Fact Checking Katy Tur makes Broadcasting History on MSNBC
(Fair Use)
I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t heard it with my own ears. Katy Tur, an anchor on MSNBC, the most maddeningly left-wing network on American TV, actually fact-checked former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Pelosi was waxing eloquently on how Joe Biden has been an amazing job creator while Donald Trump “has the worst record of job loss of any president.”
Tur used just five simple words to shoot down Pelosi’s claim. She said: “That was a global pandemic.” Pelosi accused Tur of being an apologist for Trump. Pelosi was omitting facts and spinning – as Biden often does – but the real story here is that Tur didn’t let her get away it. And this happened on MSNBC.
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Video: Pelosi loses it with MSNBC’s Katy Tur.
Video: WRAL fact-checks Pelosi’s comments.
Fact checking guests during live interview has become the TV anchor’s badge of honor.
On CNN, primetime anchor Kaitlan Collins likes to fact-check her guests. CNN often presents a two-screen view so that Collin’s facial expressions can always be seen. During the infamous CNN townhall with former President Donald Trump, she was quick to call Trump out and he called her “a nasty person.”
Video: Collins vs. Trump at CNN’s townhall.
The fact is that politicians like to spin and don’t like being called out for it. Trump fights back and catches hell for it form the Mainstream Media. And more recently, Nancy Pelosi took incoming fire, especially from more conservative networks.
Here’s another interview to compare with what Tur did with Pelosi – Erin Burnett with Joe Biden.
Video: Biden threatens Israel regarding weapons, but Burnett is very respectful.
When Biden was ready to announce that he was screwing Israel, and might hold up weapons shipment while our stanch ally is trying to crush Hamas, Biden’s handlers chose to go on CNN. They knew that Biden would be in a one-on-one situation with no TelePrompTer. That worries them, apparently.
Video: Here’s Burnett’s full interview in which she does not challenge his false claim about the inflation rate. The comment comes at the 7:48 time mark.
Who could be a safer interviewer for Biden that Erin Burnett?
As it turned out, she tossed softball question to Joe and he muddled through it. But later in the interview, Joe told a whopper, as he usually does. He claimed that, when he took office, Trump handed him a 9 percent inflation rate. It was actually 1.4 percent. Burnett did not challenge Biden, and so there was not a Katy Tur moment.
Here’s my thought on fact-checking politicians in real time.
There are two types of fact checks – the actual and the political. When Pelosi was spinning her tale about Trump’s job numbers, she left out a key fact – that of a global pandemic that skewed the numbers. In the Burnett interview with Biden, the current occupant of the Oval Office made up a fact out of thin air. In both cases, a correction should be noted.
Tur did her job; Burnett did not.
Video: Key moments in the Collins-Trump CNN townhall.
In the case of Kaitlan Collins’ on-stage battle with Trump, the fact-checks became the entire story. The issue of the rigged election was a top topic of discussion. Trump felt it was a stolen election. Collins did not, and so she fact-checked him about it. These types of fact checks are political and unfair because there’s data on both sides.
Who’s fair and who’s not?
FOX’s Bret Baier is very fair, although the left will not always admit it. Baier is no Sean Hannity. That’s not a knock on Hannity; he’s doing a political show, and Baier is a trained journalist who is reporting the news and conducting journalistic interviews. On News Nation, Leland Vittert’s show is all about providing “balance.” Vittert has matured into a fine primetime anchor that you can trust on any issue.
RELATED: MSNBC Anchor Joy Reid Becomes the Face of Racism on Cable TV
MSNBC, with left-wing ideologues like Joe Scarborough, Joy Reid, and Lawrence O’Donnell is all left-wing spin – typically fact-free. That’s why Tur’s pushback on Pelosi was so remarkable. CNN is not much better. On “State of the Union,” anchor Jake Tapper may ask hard questions, but when the usually left-wing guest doesn’t answer the question, Tapper seems to just let it go.
ABC News is a joke. The all-female panel of The View is worthless if you’re looking for facts, and the face of ABC News is a former Clinton fixer, George Stephanopoulos. ABC News ought to be embarrassed by this, but no.
I will say I am impressed by those 5 words from Katy Tur to Nancy Pelosi. To see Pelosi’s face, and to hear her rage is priceless. The fact that Pelosi was caught dumbfounded by even a small correction of the facts on MSNBC is telling. My guess is that this was a one-off with Tur and it won’t happen again.
But I hope it does. Republican or Democrat, it’s not good when a politician blatantly lies in an interview. They go after Trump. Biden gets a pass because he’s demented. What’s the excuse for the rest of them?
Here’s where we seem to be:
Democrats prefer CNN and MSNBC because they are safe zones. Republicans prefer FOX News and Newsmax. News Nation is experimenting with more of a “balanced” approach. I’d like to see more Democrats on FOX and more Republicans on CNN and MSNBC. There’s a place for hard-hitting, true journalism on all the networks – if they will just do it.
Lynn Woolley is a Texas-based author, broadcaster, and songwriter. Follow his podcast at https://www.PlanetLogic.us. Check out his author’s page at https://www.Amazon.com/author/lynnwoolley. Order books direct from Lynn at https://PlanetLogicPress.Square.Site. Email Lynn at lwoolley9189@gmail.com.
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