ABC and NBC Tout Clintons Strolling in NYC, Decline to Explain Clinton Sex Scandals

December 29th, 2015 11:58 AM

On Monday, the major network evening newscasts all alluded to Donald Trump criticizing Bill and Hillary Clinton by bringing up Clinton’s numerous bouts of sexual misconduct from the 1990's, but chose not to remind viewers of what those scandals actually were and instead deflected away from that by touting the Clintons going for a walk over the weekend with daughter Chelsea and granddaughter Charlotte. 

In addition, ABC’s World News Tonight sought to downplay Bill’s horrid behavior in the ‘90's by hinting that Trump was a hypocrite because he’s been married three times.

ABC anchor David Muir introduced correspondent Mary Bruce’s report by declaring that Trump was “unleashing a new line of attack” by “taking aim at not just Hillary Clinton, but at Bill Clinton, too and it was not all that long ago, the Clintons were photographed smiling while attending Donald Trump's wedding.” 

After her slip on Good Morning America that Clinton’s exploitations were merely allegations, Bruce repeated Muir’s line verbatim about Trump “taking aim” at the Clintons but then fawned over a seemingly casual “family stroll in New York City this weekend” (hint: it probably wasn’t).

Bruce brought up the Clintons attending Trump’s wedding to his current wife Melania in 2005 and then tried to throw cold water on Trump’s criticism by citing the number of marriages the billionaire has been in:

[N]ow, Trump is slamming both Clintons, as the former President gets ready to hit the trail to campaign for his wife, tweeting: “If Hillary thinks she can unleash her husband, with his terrible record of women abuse, while playing the women's card on me, she's wrong!” Trump, who's been married three times, previously said Bill Clinton's infidelity was no big deal.

<<<Click on the image below to help us with your tax-deductible gift>>>

<<<Thank you for your support!>>>

Filing from the White House, Bruce ended her piece with a liveshot of herself whipping out her phone to read the latest statement from the Clinton campaign: “And the Clinton camp responding on Twitter, saying: ‘Hillary Clinton won't be bullied or distracted by attacks Trump throws at her and former President Clinton.’”

The marveling at the Clintons appearing together in public was also scooped up by NBC Nightly News as correspondent Hallie Jackson spun:

The former First Family, bundled up in New York this weekend, with Trump's tweet storms gaining strength, writing: “If Hillary thinks she can unleash her husband, with his terrible record of women abuse, while playing the women's card on me, she's wrong!”

The best the networks could do in highlighting or name dropping any of the Clinton sex scandals came on the CBS Evening News as chief White House correspondent Major Garrett included video of former President Bill Clinton hugging Monica Lewinsky as he read the beginning of his report: 

Bill Clinton is always a popular draw on the Democratic campaign trail, but Donald Trump is warning Hillary Clinton to keep her husband under wraps. “If Hillary thinks she can unleash her husband with terrible record of women abuse,” Trump said on Twitter, “while playing the women's card on me, she's wrong.” [VIDEO OF CLINTON HUGGING MONICA LEWINSKY] Trump raised the specter of Bill Clinton's previous sex scandals after Hillary Clinton said Trump has “a penchant for sexism.”

However, Garrett also promoted how the former President will soon campaign for Hillary in New Hampshire where he won in 1992 and immediately referred to himself as “the comeback kid.”