David Gregory

David Gregory Frets About Whether ‘Democracy Is For Sale’ Following Supreme Court Ruling
By Jeffrey Meyer | April 6, 2014 | 7:22 PM EDT

Last week, the Supreme Court eliminated limits on how much money individuals can donate to all campaigns in any two-year election cycle and NBC’s David Gregory lamented how “American democracy is for sale.”

Appearing on “Meet the Press” on Sunday April 6, Gregory asked Shaun McCutcheon, the plaintiff in McCutcheon v. FEC: “How do you have candidates in the future now going to the wealthiest donors in the country and saying I want an unlimited amount of money? How does that is not at some-point lead to corruption?” [See video below.]

Mika a One-Woman Walking Commercial For Moribund 'Meet The Press'
By Mark Finkelstein | March 31, 2014 | 8:08 AM EDT

How bad are things for Meet The Press?  The once-dominant Sunday show has fallen into a distant third place. And now Mika Brzezinski has resorted to an embarrassing attempt to revive her network's failing patient.

On today's Morning Joe, Mika managed to mention Meet The Press by name no fewer than eight times in one segment. Her argument was that MTP is the go-to place for politicians wanting to make news, and that Chris Christie had blown it by not appearing yesterday, sending two surrogates instead.  View the video after the jump.

WashTimes's Miller: D.C. Judge Convicts Man for Possession of... Musket Balls?!
By Ken Shepherd | March 26, 2014 | 7:16 PM EDT

A Virginia businessman has been convicted of violating Washington, D.C. gun laws for possessing what amounts to, wait for it, replica musket balls. For that he was sentenced to time served, fined $50, and forced to enroll in the District's gun-offender registry.

Emily Miller has the story this afternoon at WashingtonTimes.com  (emphasis mine):

Andrea Mitchell on Obama Delaying ObamaCare: ‘One Thing That Really Undermines His Case Against the Republicans in Congress’
By Jeffrey Meyer | March 24, 2014 | 8:36 AM EDT

NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell had some surprisingly tough words for President Obama regarding the role ObamaCare will play in the upcoming midterm elections.

Speaking to David Gregory on the March 23rd “Meet the Press” Mitchell commented that President Obama’s decision to unilaterally delay certain aspects of ObamaCare was the “one thing that really undermines his case against the Republicans in Congress.” [See video below.]

NBC’s Andrea Mitchell Gushes Over Jimmy Carter During Softball Interview
By Jeffrey Meyer | March 23, 2014 | 2:22 PM EDT

NBC’s Andrea Mitchell sat down with President Jimmy Carter for an exclusive interview that aired on the March 23rd Meet the Press and from the start fawned over the Georgia Democrat.

Mitchell hyped how she “spoke with him at the Carter Center in Atlanta about his new book, "A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power." We also talked about the crisis in Ukraine as well as his distant relationship with President Obama.”

Irony: ABC, NBC Tout Michelle Obama’s Internet Freedom Speech In China, Ignore Press Shutout
By Jeffrey Meyer | March 23, 2014 | 8:39 AM EDT

First Lady Michelle Obama spoke to students at Peking University in China over the weekend and spoke of the need for China to limit its censorship of information and controlling access to the Internet.

Despite both ABC and NBC hyping Mrs. Obama’s “strong message” about the need for an open Internet in China, both networks skipped the irony of the White House not allowing American press to travel with the First Lady to China. Instead, ABC promoted how Obama decided to tackle “hot-button issues” as “she’s making headlines over what she said about the Internet.”

NBC News 'Doubles Down' on 'Meet the Press' Host David Gregory Despite Poor Ratings
By Randy Hall | March 21, 2014 | 5:55 PM EDT

Ever since longtime host Tim Russert died in 2008, his shadow has loomed over Meet the Press. His successor, liberal David Gregory, has seen the Sunday morning program hit historic ratings lows that led to a meeting on March 13 regarding the futures of both Gregory and “the longest-running television program in the world.”

