VILE: ABC, CBS Lump Cruz in with Nutjob, Networks Blast GOP Convention

On Friday, ABC’s Good Morning America and CBS Mornings tied Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) to a barely audible interjection from a supposed audience member Thursday at the Republican midterm convention that said “he should be shot” when Cruz invoked leftists Abdul el-Sayed, Zohran Mamdani, and James Talarico. Along with NBC’s Today, the three were all-but entirely negative about the two-day confab.

Bruce even seemed to venture toward insinuating Cruz might have heard the comment, and chose not to denounce it. Thus, she implied Cruz and other Republicans were hypocrites for not shaming the man on the one-year-anniversary of Charlie Kirk’s assassination:

And in other headlines from here last night, as Republican senator Ted Cruz was talking, he mentioned New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Michigan Senate nominee Abdul el-Sayed, and Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, and right after he named each one, someone in the crowd could be heard shouting, “he should be shot.” Now, it’s not clear if Ted Cruz heard this in the moment, but he did later posted video of this. And, it comes as many Republicans were here yesterday commemorating the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and condemning political violence.

Going back to the beginning, co-host George Stephanopoulos was all negative in setting up the first story after lead-off stories about the 25th anniversary of 9/11: “We’re going to turn now to the Republican convention in Dallas. The President and Vice President spoke last night as Trump faces pushback to give every American $5,000, but only if Republicans win. Even members of his own party are skeptical.”

Bruce couldn’t even state a basic tick-tock of the night without jabs, complaining Trump “paint[ed] a dark picture of what could happen if Democrats win big” (click “expand”):

BRUCE: President Trump closing out the night here after rallying his supporters for two days, hoping to energize his base amid high gas prices and the ongoing war with Iran. The President painting a dark picture of what could happen if Democrats win big in November and the President asking his supporters to raise their right hand and pledge to vote, or else. Overnight, President Trump with the final word at the Republican midterm convention.

[TRUMP/MIDTERMS PLEDGE]

BRUCE: Trump making the crowd pledge to him that they would vote come November.

TRUMP: You know what happens if you don’t vote? You go to hell. You know that. Okay? You go to hell. And I don’t want that to happen to you, so please go and vote.

BRUCE: The President, who has repeatedly accused Democrats without evidence of rigging elections, telling supporters this:

TRUMP: I don’t care if I’m registered or not, I’m going to try to cheat like hell like they do.

She seemed pained to have to make a statement not seem like a criticism: “For two days the administration making their pitch, touting their immigration policies, tax breaks, and the President making that unprecedented offer, to pay every American $5,000 if Republicans win…Earlier, Vice President JD Vance delivering the keynote address, taking the spotlight before his own potential 2028 run for the presidency.”

Along with touting soaring energy costs, she doubled down from Thursday’s World News Tonight in talking about the Trump dividend (click “expand”):

BRUCE: Vance making no mention of the $5,000 payment, but Democrats say it’s nothing more than a stunt. California Senator Alex Padilla saying, “Our tax dollars aren’t a campaign slush fund and bribing Americans for their vote is illegal.” Trump promised dividend checks before that never came.

CONGRESSMAN ROBERT GARCIA (D-CA); The dividend is not happening. He promised a dividend on tariffs, that didn’t happen, a dividend on DOGE, that didn’t happen.

BRUCE: Trump has not said how he would come up with the roughly $1.3 trillion to pay every American, or how that would even work, and he’s made no mention of how it would balloon the record-high national debt, which just hit a historic $40 trillion. And now, some Republicans voicing concerns. Maine Senator Susan Collins, who is in a fierce reelection battle, calling the idea “extraordinarily costly,” adding, “tax and spending decisions should not appear to be tied to election results.” Even Senate Majority Leader John Thune sounding skeptical.

DANA PERINO [on FNC’s America’s Newsroom, 09/10/26]: Would you have enough votes to pass a $5,000 dividend to every American?

HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER JOHN THUNE (R-SD) [on FNC’s America’s Newsroom, 09/10/26]: Well, that’s a good question, Dana. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

CBS Mornings had campaign and White House correspondent Ed O’Keefe on the convention case and tying Cruz to this despicable heckler.

After Saturday co-host Kelly O’Grady cued him up by saying Vance “delivered a fiery speech painting Democratic candidates as too radical and extreme,” O’Keefe said Vance’s speech was not only aimed at firing up Republicans, but “mark[ing] one year since the assassination of his friend, Charlie Kirk” in hopes of “appeal[ing] to Kirk’s followers…who…aren’t guaranteed to show up this year” at the polls.

Before closing with the soaring price of diesel and widespread opposition to Trump’s $5,000 dividend if the GOP wins in November, O’Keefe arrived at the Cruz portion after saying el-Sayed’s Republican opponent – former Congressman Mike Rogers – “sharply attacked” the leftist.

O’Keefe didn’t go as far as Bruce in leaving open the possibility Cruz heard the nutjob and stayed silent (click “expand”):

O’KEEFE: But earlier in the evening, as Texas Senator Ted Cruz criticized el-Sayed, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talorico, microphones picked up someone in the crowd calling for violence against them.

CRUZ: When Abdul el-Sayed says he has a quote ‘obligation’ to comply with Sharia law –

HECKLER: He needs to be shot!

CRUZ: – he means it.

O’KEEFE: el-Sayed responded Thursday night.

ABDUL EL-SAYED: You know, it’s sad to see, but it’s also in keeping with what we’ve seen since the rise of Trump.

NBC’s Today was still incredibly negative, but at least they steered clear of the heckler.

Co-host Craig Melvin said Trump was “facing growing pushback on that pledge to give every American $5,000 if Republicans hold the House and Senate, but doubling down on the final night of the GOP’s convention in Dallas, that midterm convention.”

Senior White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez noted Vice President JD Vance was “the official headliner…but President Trump again took center stage, trying to rally his base” by “urging his supporters not to stay home on Election Day.”

Gutierrez also gave Vance his due, saying the Vice President’s speech spoke “directly to skeptical Republicans worried about the economy and the Iran war, which has driven up gas prices.”

After highlighting Trump’s Fox News interview with Laura Ingraham in which he said he has nothing to apologize for concerning the Iran war because he doesn’t “believe in the word ‘regret,’” Gutierrez said Trump was “facing questions about his promise” of Trump dividend on both the cost and history front as past proposals have failed.

Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker said in a second segment “there’s no doubt” Trump succeeded in “fir[ing] up the Republican base” and “paint[ing] Democrats as a party to be feared,” even though “it is going to take more than the base to win critical battleground states.”

Like other liberals engaged in this sudden, disingenuous state, she expressed concern about fiscal responsibility about the dividend.

She concluded with more negativity, painting a grim picture that a Republican comeback is all but nil (click “expand”)

Well, [the convention] tried to [appeal to independents], but I do think that’s the question. Are Republicans doing enough to reach out to those undecided moderate voters? As you saw in his keynote address Thursday night, Vice President JD Vance made the argument to people who may disagree with the Iran war, saying don’t throw the baby out with the bath water, essentially asking Americans not to vote against Republicans even if they disagree with their policies. A play for the middle, essentially. But, look, complicating the argument, President Trump acknowledged this week for the first time he doesn’t expect the Iran war to end before the midterms. He doesn’t expect gas prices to come down by November, and there are headwinds. A new Quinnipiac poll showing Trump’s approval remains at 33 percent, while Democrats have an 11-point lead over the GOP when it comes to which party voters prefer to lead the House of Representatives

To see the relevant transcripts from September 11, click here (for ABC), here (for CBS), and here (for NBC).