Attempting to excuse Hillary Clinton laughing at one of her supporters wanting to “strangle” Carly Fiorina, NBC correspondent Kelly O’Donnell appeared on MSNBC’s 3 p.m. ET hour to offer up a defense of the harsh rhetoric: “He then told a very detailed story about having been an employee of HP and laid off and he had a lot of anger and upset about that...So he has a very direct personal relationship, if you will, to Fiorina as the CEO.”
Kelly O'Donnell
By Kyle Drennen | October 26, 2015 | 1:25 PM EDT
Following a Hillary Clinton campaign rally on Saturday that featured singer Katy Perry and former President Bill Clinton, NBC and ABC were beside themselves in gushing over the event. On Saturday’s NBC Nightly News, correspondent Kelly O’Donnell proclaimed: “Hillary Clinton's team is going all in on star power....husband Bill Clinton's first campaign stop here in Iowa....superstar hit maker [Katy Perry], whose song is Clinton’s campaign theme.... After a tough slide this summer, Clinton has hit a high note.”
By Michael McKinney | October 13, 2015 | 5:02 PM EDT
On Tuesday's Live with Thomas Roberts, the MSNBC host relayed the recent decision by Planned Parenthood to no longer seek "reimbursement" for tissue from aborted fetuses. Roberts asked NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell if the move was simply to “calm critics out there and ease pressure off of Planned Parenthood?” O'Donnell pointed out that this has been a "summer of rhetoric" and that Planned Parenthood was seeking a way to alleviate Congressional pressure. O'Donnell would read on air the Planned Parenthood written statement that the new policy "takes away the smokescreen that extremists have been using to attack Planned Parenthood."
Networks Hype ‘Spirited,’ ‘Unfazed’ Planned Parenthood President in Coverage of ‘Five-Hour Interrogation’
By Curtis Houck | September 29, 2015 | 9:58 PM EDT Hours after Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards testified Tuesday before the House Oversight Committee concerning the videos that have embroiled the abortion provider in scandal over the selling of aborted baby parts, the “big three” networks of ABC, CBS, and NBC rushed to the defense of the “unfazed” and “spirited” Richards as she “endured a five-hour interrogation” by the GOP.
By Matthew Balan | September 25, 2015 | 11:26 PM EDT
Two journalists on Friday's NBC Nightly News played up how the supposed "far right" of the Republican Party pushed out Rep. John Boehner, who announced earlier in the day that he would be stepping down as Speaker of the House. Lester Holt underlined that Boehner is "resigning from Congress at the end of next month in the face of a challenge from members of the far right of his party, who believe he's gone soft on Democrats."
By Curtis Houck | July 13, 2015 | 10:24 PM EDT
On Monday night, the major broadcast networks were out in full force to go after Republican Governor Scott Walker (Wisc.) during 2016 presidential announcement for his stance on illegal immigration, “no foreign policy experience,” and comments about union protesters along with an urging by ABC’s David Muir to criticize fellow presidential candidate Donald Trump. Muir scored an interview with Walker and, like his interview with Jeb Bush, Muir neglected to even mention issues such as the economy, distrust in government or ObamaCare.
By Jeffrey Meyer | July 13, 2015 | 10:38 AM EDT
During it’s preview of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s presidential announcement on Monday, CBS This Morning made sure to cast doubt on whether or not the Republican was “ready” to assume the White House in 2016. The CBS reporter insisted that “awkward exchanges” like one with a British reporter “have raised questions about his readiness for prime time” and “[t]o guard against criticism that he lacks a certain presidential heft, the governor has been undergoing weeks of briefs on global issues, everything from net neutrality to ISIS.”
By Curtis Houck | May 14, 2015 | 9:17 PM EDT
On Thursday night, the major English-language broadcast networks again covered possible 2016 Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush’s comments about the Iraq War and featured ABC and NBC omitting the fact that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton voted to authorize the Iraq War when she was a U.S. Senator. Additionally, all three network evening newscasts continued to ignore how Hillary Clinton has yet to answer a question from the press in over three weeks and only 13 questions total since she launched her campaign on April 12.
By Curtis Houck | May 13, 2015 | 9:50 PM EDT
Despite now knowing that the Amtrak train that derailed outside of Philadelphia on Tuesday night was going more than double the speed limit, the “big three” networks of ABC, CBS, and NBC continued pushing the need for more infrastructure funding and an increase in Amtrak’s budget on their Wednesday evening newscasts. In addition, CBS and NBC failed to mention the fact that train engine in question was only a year old.
By Curtis Houck | April 14, 2015 | 12:00 AM EDT
Minutes after Republican Senator Marco Rubio (Fla.) declared his candidacy for president, the major broadcast networks went to work in their Monday evening newscasts attacking Rubio over his age, policy positions, and touting the “experience,” “fame,” and “fortune” possessed by Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and possible Republican candidate Jeb Bush. NBC's Kelly O’Donnell shouted to Rubio: “Senator, you're the youngest candidate. Are you prepared to be president, sir?”
By Curtis Houck | April 7, 2015 | 11:52 PM EDT
After all three networks declined to label Senator Rand Paul a conservative during their morning news shows, on Tuesday night ABC’s World News Tonight broke ranks and labeled him a “mainstream conservative” on issues such as abortion, gay marriage, and tax cuts. Fellow networks CBS and NBC continued to not use the conservative label and stuck to labels such as “Republican” and “libertarian.”
By Matthew Balan | March 27, 2015 | 9:23 PM EDT
Kelly O'Donnell touted Harry Reid's "reputation for mastering the tactical side of politics" on Friday's NBC Nightly News, after the Nevada Democrat announced that he is not running for a sixth term. O'Donnell quickly added that "that skill includes quickly endorsing a successor." However, the correspondent failed to mention that the politician had a significant role in exacerbating the partisan bickering in Congress in recent years.