Clips of MSNBC and CNN anchors were spliced into a pro-President Biden ad released by the Democratic National Committee — prompting harsh criticism from some who said the news organizations were acting as mouthpieces for the administration.
Glenn Greenwald, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, reacted Wednesday to an ad released by the DNC showing several anchors and commentators from the two news networks.
“President Biden’s strong, steady leadership delivered once again for the American people to avoid catastrophic default and protect our economic recovery,” read the caption of the June 2 tweet, which was posted on its “DNC War Room” account.
The ad, which was produced shortly after Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) reached a deal on raising the debt ceiling, then showed MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell declaring, “Joe Biden won. Kevin McCarthy lost. The Democrats have delivered.”
The clip continued with a video of CNN’s Jake Tapper reporting on the debt ceiling deal.
“President Biden says the agreement protects Democratic priorities and legislative accomplishments,” Tapper said in the clip used by the DNC.
The next segment of the DNC ad showed MSNBC analyst Steven Rattner, a former Obama adviser and frequent commentator on “Morning Joe,” declaring: “Game, set, and almost match to Biden.”
Rattner said in the segment used by the DNC that “the White House still got the better of the deal.”
The ad also featured clips of MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and Joy Reid praising Biden as well as interviews with Democrats on CNN who hailed the president and his “excellent negotiators.”
“Show me a president in the last 25 years that’s had more bipartisan legislation than Joe Biden,” Scarborough said in one segment.
The DNC clip also used a Fox News segment featuring a Biden ally, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), touting the “bipartisan” nature of the deal.
Some of the responses on Twitter to the DNC ad were scathing.
“Their bias is excruciatingly obvious,” tweeted one critic.
Another Twitter user remarked: “They are absolutely pathetic.”
A Twitter commenter wrote that CNN and MSNBC were “better than Pravda” and that they deserved an “A+” for “creating narratives and controlling speech.”
The Post has sought comment from CNN and MSNBC.
