Appearing on the Monday edition of Fox Business Network’s Varney & Company, Media Research Center president Brent Bozell blasted Sunday’s presidential debate co-moderators Anderson Cooper for having “consistently challenged” Donald Trump and Martha Raddatz for “show[ing] utter contempt for Donald Trump on a national stage.”
Bozell also excoriated the media for the lack of coverage devoted to women in the 1990s who accused Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct and the likelihood that NBC News did not just recently discover the Access Hollywood video of Trump making extremely lewd comments about women.
Going first to the moderators, host Stuart Varney surmised that Bozell “predicted that kind of moderator slant” against Trump “if I can put it like that” to which Bozell responded “[h]ere we go again” mimicking “the vice presidential debate where the Republican was consistently challenged on his position while the Democrat was given a free pass.”
<<< Please consider helping NewsBusters financially with your tax-deductible contribution today >>>
For CNN’s Cooper, Bozell observed that he “challenged Donald Trump three times in one question, wasn’t — would not accept Donald Trump's answer” while ABC’s Raddatz “went a step further” a la “Candy Crowley-style”:
She showed utter contempt for Donald Trump on a national stage. She dismissed his answers. She even argued with him about his answers. She actually entered into the debate Candy Crowley-style. So I don't blame Donald Trump at all for saying it was a one on three debate.
Bozell firmly denounced the contents of the lewd tape of Trump and suspended Today co-host Billy Bush from 2005, but he also had some concerns about NBC’s “insult to the intelligence to suggest that they just found this” because more tapes will likely come out.
“[F]or them to say they just came across this when this has been in the record, when they've had access to it since the very beginning really is an insulting statement. No. They've had it, they did it deliberately, the timing was deliberate,” Bozell added.
Moving lastly to comparing the coverage of Bill Clinton’s accusers to the Trump tape unveiled on Friday, Bozell ruled:
You cannot argue Donald Trump is more important, yet in 17 years, you did not get as much coverage of Juanita Broaddrick as you got on Donald Trump in 48 hours. Here's another number you're going to like this one. 103 minutes given about Donald Trump this weekend. How much time was given to Paula Jones when she filed a lawsuit that said that the President of the United States took his pants down in front of her and told her to kiss it? 103 minutes on Donald Trump, 16 seconds, Paula Jones.
The relevant portion of the transcript from FBN’s Varney & Company on October 10 can be found below.
FBN’s Varney & Company
October 10, 2016
11:15 p.m. Eastern
STUART VARNEY: That did seem like Martha Raddatz was debating Donald Trump, and they — both of them seemed particularly harsh on Trump, and he called them out on it, as you saw. He said the debate was, basically, three on one. Brent Bozell, Media Research Center president, very popular guy on this program, and he's back. Alright, Brent, if it's Anderson Cooper, CNN and Martha Raddatz, ABC, I would expect that you predicted that kind of moderator slant, if I can put it like that.
BRENT BOZELL: Yeah. Here we go again. It was, like the vice presidential debate where the Republican was consistently challenged on his position while the Democrat was given a free pass. Anderson Cooper challenged Donald Trump three times in one question, wasn’t — would not accept Donald Trump's answer. Martha — Martha Raddatz, I think, went a step further. She showed utter contempt for Donald Trump on a national stage. She dismissed his answers. She even argued with him about his answers. She actually entered into the debate Candy Crowley-style. So I don't blame Donald Trump at all for saying it was a one on three debate.
VARNEY: What do you make of the timing of NBC's release of that videotape of the locker room talk right before the second debate, and what do you make of the timing, the likely timing of other material which might still come out yet?
BOZELL: It — it's an insult to the intelligence to suggest that they just found this. This is October surprise time and this won't be the last one. There will be more that will come out of it and for them to say they just came across this when this has been in the record, when they've had access to it since the very beginning really is an insulting statement. No. They've had it, they did it deliberately, the timing was deliberate, and this is — by the way, I expected this was going to happen, and I'm telling you more will come out.
VARNEY: I really object to people like Julian Assange, Vladimir Putin and/or NBC interjecting into this election of ours. I really object to this, but I don't know what I can do about it.
BOZELL: Well, if you're going to object, let's object this way. We did a little bit of analysis. What is more important — whatever Donald Trump said — which is disgusting — or the allegation, the eminently believable allegation that Bill Clinton raped Juanita Broaddrick, and Hillary Clinton subsequently threatened Juanita Broaddrick? You cannot argue Donald Trump is more important, yet in 17 years, you did not get as much coverage of Juanita Broaddrick as you got on Donald Trump in 48 hours. Here's another number you're going to like this one. 103 minutes given about Donald Trump this weekend. How much time was given to Paula Jones when she filed a lawsuit that said that the President of the United States took his pants down in front of her and told her to kiss it? 103 minutes on Donald Trump, 16 seconds, Paula Jones.
VARNEY: I think that tells a story. Brent Bozell, no wonder you're popular on this program. Thank you very much, indeed, Brent. We will see you again real soon. There's a lot to go at for another four weeks, after all. Thank you, Brent.
