During Tuesday evening’s vice presidential debate, which aired on CBS News, Republican nominee, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, went toe-to-toe with extremely biased moderators over the issues of immigration and the astronomically high cost of housing, which led to many folks criticizing the network and accusing the moderators of being biased. This also includes former journalists who worked for CBS. Now, before we discuss the meat of the story, I want to say right off the bat that there’s little doubt that Vance won the encounter with the moderators and provided a masterclass in how you go about surviving a three-on-one pile-on without surrendering class and dignity.
The moderators had agreed they would not disrupt the flow of the debate and insert themselves as part of the conversation before the event took place, a promise that neither one of them kept. Both stated they wouldn’t engage in live, on-the-spot fact-checking of the candidates, and that’s exactly what they did.
Vance’s assertion that rising immigration had contributed to the increase in U.S. housing costs was immediately challenged by CBS moderators Margaret Brennan and Norah O’Donnell. Brennan, in particular, interjected to dispute Vance’s statement, prompting the Ohio senator to double down, citing what he referred to as “hard data” supporting his claim. The back-and-forth escalated as microphones were briefly cut off, causing a heated exchange that drew attention not just for its content but also for how it was handled by the network. CBS’s intervention to fact-check Vance in real-time drew ire from Republican supporters and sparked a debate about media bias. Following the debate, Vance fulfilled a promise he made on stage, releasing his evidence to support his claim on immigration’s link to housing costs. He provided reports that he said validated his argument, pushing back against the network’s on-the-spot corrections.
On Wednesday, former CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent Lara Logan took to social media to voice her outrage over the network’s fall from grace. Logan, who spent 16 years at CBS and held prominent roles, including serving as a full-time correspondent for 60 Minutes, minced no words in her critique of her former employer.
“Hard to believe CBS could have fallen so low,” Logan shared on social media platform X. “I spent 16 years there, I was the Chief Foreign Correspondent, the Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent & a full-time correspondent for 60 Minutes, the flagship news program for the network. I cannot believe they can try to get away with this BS when we all remember Harris being appointed & a simple online search can verify that.”
Hard to believe CBS could have fallen so low. I spent 16 years there, I was the Chief Foreign Correspondent, the Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent & a full-time correspondent for 60 Minutes, the flagship news program for the network. I cannot believe they can try to get away… https://t.co/QyoIBWoeEj
— Lara Logan (@laralogan) October 2, 2024
The frustration Logan shared is due to how CBS dismissed Vance characterizing Harris as the “border czar.” Meanwhile, fact-checkers with CBS determined that the statement the Ohio Republican made is false and that Harris doesn’t hold that title, commentators then noted that CBS themselves had previously reported that President Joe Biden did indeed appoint Harris to tackle the horrific invasion unfolding at the southern border.
Logan expressed her dismay over CBS’s apparent contradiction, adding that the network’s attempt to discredit Vance was part of a larger pattern of biased reporting. “Why would they lie & cover up for Harris?” she questioned in her post. “The answer is obvious – she is exposed on the border because it is a complete disaster & most Americans, including Democrats, are mad as hell.” Logan further condemned CBS for allegedly advancing what she described as a “globalist open borders policy” that, in her words, is “inhumane, unjust & rejected by all except the globalist elite & morons like those at CBS responsible for this ridiculous propaganda.”
A lot of viewers agreed with Logan’s take on the CBS moderators, with many of them pointing out how biased the vast majority of mainstream media outlets tend to be when it comes to conservative politicians and candidates for office, while not holding Democrats from being scrutinized.
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