that's been part of an effort with the DNC to — to incite violence at rallies, Trump rallies.”
He then summarized the revelations of the videos that none of the major broadcast networks have covered since they were released Monday afternoon:
The videos that came out today show that there was a coordinated effort from high up in the Democratic operative world between the DNC and Hillary Clinton to incite violence. So, I actually am somewhat shocked that that hasn't been covered more, considering all of the faux outrage from the Clinton campaign over some of the things that have gone on.
The RNC’s chief strategist admonished “the lack of coverage of this” and concluded that more “questions...need to be asked” about what the DNC and Clinton campaigns knew “should be almost the top story tonight, as far as I'm concerned.”
Like a true liberal journalist, Blitzer swiftly brushed aside these videos because “[w]ell, we haven't confirmed those videos” and pivoted back to wallowing over the exclusive safety of his colleagues in the news business.
Just as the media has done in giving airtime to Trump accusers (as they arguably should), Blitzer illustrated the giant double standard of showing little to no interest in accusations and threats originating or involving figures on the left.
Spicer again expressed disapproval of any violence but pushed back regarding the videos from James O’Keefe’s organization:
I think, look, Donald Trump has a message to get out. Again, I don't think violence has its place in political discourse. Equally, I think Hillary Clinton should answer the questions about whether or not her campaign and the DNC were actively paying operatives to incite violence at rallies. That to me seems like a very, very big question that deserves an answer.
“And it's worthy of reporting, to be sure and we will follow up,” Blitzer responded before moving on with the rest of the interview.
Unfortunately but realistically, we won’t be holding our breaths for his programs to cover the videos as the campaign draws to a close if it’ll bring harm to Hillary Clinton and her lead in the polls.
The relevant portion of the transcript from CNN’s The Situation Room on October 24 can be found below.
CNN’s The Situation Room
October 24, 2016
6:08 p.m. Eastern
WOLF BLITZER: Don't tell me you're comfortable with Donald Trump's attacks on Jim Acosta and other working reporters who are simply trying to do their job at these events. I assume you're pretty upset about that, as so many of us are.
SEAN SPICER: Well, violence is never acceptable, whether it's at a reporter or any other human being, so, you know, all violence should be denounced, but, ironically, I mean, it was Hillary Clinton's campaign, as we found out in a video today, that's been part of an effort with the DNC to — to incite violence at rallies, Trump rallies. The videos that came out today show that there was a coordinated effort from high up in the Democratic operative world between the DNC and Hillary Clinton to incite violence. So, I actually am somewhat shocked that that hasn't been covered more, considering all of the faux outrage from the Clinton campaign over some of the things that have gone on. The idea that they were part of a process and potentially that it went as high as Secretary Clinton herself, according to these videos, the lack of coverage of this and the questions that need to get asked and the answers that need to come should be almost the top story tonight, as far as I'm concerned.
BLITZER: Well, we haven't confirmed those videos, but I will say this. When you hear some of the things that are uttered at these Trump rallies and the threats that are made at the working news media, the reporters, the photographers, the journalists who are there, it gets pretty scary from time to time. I know you have been there, I know you’ve heard it, and I know you want it to tamp down. Don't you think Donald Trump should tell the people at these rallies, look, these guys are just doing their jobs?
SPICER: I think, look, Donald Trump has a message to get out. Again, I don't think violence has its place in political discourse. Equally, I think Hillary Clinton should answer the questions about whether or not her campaign and the DNC were actively paying operatives to incite violence at rallies. That to me seems like a very, very big question that deserves an answer.
BLITZER: And it's worthy of reporting, to be sure and we will follow up.
6

Networks Fawn Over Obama's Anti-Trump 'Phone Drop Moment' on 'Kimmel'

