Posted on 03/26/2016 2:49:48 PM PDT by Kaslin
On Saturday, all three broadcast morning news shows talked about the National Enquirer allegations against GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz, allegations for which there is still no on-the-record source or any other supporting evidence.
CBS, which took the high road and skipped the tawdry allegations on Friday’s Evening News, this morning offered a 68-second item read by CBS This Morning: Saturday co-anchor Anthony Mason, which cast the matter as a “he said, he said,” between the two candidates.
ABC’s Good Morning America offered a full report from weekend political correspondent Devin Dwyer, in which Dwyer unfortunately cast both Cruz and Trump as guilty of soiling the campaign discourse: “On one of the most solemn days of the year for Christians, Good Friday, the Republican frontrunners descended into a battle over sleaze,” Dwyer fretted.
As she did on Friday’s Nightly News, NBC correspondent Hallie Jackson was the most thorough in explaining the many reasons to doubt the Enquirer story, listing the tabloid’s past boosting of Trump and the categorical denials of two of the women linked to Cruz in the story.
Unlike Friday, however, none of the networks on Saturday morning talked about the role of onetime Trump aide Roger Stone in promoting the Enquirer story to the media, although NBC’s Jackson showed viewers the spectacle of pro-Trump journalist Adriana Cohen hijacking a CNN interview on Friday to smear Cruz supporter Amanda Carpenter as a way to force the media to pay attention to the story.
Given that the Cruz story falls far below the normal journalistic threshold for covering such sensational claims, the only fair way to discuss it at all is to point out the evidence that it is, in all likelihood, part of a smear campaign from a political rival. NBC’s Jackson accomplished this in her report, but ABC and CBS limited themselves to merely running Cruz’s own condemnation of the story, juxtaposed with Trump’s Facebook declaration that he had nothing to do with it.
ABC’s premise that both “Republican frontrunners” had “descended into a battle over sleaze” does a disservice to Cruz, since Cruz — unlike Trump — did not attack his rival’s wife, while his attacks on Trump as “Sleazy Donald” are a reaction to what is by all journalist norms a false story being forced onto the national media by Trump supporters such as Adriana Cohen and Roger Stone.
ABC Scolds Both Cruz and Trump After Tabloid Smear
Here’s a bit more of how each of the three networks covered the Cruz story on Saturday morning:
CBS This Morning: Saturday:
ANTHONY MASON: The battle between Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump and Texas Senator Ted Cruz is escalating, fresh off their heated back and forth about each other's wives. Cruz spent much of Good Friday responding to a tabloid article that claimed he cheated on his wife.
[Followed by a clip of Cruz and reading of Trump’s Facebook statement]
ABC’s Good Morning America
DAN HARRIS: Back home now where the Republican race for the White House has become really a race to the bottom. Ted Cruz is now accusing Donald Trump of planting a very personal and potentially damaging story about him in a supermarket tabloid, with the candidates' wives at the center of an increasingly nasty fight We get the latest now from ABC's Devin Dwyer who is at the white house. Devon, good morning to you.
DEVIN DWYER: Yeah, good morning, Dan. You know, on one of the most solemn days of the year for Christians, Good Friday, the Republican front-runners descended into a battle over sleaze....This morning, explosive allegations from Senator Ted Cruz against Donald Trump — Cruz accusing Trump of planting a story in the National Enquirer, which claims political operatives are looking into rumors that Cruz had multiple marital infidelities....
NBC’s Today
HALLIE JACKSON: ...Arguing it’s tabloid trash, a furious Ted Cruz is firing back at the National Enquirer, denying its story claiming he had extramarital affairs.
SENATOR TED CRUZ: Let me be clear, this National Enquirer story is garbage. It is complete and utter lies. It is a tabloid smear, and it is a smear that has come from Donald Trump and his henchmen.
JACKSON: Trump, who’s been endorsed by the Enquirer and wrote an op-ed in its pages, says in a statement, quote, “I had absolutely nothing to do with the story,” adding he also has “nothing to do with the paper,” again calling Cruz, “Lyin’ Ted.” Cruz creating his own nickname for his rival.
CRUZ: With this pattern, he should not be surprised to see people calling him “Sleazy Donald.”
JACKSON: All of it spilling over into a tense exchange on live TV between a Trump supporter and a Cruz backer.
Columnist ADRIANA COHEN (on CNN): Where we should move to is the National Enquirer story that has reported that Ted Cruz has allegedly had affairs with at least five mistresses, including — you’ve been named, Amanda.
