Media top headlines July 28
In media news today, NBC News' Chuck Todd dismisses the notion of liberal bias as a GOP talking point, a New York Times reporter deletes a tweet urging Trump supporters to be called 'enemies of the state,' and NBC's coverage of the Tokyo Olympics continues to lose significant viewership
Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas blasted the left and the press for supposedly wishing viewers had amnesia now that they've been accused of doing an about-face on the COVID-19 vaccines, singling out Vice President Kamala Harris, CNN's Chris Cuomo, and his brother New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo as among the worst culprits.
Several media pundits shared their skepticism about the COVID-19 shots that were developed during the Trump administration. The COVID-19 vaccines have proven to be highly effective against the virus. Fully vaccinated individuals who have gone on to contract COVID-19 are likely to have milder symptoms, shorter infection times, and a lower viral load, according to studies.
But some of those same pundits are now urging individuals to get the jab, and at times even suggesting mandatory vaccinations.
The media's turnaround on the vaccine appeared to go hand-in-hand with leading Democrats who are now urging Americans to get to the clinic. One of the most notable examples is Vice President Kamala Harris, who last year told CNN's Dana Bash during the 2020 presidential election that she "would not trust Donald Trump" on the vaccine after Bash asked if she would get the shot. A few months later, Harris publicly took the vaccine.
"Next-level gaslighting by the left and their friends in the press who want everyone to forget that they were undermining public trust in a vaccine before it was even developed," Crenshaw tweeted.
The congressman expanded on that point in an interview on "Varney & Co." on Tuesday, singling out not only Harris but New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
"And I'm really sick of the Democrats especially trying to politicize this and gaslight the American people and say, look at these Republicans bad-mouthing the vaccine," he said. "I've never badmouthed the vaccine at all, actually. But you know who has? Kamala Harris, Governor Cuomo of New York. I mean, they're all on the record… Back in October when Trump was touting this vaccine, they were on the record saying that you can't trust the FDA. So I'm getting really sick of how this has been politicized."
The congressman used this context to react to CNN's Chris Cuomo, who in a recent monologue told Americans to get vaccinated because, "We just can't make ourselves sick again." Cuomo argued that the left didn't trust Trump on vaccines because he was a "buffoon," but once the data showed that the vaccines were effective, "facts replaced feelings."
"So we know it is safe, we're not in the feeling stage anymore," Cuomo said of the vaccine, before arguing "now it is the right that doesn't want it."
"Chris, I've never said people shouldn't trust the vaccine," Crenshaw said in response. "I've only called it safe and effective and said people should make the decision for themselves. Your brother on the other hand encouraged public distrust about the vaccine from the beginning."
FLASHBACK: ALL THE TIMES CUOMO HAS EXPRESSED SKEPTIICISM OF TRUMP CORONAVIRUS VACCINE
"To the extent, there is skepticism about Trump and distrust of Trump and a belief that Trump politicized the public health process, which he did, that he politicized the NIH [The National Institutes of Health] and the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and the FDA [Food and Drug Administration], which he did, and that spills over to the vaccine, these separate panels that states will have will give those states confidence," Gov. Cuomo told CNN's Anderson Cooper last year. In fact Cuomo was so skeptical of the vaccines that he called for an independent review of the vaccine's safety and effectiveness before its release.
Crenshaw pulled out a few other relevant quotes from the governor.
Crenshaw was one of many observers to point out the media's and leading Democrats' hypocrisy on vaccines.
MSNBC's Joy Reid recently instructed her Twitter followers to "get vaxxed and survive this freaking thing." But last year, Reid tweeted, "Just speaking for myself, I wouldn't go near anything that Trump or his politicized FDA had anything to do with."
"Where could this vaccine hesitancy come from," conservative writer Drew Holden quipped with an image juxtaposing Reid's two apparent conflicting statements.
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