By Matthew Balan

On Tuesday, the Big Three networks' morning newscasts all hyped President Obama's appearance on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live the previous evening. On CBS This Morning, Gayle King, a political donor for the Democrat, marveled how the President's "timing is good. He seems to have a lot of fun with 'Mean Tweets.' He takes it all in stride." On Today, NBC's Matt Lauer touted Obama's "phone drop moment" after he mocked Donald Trump on the late-night program. Cecilia Vega spotlighted the same "Mean Tweets" segment on ABC's Good Morning America. [video below]
CBS This Morning played a clip of the "phone drop moment" just after the beginning of its broadcast during its regular "Eye Opener" segment. The newscast later played more from the "Mean Tweets" sketch at the bottom of the 7 am Eastern hour. King then chimed in with her compliment about the chief executive's "timing":
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA (from ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live): 'Barack Obama is the Nickelback of presidents.' (audience laughs) 'Obama couldn't negotiate getting a Whopper without pickles.' (audience laughs) 'Barack Obama dances like how his jeans look.' (audience laughs) You know, this jeans thing. This is so old. (audience laughs) This was years ago. Come on! 'My mom bought new conditioner and it sucks. It isn't even conditioning my hair. I blame Obama.' (audience laughs and applauds) 'Barack Obama: bro, do you even lift?' (audience laughs) Well, I lifted the ban on Cuban cigars. That's worth something. (audience laughs and applauds)
GAYLE KING: (Charlie Rose laughs) Yeah, his timing is good. He seems to have a lot of fun with 'Mean Tweets'—
NORAH O'DONNELL: Yeah—
KING: He takes it all in stride.
ABC's Good Morning America also wasted little time before playing a soundbite from the President's "Mean Tweets" segment. Several minutes later, Vega included the anti-Trump "phone drop moment" in her report on the presidential race:
CECILIA VEGA (voice-over): Even President Obama getting in on the action on Jimmy Kimmel.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA (from ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live): But what we haven't seen before, I think, is somebody questioning the integrity of elections and the will of the people.
VEGA: Trump landing a spot on Kimmel's 'Mean Tweets' — the President all too happy to play along.
OBAMA: 'President Obama will go down as perhaps the worst president in the history of the United States, exclamation point.' -@RealDonaldTrump. Well, @realDonaldTrump, at least I will go down as a president.
VEGA (on-camera): Yeah, ouch.
Obama's retort to Trump was also Today's "Campaign Moment" of the day on NBC:
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: And now, for Today's 'Campaign Moment,' the President reading 'Mean Tweets.'
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA (from ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live): 'President Obama will go down as perhaps the worst president in the history of the United States, exclamation point.' -@realDonaldTrump. Well, @RealDonaldTrump, at least I will go down as a president. (audience cheers and applauds)
GUTHRIE: President—
MATT LAUER: A phone drop moment
GUTHRIE: Yeah, exactly! The President having a little fun on Jimmy Kimmel Live — just dropped the phone at the end of that
LAUER: Yeah, exactly — pretty good.
7

Whoa: Matthews Shuts Down NYT Reporter By Wondering If She Has Any Pro-Life Co-Workers

