Montage: MSNBC, CNN, ABC and more hype Jan. 6 hearing, tout big TV ratings
Members of the liberal media promoted the hearing and proudly announced viewership had reached 20 million across all major networks.
MSNBC, ABC, CBS, and CNN gave a particularly enthusiastic reaction to Thursday’s primetime hearing of the January 6 Committee, hyping up the presentation as a major television event, and heralding it as a success after it was revealed that 20 million people had tuned into watch.
"Good Morning America" co-host Michael Strahan began the ABC show’s June 10 installment by heralding the hearing's "powerful testimony" and promising never-before seen footage and information on former President Trump's "inner circle."
"CBS Mornings" similarly described the event, touting "shocking new evidence" and "harrowing testimony."
Members of the liberal media spent ample time attempting to convince viewers why they should tune in and how the content was pertinent to digest.
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"The View" co-host Joy Behar downplayed concerns that the televised event would be a game of political theater and said that people need to hear things that shock them, such as the idea that rioters were ready to kill Vice President Mike Pence.
Vice Chair Liz Cheney (R-WY) reacts with Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) after the opening video presentation as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds its first public hearing to reveal the findings of a year-long investigation, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 9, 2022. (Alex Brandon/Pool via REUTERS)
"Maybe something like that will slap them into ‘Wow, is that true? Let’s hear more about that,'" Behar said. "And so I don’t object to the theatricality of it. It’s really – you’ve got to keep people’s attention."
NBC Washington Correspondent Yamiche Alcindor, during an appearance on MSNBC’s "Andrea Mitchell Reports," said the hearings represented "the American experiment" and whether "we want our democracy to fall apart." She also noted that viewers should be cautioned by Jan. 6 and choose to learn from it.
"There's so many things that people are juggling between gas prices and inflation, baby formula, abortion, and the shootings that are happening," Alcindor added. She said lawmakers are going to try to have a "narrative" to "focus the country's attention" and not "turn away" from what they are watching.
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Many of the networks also touted the ratings numbers for Thursday’s hearing. Around 20 million Americans collectively watched the hearing across different network broadcasts; President Biden's first State of the Union address this year garnered 38 million. Trump's first State of the Union in 2018 drew 46 million. Presidents don't officially give State of the Union addresses until they've been in office for a year.
On Monday, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski began "Morning Joe" with an enthusiastic reaction to the numbers. Scarborough noted the hearing brought in a similar number of viewers when compared to events like NBC's "Sunday Night football."
"Oh my God," Brzezinski reacted.
Snow covers the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on January 06, 2022 in Washington, DC. Over one year ago, supporters of President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol Building in an attempt to disrupt a congressional vote to confirm the electoral college win for Joe Biden. ( Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Scarborough also compared the numbers directly to Trump’s own television shows, including "Celebrity Apprentice" and "The Apprentice," and their lower ratings in their respective season finales when Trump was on the show.
"The finale, the buildup," Brzezinski added.
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Meanwhile, former Obama White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer told CNN’s Brian Stelter that the hearing's viewership represented "success." He added that the numbers were "a big deal."
ABC News’ Diane Macedo took it a step further, when she asked her guest how the hearings may play into the Democrats’ political futures.
"Nearly 20 million people watched the committee’s primetime hearing last night last Thursday. Can Democrats play that to their advantage heading into the midterms and any chance this backfires?" she asked.
Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., gives her opening remarks as Committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., left, and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., look on, as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds its first public hearing. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
On Thursday, lawmakers on the Jan. 6 committee on Thursday night said Trump "spurred a mob of domestic enemies" to attack the Capitol in an effort to "subvert American democracy" and overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Lawmakers on the committee also presented videos of interviews and depositions with former top Trump officials before the select committee, including one from Attorney General Bill Barr and Trump's daughter and adviser, Ivanka Trump.
During a video deposition, Ivanka Trump was asked how Barr's statement that there was no basis for Trump’s voter fraud claims affected her perspective of the election.
"It affected my perspective," she testified. "I respect Attorney General Barr, so, I accepted what he was saying."
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The Select Committee also played a never-before-seen video of graphic events that transpired during the Capitol assault.
Thursday's hearing was the first of seven televised hearings expected in the coming week; the second one took place Monday.
Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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