According to an article on Thursday, NBC News senior vice president Alex Wallace declared:
"We're doubling down on David Gregory right now" since he will continue to host the TV series but with new responsibilities as the weekly program becomes an online “7-days-a-week source for politics and beltway buzz.”

NBC's Gregory Frets Over U.S. 'Hypocrisy' in Standing Up to Russia
By Kyle Drennen | March 17, 2014 | 12:28 PM EDT

On Sunday's NBC Meet the Press, moderator David Gregory touted the United Nations slamming the "human rights record" of the U.S. as it condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine: "You know, when we deal with Vladimir Putin, this issue of hypocrisy comes up....The United Nations pointedly criticized the U.S.'s human rights record over drone strikes, NSA surveillance, the death penalty." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]

Turning to Democratic Illinois Senator Dick Durbin and Republican Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, Gregory worried: "Does it make it hard to deal with the likes of Putin and Lavrov when you've got the U.N. criticizing the U.S. that way?"

NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ Fawns Over Bill Maher, Skips His History of Disgusting Rhetoric
By Jeffrey Meyer | March 16, 2014 | 12:31 PM EDT

Comedian Bill Maher is no stranger to making outrageous and offensive comments, usually directed at conservatives. His weekly HBO program “Real Time with Bill Maher” is an opportunity for the devout atheist and liberal to spew his anti-conservative hate, yet when a major television network profiles his comedy routine, his controversial style is ignored.

NBC’s Harry Smith sat down with Maher for an interview, which aired during the March 16th “Meet the Press” and the NBC reporter treated the comedian to a friendly puff interview without ever bringing up his tasteless comedy routine. Moderator David Gregory hyped the interview and observed how Maher has “been thinking about how dysfunctional politics has become in the country and he’s been dishing on both parties as he takes his message to red state America.” [See video below.]

Uh-oh: NBC News President to Discuss Future of 'Meet the Press' With David Gregory
By Randy Hall | March 13, 2014 | 8:11 PM EDT

During a brief visit to Washington, D.C., Deborah Turness – the president of NBC News – is slated to discuss the fate of the network's Sunday morning program with host David Gregory and executive producer Rob Yarin regarding possible changes to the format of Meet the Press, which recently saw its ratings tumble to their lowest point since the third quarter of 1992.

According to Dylan Byers, a columnist at the Politico website, the gathering is “part of Turness's ongoing effort” to improve the long-running news and interview show, which ended 2013 behind both ABC's This Week and CBS's Face the Nation.

NBC’s David Gregory Pushes Cardinal Dolan For Catholic Church To Accept ‘Changes’ On Gay Marriage
By Jeffrey Meyer | March 10, 2014 | 10:36 AM EDT

This week marks the one year anniversary of Pope Francis being elected to lead the Catholic Church. To honor the event, Meet the Press host David Gregory sat down with Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, and proceeded to berate him with numerous leftist questions about “changes” within the Catholic Church.

From the beginning, Gregory pressed Cardinal Dolan on the issue of gay marriage, and started the interview by misinterpreting Pope Francis’ comments on civil unions before asserting that, “Take the issue of gay rights-around the world. He even opened the door in an interview this week to the idea of accepting civil unions. Is that something you can see the church supporting?” [See video below.]

NBC's Gregory: 'Thank God the Media's Still Here' for CPAC to 'Kick Around'
By Kyle Drennen | March 10, 2014 | 10:20 AM EDT

On Sunday's NBC Meet the Press, host David Gregory wondered if New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's 2016 presidential chances were "done" following the Bridgegate scandal. In response, National Journal's Ron Fournier cited Christie's Friday CPAC address: "Ironically, he might have done himself some good with the Republican primary audience because he now can beat up on the media." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]

Gregory joked: "Thank God the media's still here because what else would they talk about CPAC if we weren't here to kick around?" Fournier replied: "It's all we're good for sometimes."