NBC’s Election Eve ‘Today’ Show Came Off Like Bari Weiss Took It Over, Not CBS

Screenshot via NBC/Snapstream

Since the broadcast networks have turned up the wick over the last month in terms of midterm coverage, NBC’s Today has consistently stood apart (such as here, here, here, and here) from ABC’s Good Morning America (GMA) and the supposedly MAGA-coded CBS Mornings with attempts or glimmers of balance.

Monday’s show was no different as, while GMA and CBS Mornings sought to downplay or attack Congresswoman Haley Stevens’s (D-MI) endorsement of Republican Mike Rogers for Senate, NBC played both sides and let viewers decide. When it came to Tuesday’s outlook, NBC also suggested both parties face “headwinds.”

Co-hosts Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin remained steady in the teases, referring to the Stevens endorsement as “a rare November surprise” as one of two “last-minute twists” — with the other being the Alaska Democrat chicanery with Dan J. Sullivan — that could “determine control of Congress.”

Chief Capitol Hill correspondent Ryan Nobles even framed Democrats as entering Election Day on the back foot: “[I]t’s no secret that, in order for Democrats to win back a Senate majority, they need a nearly perfect night, and, for weeks, they appeared to be headed in that direction. But now two different problems have emerged in states that are keys to their hopes of a historic evening.”

“Stevens, who narrowly lost a bitter Senate primary to Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, turning against the nominee and her party, endorsing Republican Mike Rogers, even attending a service at a Black church in Detroit with the GOP nominee...creating a last-minute controversy for Democrats in this close race,” Nobles added, noticeably not taking a shot at Stevens personally. 

Nobles did have a notable flub in his script when he accidentally said it was Stevens being tagged as anti-Semitic by el-Sayed: “Stevens and El-Sayed had clashed multiple times, most recently over an ad from an outside progressive group supporting El-Sayed that called Stevens anti-Semitic, and his campaign asking her not to attend events.”

The NBC correspondent did give space to el-Sayed, whom he said “call[ed] the move a distraction,” as well as President Trump.

Unfortunately, he used one of those phrases conservatives have long turned into an almost drinking-game word: “President Trump campaigning in Iowa, pouncing on the divide among Democrats.” 

The second half of his story was about Alaska. Nobles showed balance by outlining both sides, both the GOP warning of fraud and Democratic denials (click “expand”):

NOBLES: Also weighing in on another key race, Alaska —

TRUMP: This behavior in our elections cannot be allowed to continue.

NOBLES: — after claims Democrats and their Senate nominee Mary Peltola recruited a candidate with the same name as the incumbent Dan Sullivan in an effort to confuse voters. The Trump administration looking for an avenue to deny the certification of the results if the incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan loses. A federal judge tossing out a lawsuit filed by the Trump DOJ that would have separated the ballots for the other Dan Sullivan. The judge writing, the Justice Department provided no workable plan to separate the ballots, which are cast privately. Peltola maintained she had nothing to do with the other candidates —

FORMER CONGRESSWOMAN MARY PELTOLA (D-AK): I am not interested in tricking voters.

NOBLES: — while the President last night closed out his run of campaign rallies.

TRUMP: I’m closing this sucker down. I’m getting out of here. I have to get a little sleep.

Having embarrassed herself over the way she’s covered the Michigan Senate race, it was going to be interesting to see how Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker was going to play out on Monday’s Today.

Asked by Guthrie if the Stevens endorsement would make a difference, Welker surprisingly gave both parties something to hang their hats on. For the GOP, she said it was “a bombshell” that could “have an impact around the edges” since Michigan “is a purple state” and thus trigger “dramatic developments.”

But on the other side (i.e. her actual team), Welker reassured Democrats that “two million people, roughly, have already voted early,” which is “about a quarter of the voting population.”

“Republicans very notably say, look, do we welcome this? Yes. But they’re looking at those early voting numbers, and they’re a little jittery about whether this will have an impact. Just zoom out for one second, though. This feud is over the broader issue of Israel. It’s a real sign Democrats are going to have to contend with this after Tuesday,” she added, leveling another dose of both-sides-ism.

But when it came to the final pre-election NBC News poll, she also suggested no party has a reason to go into Tuesday night worry-free, citing “headwinds” that, on the left, include the fact that Democrats are even less popular than the GOP (click “expand”):

Let’s do President Trump’s approval rating first, if you take a look. 40 percent approve of the job he’s doing. Compare that, Craig and Savannah, to 2018, the midterms during his first term, when he was at 46 percent approval rating. In that midterm, Republicans lost 40 seats, but they still held on to the Senate. Now, let me take a look at the congressional ballot. It shows people prefer Democrats, 52 percent to 45 percent. That’s up just a tick from September. They’re also getting slightly higher marks on the issue of inflation, which is, of course, the top issue for voters, but ever so slightly. And then here’s what’s really notable: headwinds for both parties. If you take a look at this party favorability, check this out, guys. Democrats actually more unpopular than Republicans. So, what does that mean? That means we are looking at an election on Tuesday night, largely a referendum on President Trump. He said that himself, by the way. He said ‘pretend I’m on the ballot’ in all of these campaign stops that he’s made, but it’s also a real sign to Democrats. And I think both of these parties after Tuesday are going to have to do some real soul-searching. How are they going to regain the trust of voters when you see numbers like that, when you see voters basically saying, “we’ve lost faith in all of you”?

Nobles came back in the second hour for a truncated report (click “expand”):

The final sprint is on. And, while it’s expected to be a good night for Democrats, the party is facing controversy in two different states are key to their hopes in winning back the Senate majority. In Michigan, Congresswoman Haley Stevens, who lost a close primary for Senate to Abdul el-Sayed, shocked her fellow Democrats by announcing that she’s voting for the GOP nominee, Mike Rogers. Stevens and el-Sayed had clashed over a number of issues, but Democrats were confident that she would stay loyal to the party. Now, President Trump is asking her to join the Republican Party. The President, meanwhile, wrapped up his intense travel schedule with stops in Iowa and Kansas yesterday, and in Alaska, voters waited nearly two hours to vote in a very tight race there. Many of them reacting to the controversy surrounding the two Dans. Most voters telling our crew there that the accusations that Democrats recruited a candidate with the same name as the incumbent Dan Sullivan will not impact their vote. All we have to do now is count the votes, guys, and it’ll happen tomorrow.

To see the relevant NBC transcript from November 2, click here.