MSNBC, NBC use Ukraine war to attack Trump, GOP while offering favorable coverage to Biden

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MSNBC, NBC use Ukraine war to prop up Biden, spout talking points against Trump and the GOP

The two major liberal media outlets spent a decent chunk of their recent Ukraine coverage defending the president and Democrats.

Liberal media outlets MSNBC and NBC have spent a chunk of their Ukraine coverage in recent weeks promoting liberal talking points hypercritical of former President Trump and the GOP while bestowing favorable coverage upon President Biden and his administration.

Many pundits became visibly frustrated at claims that the Biden administration isn’t doing enough to support Ukraine, with many firing back at assertions that Russian President Vladimir Putin would never have invaded the European country if Trump was still in office. 

Bringing Trump, GOP into the argument 

Former President Donald Trump speaks during the 'Save America' rally at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds on January 29, 2022 in Conroe, Texas.  (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

On Wednesday, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough interrupted a discussion with morning show host and political correspondent Jonathan Lemire to voice his anger towards those critical of Biden’s "historic" response to Putin. 

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"What has been done thus far is nothing short of historic. Let me say that again for people writing snarky op-eds about this administration and about Congress and about the United States response. What has happened over the last three weeks is nothing short of historic." Scarborough said.

Scarborough went on to berate anyone arguing that Trump would have enacted a response on the same scale as the current president. 

"And anybody suggesting that Donald Trump would have done any of this, please. Please, start your clown show somewhere else. We don't want to watch it. We don't want to hear it," he added. 

Taking it a step further, that same day on "The 11th Hour," Stephanie Ruhle claimed it was a "far-right narrative" to say the White House and the larger U.S. government aren’t doing enough to help Ukraine. 

"It is also a far-right narrative that keeps getting pushed that the U.S isn't doing anything. And those same Republican lawmakers that are pushing President Biden to do more quicker are the same people who didn't want Trump to do anything," she said. 

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A number of other hosts and journalists also seemed insistent on bringing Trump into the conversation on Ukraine. 

On March 4 while hosting "MTP Daily," Chuck Todd stressed that voters’ view that Putin wouldn’t have invaded Ukraine under Trump was a "perception issue" that wasn't based on "logic."

"I don’t buy that," he said. "I don’t think that matches logic, but voters do. That’s a perception issue."

During a Sunday appearance on NBC’s "Meet the Press," New York Times Pentagon correspondent Helene Cooper argued the U.S. would be in a "completely different place" if Trump was still in office. 

"I would love to just game out where we would be right now if Donald Trump was still President and Vladimir Putin had invaded Ukraine," Cooper said. "First of all, Trump would already have pulled us out of NATO because that's what he wanted to do. He already started pulling American troops out of Europe. The Pentagon kind of stalled out until Biden came into office."

Praise for Biden and the Democrats

President Joe Biden speaks about additional security assistance that his administration will provide to Ukraine, Wednesday, March 16, 2022.  ((AP Photo/Patrick Semansky))

Some hosts and guests also took the time to positively frame Biden, his administration, and the Democratic Party. 

On MSNBC Wednesday, host Andrea Mitchell appeared to express hope that the war on Ukraine would have a positive political impact for Biden and the Democrats heading into the midterms. She also touted that the president’s poll numbers had stabilized and even appeared to "edge up" in the wake of the war.   

"Do you think that this at least is helping the Democrats and helping the White House as they head into the midterms?" she asked the Washington Post's Philip Rucker. 

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"You know, it certainly is giving Biden an opportunity to be the strong leader that he campaigned as and that he hopes to appear to be in the first year of his presidency," Rucker said. 

One MSNBC reporter wondered on Tuesday why Biden's stance on Putin’s invasion of Ukraine isn't helping his low poll numbers, calling the president’s actions "popular."

"President Biden’s not getting a Zelenskyy bounce. And when you look at the polling, it’s kind of fascinating," Garrett Haake said.

Conflating Ukraine and voting rights

Gutted cars following a night air raid in the village of Bushiv, 40 kilometers west of Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, March 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Chuck Todd, once again tackling the Ukraine war on March 6, appeared baffled that Biden did not attempt to connect the conflict with voting rights in America, a popular talking point for Democrats. 

"There was one thing that surprised me about the President’s State of the Union was the lack of connecting the fight for democracy and freedom abroad, with the fight for democracy at home. Today’s Bloody Sunday, OK?" Todd said on "Meet the Press."

MSNBC contributor Eddie Glaude responded he was "stunned" Biden did not make the connection between the two, arguing it was an "easy kind of rhetorical move."

"And politically helpful," interjected Todd. "I mean, hate to be that crass about it but, right? It’s an easy political message."

Echoing Todd’s comments, NBC correspondent Yamiche Alcindor also made the connection between Ukraine and voting rights during the network's coverage of Biden’s State of the Union address on March 1. In doing so, the PBS moderator also took a shot at Republicans.

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 "We have our own democratic crisis here at home. Democracy matters and Ukraine is showing that. So, of course, we have our own election, people, the Republicans in a lot of states trying to pull back the voter access to so many different Americans," Alcindor said. 

Alcindor added that Democrats were "eager" for Biden to make the connection between the conflict in Ukraine and the January 6 Capitol riots.