Cruz spokeswoman AMANDA CARPENTER (on CNN): What’s out there is tabloid trash. If someone wants to comment on it, they should talk to my lawyer. It is categorically false.
JACKSON: Another woman who’s been the subject of speculation, a former Cruz ally and current Trump spokesperson, tweeting, “of course the National Enquirer story is 100% FALSE!!!”...
Finally Cruz is getting vetted. Trump has had negative stories for months. Cruz no longer hiding behind trump.
If the race is down to either Trump or Cruz and the PAC is anti-Trump then obviously the PAC is pro Cruz. This is not rocket science. Amazing the Cruzers can fathom simple logic. Add to that the fact that the ad had “support Ted Cruz” in and still the Cruzers will not own up to it. Liz Mair even said the purpose of the ad was to rally voters to Cruz. It a damn pro Cruz PAC that launched the attack on Mrs Trump. And Cruz waited until after the Utah primary to call the ad inappropriate. Typical of “principled conservative” to wait until after the damage is done to comment.
Hillary calls Donald sexist. Donald hits back so hard that Bill is reduced to being a frail, blithering dodderer. He recently went off script on Obama to the point I was waiting for him to channel his brother Roger's pet name for black people.
lol
It is going to take a serious spin job to spin away Amanda having the same tat as Ted (they come in sets of two) and having Teds’ suit coat at 5:30 in the morning. A serious serious spin job is needed.
I am a little annoyed that trump let Cruz have press conference after press conference yesturday blaming trump for all of it while he is having a 10 day sabatical. Trump is our best candidate in 35 years and needs to get back on the campaign trail.
Did you hear his speech on Israeli last week. The left went nuts . Butt you know the truth but post lie after lie about him. Stop your Trump lies !
Get a life !
But they won’t touch Hillary’s email scandal.
Do you have a link to the original Super-PAC ad, Jim?
“while he is having a 10 day sabatical. Trump is our best candidate in 35 years and needs to get back on the campaign trail.”
Trump isn’t taking a 10 day sabbatical. Where did you get that from? He’s back on the stump in WI on Tuesday. He’s taking off for Easter weekend, for cryin’ out loud. Let him rest. Plus, while Cruz is imploding, it’s best Trump be off the grid anyway.
Thanks Austin,
People will believe what they want and have are hard time with reality. We know most of what the Enquirer writes is gossip. But some of it is true and they don’t have the proof to print the entire story and risk being sued.
In addition to John Edwards, they outed many other cheaters: Gary Hart & Donna Rice,Tiger Woods, Mel Gibson, Billy Joel, just to name a few. They ID’d OJ’s Bruno Magli shoes, Jesse Jackson’s illegit daughter, Rush Limbaugh’s Oxy, Ennis Cosby’s murder weapon; Bristol Palin’s baby-daddy; OJ’s book release; Hugh Rodham/Clinton pardon scandal.
And the Enquirer was great for the community at Christmas time: During the 70s and 80s, NE set-up the largest decorated Christmas tree in the world at their HQ attracting thousands every night. While extremely costly, It became one of S. Florida’s most celebrated and spectacular events.
I know and you are right....10 days may have been exaggerated. But if Cruz wasn’t bashing him day and night, I wouldn’t be concerned at all by him taking time off and yes he deserves every minute of it.
If Cruz did this, VERY FOOLISH! He gets the benefit of doubt, in my view, until proven guilty. Trump didn’t plant this, its not his style. I’m betting on the GOPe. The GOPe doesn’t want either Trump or Cruz. They were using Cruz and I guess they don’t need him anymore. The GOPe is vicious.
It doesn’t take a stretch to figure out who. GOPe operatives.
Yes, makes perfect sense.
It is neither deceptive nor dishonest to point out the fact that Trump supporters on this and other websites are continuing to push this very weakly sourced story, making up "clever" names for it like the "Cuban Mistress Crisis", and just generally slinging mud.
I never said or even implied Trump planted the story. I said his smear artist supporters on this and other websites are continuing to push the story, which is the truth, and is something that is dishonest and not what good people do.
Well, that was brilliant.
of course not
How do you know they are "Trump supporters", and not GOPe operatives?
Jim,
Thanks for the explanation. You do have your site to look after, when all is said and done — long after this scuffle blows over — provided we keep Hillary out of the White House.
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