Republicans are crying foul after CBS host Margaret Brennan, one of two debate moderators for Tuesday’s vice presidential showdown, fact-checked false claims by Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, that “illegal immigration” was the cause of a crisis in Springfield, Ohio.
Vance himself has admitted in the past that he “created a narrative” about Haitian immigrants to draw attention to the apparent suffering of his constituents, who now face bomb threats from people who think Springfield is the epicenter of eating pets by immigrants and other crimes.
Blaming journalists for their own missteps has become a common tactic for Republicans to distract from poor performance or outright falsehoods. Former President Donald Trump barely waited for Brennan and CBS Evening News host Norah O’Donnell to commit an apparent transgression, complaining that “both young ladies have been extremely biased anchors!” barely two minutes into the Truth Social debate. (O’Donnell and Brennan are 50 and 44 years old, respectively.)
In this case, Vance reiterated his claim about Haitian immigrants early in the debate, prompting Brennan to interject that many Haitian migrants had “legal status.” Vance then complained that “the rules were you wouldn’t fact check me” before trying to explain that the “illegal immigrants” could apply for asylum through the CBP One application and receive legal status from the federal government. speech, and while Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., in an attempt to provide his own answers, CBS cut off both microphones.
The New York Post editorial board called the fact check “a gentleman of horse manure” and echoed Vance’s invocation of CBP One, claiming that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris abused the process by potentially letting in 1,000 immigrants a day. , even if they are only looking for “better economic opportunities” rather than escaping persecution. The right-wing tabloid failed to mention that Haiti is in the grip of a political and humanitarian catastrophe where murder and kidnapping are rampant – and that the vast majority of asylum applications have historically been rejected.
The Biden administration has even deported Haitian migrants back to their countries on chartered flights.
Brennan and O’Donnell’s fact check that later clarified that there was “no widespread fraud” in the 2020 election drew a furious response from Republicans on social media within minutes of it taking place.
“Margaret Brennan just lied again about the ILLEGAL MIGRATION brought into our country by Lyin’ Kamala Harris, and then she turned off JD’s mic to keep him from correcting her!” Trump stated on Truth Social. “Norah only made a statement about the election, no question. She’s having a bad night!” he wrote in another post.
Some Republican supporters of Trump also joined the protest. Former vice presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., fumed at X that the moderators “offered two unnecessary editorial statements (one misleading), taking a shot at JD Vance under the guise of ‘fact checking.’
Fox News’ Brit Hume crowed that Vance had won the debate, saying the debate moderators were “obnoxious” and that it felt like a “three-on-one” battle against the Ohio senator. – a repeat of the statement Trump used to blame his poor debate performance on the media. His former colleague Megyn Kelly was more succinct: “F you CBS – how DARE YOU,” she wrote on X.
When ABC News fact-checked Trump during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, the Republican candidate and his supporters also railed against the network for holding him accountable instead of reflecting on a performance that prompted the fact-check in the first place datum. The backlash may have convinced CBS to relegate fact checks to an opt-in, “second screen” experience instead of correcting the candidates live, generally allowing Vance and Walz to speak without interruption from the moderators, with the rare exception from Brennan.
CBS’ decision angered some journalists who accused the network of sacrificing ethics in a vain attempt to appease Republicans who want to spin stories with impunity.
“If there’s one thing Vance learned from Trump, it’s that lying to get ahead is okay,” former CBS Evening News anchor Dan Liever wrote on Substack. “If you get caught, just double down and lie some more. Who will fact check you? Well, apparently not CBS News.”
