Monday is Martin Luther King Day, a federal holiday signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1983, and on Sunday morning, ABC’s This Week decided it was the perfect opportunity to scold the Republican over his civil rights record. During the show’s weekly “powerhouse puzzler” segment, guest host Martha Raddatz asked the This Week panel “which president signed a law making MLK’s birthday a national holiday?” The ABC reporter then played a clip from ABC’s report on the signing ceremony in which ABC’s Sam Donaldson proclaimed “the president and Dr. King's widow walking into the Rose Garden together in an effort to spruce up Mr. Reagan's tattered civil rights image.”
Sam Donaldson
By Geoffrey Dickens | June 3, 2014 | 1:35 PM EDT
Thursday (June 5) marks the 10th anniversary of President Ronald Reagan’s passing and a look through the MRC’s archives shows that during his presidency many in the liberal media couldn’t withhold their contempt of the conservative icon.
From depicting Reagan as a puppet of the rich whose economic policies were cruel towards the poor and minorities, to denying his foreign policy vision helped lead to the downfall of the Soviet Union, the media did their best to trash the 40th President. The following is a look at the many ways the liberal media attempted to distort Reagan’s record. (videos after the jump)
By Noel Sheppard | December 24, 2012 | 3:47 PM EST
Sam Donaldson went after the Tea Party this weekend.
During a discussion about 2012's biggest game changers on the syndicated Chris Matthews Show, Donaldson said, "The greatest slogan that I hated during this last campaign was 'We want to take back our country.' Guys, it's not your country anymore - it's our country" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
By Matthew Sheffield | December 21, 2012 | 4:47 PM EST
ABC analyst Sam Donaldson was arrested and will face trial for a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol. The liberal former White House correspondent was arrested in Lewes, Delaware, near Rehoboth Beach on December 1st.
According to a local radio station, Donaldson decided to waive the formal public reading of the charges against him. The 78-year-old does not currently have a trial scheduled.
By Tim Graham | December 6, 2012 | 1:29 PM EST
In an AP profile of Fox News White House reporter Ed Henry, longtime ABC News vet Sam Donaldson said he considers Henry "one of the best" on the beat now. "It's not that they are all afraid and cringe, because they don't," Donaldson said. "But it's so much tougher to do it in every way."
As a young reporter, Henry said, he looked up to Donaldson, best known for shouting questions at Ronald Reagan. "Now if you shout a question at Obama, you're somehow seen as a bad guy," Henry said. "I think some people have been cowed." AP’s David Bauder also turned to former CNN bigwig Frank Sesno, who naturally is still pretending Fox News is an opinion channel, unlike the Piers and Soledad Network:
By Noel Sheppard | October 7, 2012 | 5:05 PM EDT
Sam Donaldson had some harsh words this weekend for President Obama's performance at Wednesday's debate.
Appearing on the syndicated Chris Matthews Show, the former ABC White House correspondent said, "If he comes to the next two debates with the same demeanor, with the same passive resistance, he’s losing" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
By Rich Noyes | September 11, 2012 | 8:00 AM EDT
Each morning, NewsBusters has been showcasing the most egregious bias the Media Research Center has uncovered over the years — four quotes for each of the 25 years of the MRC, 100 quotes total — all leading up to our big 25th Anniversary Gala September 27. (Click here for details and ticket information.)
If you’ve missed a previous blog, recounting the worst of 1988 through 1996, you can find them here. Today, the worst bias of 1997: Fawning over Bill Clinton as a candidate for Mt. Rushmore; impugning conservative Senator Jesse Helms as a “terrorist;” and a classic New York Times headline: “Crime Keeps On Falling; but Prisons Keep On Filling.” [Quotes and video below the jump.]
By NB Staff | August 27, 2012 | 1:10 PM EDT
"I think there’s some real journalism left, but it’s a dying breed.”
So said ABC's Sam Donaldson during an impromptu interview with NewsBusters at the Republican National Convention in Tampa Monday (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary):
By Kyle Drennen | June 19, 2012 | 11:14 AM EDT
During a panel discussion on Tuesday's NBC Today about President Obama being interrupted by a reporter during a Friday speech on immigration, even liberal pundit Donny Deutsch didn't buy veteran newsman Sam Donaldson claiming the incident was racially motivated: "Sam Donaldson in response said he thought that some of this was racially driven....I didn't see that..."
Fellow panelist and Today co-host Kathie Lee Gifford said of Donaldson's remark: "Yeah, I wish he hadn't said that."
By Noel Sheppard | June 19, 2012 | 9:40 AM EDT
NewsBusters reported Saturday that ABC's former White House correspondent Sam Donaldson said a lot of conservatives oppose Barack Obama simply because he's black.
On Fox News's O'Reilly Factor Monday, political commentator Bernie Goldberg thoroughly debunked Donaldson's claim with an inconvenient truth liberal media members dishonestly ignore: people on the Right "would love" a conservative black president. "They'd love him" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
By Noel Sheppard | June 18, 2012 | 12:14 AM EDT
As NewsBusters previously reported, former White House correspondent Sam Donaldson said Saturday, "Many on the political right believe this president [Barack Obama] ought not to be there – they oppose him not for his policies and political view but for who he is, an African American!”
On CNN Newsroom Sunday, Don Lemon agreed with Donaldson's indefensible observation (video follows with transcript and commentary):
Rush Calls Sam Donaldson 'Ignorant' for Saying People 'Like Limbaugh' Oppose Obama Because He's Black
By Noel Sheppard | June 17, 2012 | 12:17 AM EDT As NewsBusters reported Saturday, former ABC White House correspondent Sam Donaldson told the Huffington Post, "Many on the political right believe this president [Barack Obama] ought not to be there – they oppose him not for his polices [sic] and political view but for who he is, an African American! These people and perhaps even certain news organizations (certainly the right wing talkers like Limbaugh) encourage disrespect for this president."
Limbaugh responded to this nonsense by email moments ago: