Worst Nightmare: ABC, CBS Lose Their Noodles After Trump Holds Naturalization Ceremony

Between Senator Tim Scott’s well-received Monday night speech, stories on both nights from everyday Americans, and remarks from rising stars, Tuesday’s RNC festivities resulted in a no good, awful, very bad day for the broadcast networks. Minutes into their coverage, ABC and CBS spontaneously combusted upon seeing President Trump holding a naturalization ceremony at the White House.

This took place despite ABC’s best efforts to tell viewers that the President’s “anti-immigration,” CBS (and ABC) insisting the event was illegal. On NBC, they ignoring the event altogether in favor of horse-race discussion of the campaign.

At 10:02 p.m. Eastern, ABC senior congressional correspondent Mary Bruce tried to downplay the impending speech from First Lady Melania Trump that would emphasize her life “as an immigrant,” kvetching that she’ll run into “the fact that the President is running a — a — a campaign that is very much anti-immigration.”

Bruce’s slight took a hit not even five minutes later when the President appeared on the RNC stream alongside acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf for the naturalization ceremony of five new Americans.

Wolf swore them in and, seconds after the President began his remarks, chief anchor and former Clinton flack George Stephanopoulos stepped in and called on his panel. Former Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) emphasized there would “be some criticism” of whatever the President chose to do given the costs of moving the President (regardless of the pandemic).

Stephanopoulos replied that “the Hatch Act doesn't apply to the President, but it is against the law to use — for government — for government employees to use their job for political purposes.”

After having done so during the DNC, Stephanopoulos went to former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) by harkening back to their days as Clinton administration officials, stating that they both “were shaking our heads as we were watching” the event because, having served in the White House, it was “unimaginable” someone “could use the White House this way.”