House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was interrupted in spectacular fashion during a San Francisco press conference Monday by an angry group of immigration activists. But one of the Big Three broadcast networks decided to completely ignore the scene, despite a history of covering similar anti-Trump interruptions.
The dependably liberal ABC’s “World News Tonight” skipped the story, while rivals CBS and NBC properly covered the event.
“NBC Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt called it a “chaotic scene,” while “CBS Evening News” anchor Anthony Mason said Pelosi was “shouted down.” Both of ABC’s rivals aired video of Pelosi’s press conference getting interrupted and covered the story for roughly 30 seconds apiece.
So why didn’t ABC’s newscast cover the event? Perhaps the folks at Disney don’t think angry protesters are newsworthy? Not quite.
“World News Tonight” has covered a variety of anti-Republican protests, including a montage of demonstrators who were upset that Trump defeated Hillary Clinton on Election Day. ABC News also covered anti-Trump protesters that gathered when members of the Electoral College gathered to make Trump’s victory official last December.
In fact, the network covered Trump Tower protesters just last month. ABC News also covered anti-Trump protesters back in 2016 during the GOP primary and essentially blamed Trump when a protesters rushed his stage during a campaign rally.
“Donald Trump taking no responsibility for any of it,” ABC News anchor Cecilia Vega said after reporting that Trump supporters and protesters became violent on the campaign trail.
This time, ABC skipped an interesting and surprising story. The anti-Pelosi protesters apparently want her to fight for “all 11 million” undocumented immigrants, as opposed to just “dreamers.” They are upset that she has the audacity to negotiate with President Trump to save the DACA program.
Pelosi fired back as she was being interrupted, asking if they “actually want to hear an answer” or if they simply want to “shout.” The crowd decided to shout, calling her a “liar” and holding signs that said, “Democrats are Deporters.”
ABC has been accused of bias several times in recent political history.
Debate moderators ABC News anchor David Muir and correspondent Martha Raddatz talk to the audience before the start of the Democratic presidential candidates debate at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire December 19, 2015. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)
Recent examples include President Trump accusing ABC anchor Martha Raddatz of crying on Election Night after he won, which the veteran journalist denied. The network’s chief anchor, former Bill Clinton communications director George Stephanopoulos, did not disclose a substantial donation to Clinton’s charitable organization back in 2015. ABC executives canceled Tim Allen’s "Last Man Standing" after the star expressed conservative views, although ABC president of Entertainment Channing Dungey told reporters that "politics had absolutely nothing to do with it.”
The network also has been criticized for several shows that mock traditional values such as "The Real O'Neals" which made fun of Irish Catholics and "When We Rise" which was widely criticized for portraying Middle America as homophobic. ABC journalist Terry Moran even compared Trump's inaugural address to Nazi rhetoric.
Meanwhile, The Washington Post recently ranked the top 15 possible 2020 Democratic candidates, with Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger as No. 11, ahead of actual politicians such as Tim Kaine and Deval Patrick.
ABC News declined comment when reached by Fox News.
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