MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell criticized the media, including his own network, for fully covering former President Trump's Thursday press conference but not airing a campaign speech by Vice President Harris in its entirety.
MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell has slammed the media, including his own network, for its vastly different coverage of former President Trump's press conference and Vice President Harris' speech on Thursday. O'Donnell's criticism stems from the fact that Trump's press conference was extensively covered, while Harris' speech was largely ignored.
"It’s 2016 all over again," O'Donnell said on "The Last Word" Thursday night. "The same mistakes are being made. I have never seen an industry slower at learning from its own stupid mistakes than the American news business."
MSNBC Host Criticizes Media for Unequal Coverage of Trump and Harris Events
O'Donnell pointed out that Trump gave a lengthy and widely covered press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday, while Harris' campaign rally in Michigan received minimal attention. MSNBC itself only aired the last few minutes of Harris' speech live after covering the Olympics.
"None of the networks, none of them, carried Kamala Harris’ speech live after the Trump appearance," O'Donnell said. "None of them."
MSNBC Host Criticizes Media for Unequal Coverage of Trump and Harris Events
O'Donnell argued that this disparity in coverage illustrates a fundamental flaw in the media's approach to covering presidential campaigns. He believes that the media focuses too much on candidates' availability to reporters and their willingness to answer questions, rather than on the substance of their campaigns.
"Reporters understandably and incorrectly believe that the most important thing a candidate can do is answer their questions, but they don’t know what an answer actually is," he said. "Words spoken after their question marks are not necessarily answers and are never answers when they come from Donald Trump."
MSNBC Host Criticizes Media for Unequal Coverage of Trump and Harris Events
O'Donnell argued that Trump's press conference was filled with "knowing lies" and "falsehoods" and that the media should not have given him a platform to spread misinformation. He also pointed out that Harris has yet to hold a formal press conference or do a sit-down interview since emerging last month as the presumptive nominee.
"This is not a difficult concept," O'Donnell said. "Cover the candidates equally. Cover their events. Report on their campaigns. And don’t let Donald Trump use your platform to spread lies."
O'Donnell's criticism comes as the media faces growing pressure to provide more balanced and unbiased coverage of the 2020 presidential election. Critics have argued that the media's focus on Trump's outrageous statements and his attacks on opponents has distorted the public's understanding of the campaign.
It remains to be seen whether the media will heed O'Donnell's call for more equal coverage of all candidates. However, his criticism serves as a reminder of the importance of journalistic integrity and the need to avoid allowing political bias to influence news coverage.
