MSNBC, CNN and NBC worry about GOP victory in midterms, ask how Biden can save Democrats
Liberal media networks voice concerns about a Republican blowout in the 2022 midterms, sometimes asking how Biden can improve the Party’s chances or accusing the GOP of cheating.
Since the beginning of the year, liberal media networks MSNBC, CNN, NBC, CBS, and ABC have expressed concerns that the GOP will triumph over Democrats in the 2022 midterms, with many hosts asking how President Biden can save the party from an impending bloodbath.
On March 23, The New York Times published an op-ed in which columnist Thomas B. Edsall asserted that Democrats are making it too easy for Republicans to claim victory and slammed liberals for turning away from the working class while tolerating brazen crime.
Meanwhile, on the March 30 airing of MSNBC’s "Meet the Press Daily,", host Chuck Todd sounded the alarm on Democrats’ dwindling chances of victory in November with a "Midterm meter" that placed the president’s party in the "shellacking" category, below bad, decent, and exceptional.
NEW YORK TIMES OP-ED STATES DEMOCRATS' ARE MAKING IT TOO EASY FOR REPUBLICANS TO WIN IN THE MIDTERMS
NBC’s Chuck Todd dinged President Biden for failing to make the comparison during his first State of the Union. (William B. Plowman/NBC)
This is not the first time that Todd has attempted to highlight Democrats’ poor odds.
A few days earlier, Todd was speaking with NBC News correspondent Yamiche Alcindor on "Meet the Press," and made note of an NBC poll that saw registered voters show preference for Republican control (46%) of Congress over Democrats (44%). A Republican polling lead on the generic ballot, as Todd noted, has not occurred on NBC polls since 2014.
"This is a huge red flag," Todd told Alcindor, to which she agreed.
In January, while speaking with Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., Todd asked what he needs from Biden to improve the Democrats’ chances in 2022.
Other hosts also echoed similar questions on how the Democrat Party can improve their position before the midterm election.
ABC News host George Stephanopoulos asked Vice President Kamala Harris about Biden and the Democrats’ dire poll numbers and how the president can reverse course.
"Can the president provide the kind of relief that is necessary to prevent a Democratic rout in November," he asked in March.
"What can President Biden do [to change the minds of voters]—still a lot of time, but time is drawing near before the midterm," CBS Mornings co-host Tony Dokoupil similarly asked correspondent Robert Costa.
MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell unabashedly asked a guest whether the war in Ukraine was "at least helping the Democrats" and the White House heading into the midterms.
Journalist Andrea Mitchell attends the 2018 White House Correspondents' Dinner at Washington Hilton on April 28, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/WireImage)
Some media figures went a step further, worrying that a Republican win could be the end of America and voting rights, while also in one instance, preemptively accusing them of cheating.
CNN global affairs analyst Bianna Golodryga discussed a poll conducted by the network in which only 43% of Democrats had "extremely or very high enthusiasm" about voting in the midterms versus 51% of Republicans. Golodryga questioned why voters weren't more concerned with voting rights and the "threat to democratic values."
"Given this ongoing threat to democratic values, right, shouldn’t voters be more determined to go to the polls and why do you think you’re seeing that reluctance and the lack of enthusiasm?," she asked a panel of guests.
On ABC, "The View" co-host Joy Behar said she would be "very worried" if Republicans take over the House and the Senate following the midterms, claiming that it would spell doom for the U.S.
"That would be the end of the country—the beginning of the end for this country," she said in Janurary.
Rep. Eric Swalwell delivers remarks during the House Judiciary Committee markup of the "George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020," on June 17, 2020. (Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images)
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., made a similar comment when he told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes that a Republican sweep in the midterms would end "voting as we know it."
On MSNBC and CBS, frequent fill-in host Jason Johnson and guest Ian Bremmer both said Republican victories in November would be the result of cheating, or at least give of the impression of an illegitimate election.
"[A] key thing to understand why Republicans are optimists for next year, even if they're sort of waving themselves and wrapping themselves in a Trump burrito, is they’re going to cheat," Johnson said on MSNBC.
Ian Bremmer was less explicit in his perception of the upcoming elections.
"The United States has an election process that is increasingly broken, increasingly delegitimized. In the midterm elections especially, if you have a significant win for a Trump-led Republican Party, means that 2024 is going to be seen as illegitimate and potentially a constitutional crisis," Bremmer said.
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In an early snapshot of the 2022 midterm elections, Republicans maintain a narrow advantage over Democrats on the generic congressional ballot -- as voters say they are less likely to support a candidate endorsed by either President Biden or former President Trump, according to the latest Fox News survey of registered voters.
If the election for Congress were today, 49% would vote for the Republican candidate in their district, while 45% would go for the Democrat, according to a Fox News poll of registered voters. This is the third straight month when the GOP has had the advantage: Republicans held a 1-point edge last month (44% vs. 43%) and were up by 4 points in December (43% vs. 39%).
Fox News' Victoria Balara contributed to this report.
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