2016 Presidential

At the top of the 9 a.m. ET hour on NBC’s Today, co-host Tamron Hall slammed the Republican presidential debate as being like a bad reality show: “...a friend of mine said it was like The Real Housewives with Andy Cohen, because they were just pitted against each other.”  

An unhappy Chris Matthews on Wednesday slammed Marco Rubio’s foreign policy comments at the Republican debate, suggesting that the Senator was trying to “prove himself the strongest, best informed, most articulate hawk. He clearly made Sheldon Adelson happy tonight.” Later, the Hardball host again singled out the long-time supporter of Israel, saying, in effect, that Rubio was sucking up to “the…

In an interview with actress Emily Blunt on Thursday’s NBC Today, co-host Savannah Guthrie downplayed the celebrity’s recent swipe at Republicans with an anti-American joke: “You recently became an American citizen....You made a joke the other day, saying you watched the Republican debate and you joked, ‘What was I thinking?’ And some people took that the wrong way.”

Despite a strong debate performance Wednesday night, on Thursday’s NBC Today, co-host Savannah Guthrie lectured Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina on her business record: “I know you have gotten into the reasons for your dismissal from Hewlett-Packard....in politics, and you know this well, if you're explaining, you’re losing.”

It's one thing for conservatives to concur that Carly Fiorina was outstanding at last night's debate.  But to hear a string of superlatives about Fiorina coming from committed liberal Mika Brzezinski was breathtaking. Over the course of today's Morning Joe, a stream of praise for Fiorina flowed from Mika, capped by this: "my God, I have never seen anyone like her. Ever."

Former Democratic activist turned journalist George Stephanopoulos on Thursday went after Carly Fiorina for attacking Planned Parenthood during Wednesday’s presidential debate. The Good Morning America co-host grilled, “Another powerful moment last night was when you talked about those Planned Parenthood tapes. But analysts who've watched all 12-plus hours say the scene you're described, that…

Following Wednesday night’s Republican presidential debate on CNN, Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly analyzed the network’s debate format and noted how CNN’s moderators “made the debate very personal using Donald Trump’s attacks on other Republicans to frame questions.” 

In the late hours of Wednesday night after the Republican debate, MSNBC’s Hardball host Chris Matthews was in his element as he whined about the 2016 GOP candidates being “very ideological tonight” and targeted the Cuban-American heritage of Senators Marco Rubio (Fl.) and Ted Cruz (Tex.) for thinking that “they still are fighting a Cold War” and “treat[ing] Obama like he’s Castro.”  

NBC’s Jimmy Fallon began his Wednesday night sit-down with Hillary Clinton by contrasting her supposed vast experience with the leading Republicans who, he declared, “have no experience.” Fallon told her “the two leaders over there on the Republican Party, one is a real estate mogul. The other guy is  a neurosurgeon.” He then touted her: “You were a Senator, you were First Lady, Secretary of…

In CNN’s post-debate coverage early Thursday of their 2016 Republican debate, CNN political commentator Michael Smerconish praised Carly Fiorina as possessing “a public speaking gift,” but lamented that she didn’t smile enough during the debate and should “loosen it up a little bit.”

Near the end of the first hour of the CNN Republican Debate, co-moderator Dana Bash fretted to numerous 2016 candidates about the possibility of a federal government shutdown over a conservative effort to defund Planned Parenthood that included her hounding Governor Chris Christie (N.J.) whether or not he would “support the shutdown.”

A half hour prior to Wednesday's Republican presidential debate on CNN, Chris Matthews over on MSNBC's Hardball tag-teamed with California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer to trash Republican candidate Carly Fiorina, who unsuccessfully challenged Boxer in a 2010 Senate race. "Senator, I'm a big fan of yours," Matthews began, "So tell me what you think about tonight. I mean, you beat her, and here…

Closing out Wednesday’s NBC Nightly News, liberal correspondent and MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell played the role of Ronald Reagan biographer in using the late former president to attack the current Republican presidential field and ruled that Reagan’s “message was infused with sunny optimism” and represents “the flip side of today's angry rhetoric.”

In an exchange with former Rep. J.C. Watts (R-Okla.) on Wednesday night's Hardball prior to the CNN debate, host Chris Matthews blasted the Republican Party writ large for not rebuking Donald Trump several years ago when he publicly questioned whether President Obama was constitutionally eligible for the office.