Senior commentary writer for the Washington Examiner Becket Adams pondered Tuesday why Republican lawmakers continue to appear on left-wing media outlets that “see it as their job to kneecap Republicans.” Adams wrote in his Substack blog:
Why do GOP lawmakers keep agreeing to do interviews with partisan activists posing as news anchors? Sure, there’s something to be said for going into the lion’s den. Successful efforts to calm a hostile room can win the admiration and respect of one’s opponents. But when it comes to newsrooms such as MSNBC, it’s more like a hyena pit. It’s beyond hostile — it’s crazed.
This is what every GOP lawmaker should read today https://t.co/acmcGTxfCv
— Emily Jashinsky (@emilyjashinsky) May 4, 2021
Adams cited a recent example, in which West Virginia Republican Gov. Jim Justice appeared on MSNBC to discuss the bill he signed to ban biological men from competing in women’s sports.
Host Stephanie Ruhle challenged Justice and cut him off while he was speaking several times. Ruhle shot back at Justice and said, “Please, come back when, beyond anecdotal feelings as a coach, you can show me evidence where those young women are being disadvantaged in your state, because I can show you evidence about how ranking that low in education is disadvantaging young women and men in West Virginia,” vying for the last word.
As the Examiner writer noted, MSNBC’s Ali Velshi later played clips of the Justice interview and remarked, ” …it looks like Justice got served.”
“This is the modus operandi for left-wing news organizations,” Adams wrote. “They see it as their job to kneecap Republicans, certainly not to debate issues dispassionately. Yet, for whatever reason, Republicans keep accepting invites to these shows. Republicans keep treating left-wing anchors and reporters as if they’re fair and even-handed operators.”
“Republicans complain a lot about media bias, claiming they’re not being given a fair shake by the press,” Adams continued. “Why, then, do they continue to patronize news networks that are explicitly not in the business of being fair and impartial?”