By Curtis Houck

Occasionally, MSNBC’s Hardball host Chris Matthews flashes a pillar of his Catholic upbringing and Monday night was one such instance as he pressed New York Times reporter Yamiche Alcindor on whether or not she has any pro-life co-workers at the liberal paper after she laughed at the idea of liberal media bias.
Alcindor pathetically ducked the question by insisting that it’s “not a question I’m going to answer” but she nonetheless has “no idea” if she has any fellow journalists at the bastion of the left are anything other than pro-abortion.
The discussion that prompted Alcindor’s laughter started when Matthews wondered to conservative radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt what he made of the argument that Donald Trump “represents the regular folks out there and the media represents the elite” even though Trump himself is an Ivy Leaguer and many journalists are as well.
Hewitt then masterfully explained that “[n]inety-percent plus of Manhattan-Beltway media elites will vote for Hillary Clinton and will applaud her election” and “seeps into their coverage” before quoting Dan Rather about news being “where you look”:
It’s what Dan Rather said. News is where you look. Those elites look for news in places other than, for example, the ObamaCare premium hikes or the problems at the FBI. These are stories where if Donald Trump were making a comprehensive case — it goes back to Nixon and Agnew...It’s a true saw in the Republican cannon that you don`t get a fair shake, but you`ve got to deal with it by focusing on issues, not on the problem of bias.
Alcindor could be heard laughing near the end of Hewitt’s comments and asked to respond but Matthews included this modifier for her to answer first:
Yamiche, do you think that`s true? Do you think that’s true? I mean, I look at Joe Biden. He`s not elite. I look at Bobby Casey of Pennsylvania. I don`t think he’s elite. I look at Toomey, who’s not elite. Who are these — name me the elite in the media. Give me the names.
She answered that both Trump and Bernie Sanders reporters often did and continue to attack the media but while she suggested it could be seen as “kind of an effective argument” based on where some individuals go for their news “but there are people making value judgments” (which I gather she would encourage for us all to trust).
It was here that Matthews stumped her with this shocker out of the blue: “Do you know anybody, Yamiche, at The New York Times who`s pro-life?”
“That`s not a question I’m going to answer. I have no idea,” Alcindor responded.
Matthews tried again and told Alcindor that she didn’t “have to name names,” but Alcindor still deflected and proved to Matthews (as well as the rest of us watching) her point about how pro-abortion and out of touch such elite journalists are:
ALCINDOR: I have not asked my co-workers that question, I should say.
MATTHEWS: Well, that`s cute.
ALCINDOR: Wait, but I want to answer —
MATTHEWS: You’re making your point. That`s the way you make your point.
function readyHandler_3351332() {}
The relevant portions of the transcript from MSNBC’s Hardball on October 24 can be found below.
MSNBC’s Hardball
October 24, 2016
7:08 p.m. Eastern
CHRIS MATTHEWS: What do you make of that argument — that he represents the regular folks out there and the media represents the elite? And why would the media, except a lot of us are — a lot of media people are Ivy Leaguers and they are, you might say, the intellectual elite, although I don`t think that’s what I brag about, but they are, some of them — why is the media pro-elite, according to him? Give me the motivation because you’re on that side of thinking and I want to hear the smart way of saying it.
HUGH HEWITT: To quo — thank you. To quote Kissinger, it has the additional benefit of being true. Ninety-percent plus of Manhattan-Beltway media elites will vote for Hillary Clinton and will applaud her election. That seeps into coverage. It’s what Dan Rather said. News is where you look. Those elites look for news in places other than, for example, the ObamaCare premium hikes or the problems at the FBI. These are stories where if Donald Trump were making a comprehensive case — it goes back to Nixon and Agnew. You know this, Chris. This is an old saw —
MATTHEWS: Yes.
HEWITT: — and it`s a true saw in the Republican cannon that you don`t get a fair shake, but you`ve got to deal with it by focusing on issues, not on the problem of bias.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR [LAUGHING]: Can I jump in here really quickly?
MATTHEWS: Yamiche, do you think that`s true? Do you think that’s true? I mean, I look at Joe Biden. He`s not elite. I look at Bobby Casey of Pennsylvania. I don`t think he’s elite. I look at Toomey, who’s not elite. Who are these — name me the elite in the media. Give me the names.
ALCINDOR: Well, this is the thing. If we ask people like Donald Trump, or if you ask people like Bernie Sanders, they were both going after some of the same people. They were talking about The New York Times. They were talking about The Washington Post and really, this is something I think that is kind of an effective argument because people really do feel like when they go and get the news that they’re really getting it from these people who have some sort of plan to rig this election or rig the economy or don’t want to cover the real issues, when, you know, obviously, the media is in some ways covering the news of the day and covering things that we think are important, but there are people making value judgments, but I should add that I talked to a Trump supp —
MATTHEWS: Do you know anybody, Yamiche, at The New York Times who`s pro-life?
ALCINDOR [LAUGHING]: — that`s not a question I’m going to answer. I have no idea.
MATTHEWS: Do you know anybody? Just — you don`t have to name names. Do you know anybody at The Times who’s pro-life?
ALCINDOR: I have not asked my co-workers that question, I should say.
MATTHEWS: Well, that`s cute.
ALCINDOR: Wait, but I want to answer —
MATTHEWS: You’re making your point. That`s the way you make your point.

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