If you’re a conservative, the media won’t treat you fairly. We all know this, and we’ve known it for a long time.
Donald Trump’s recent interview with Piers Morgan is the perfect example. On Wednesday, Morgan tweeted a promo for his interview with Trump, showing Trump angrily storming off the set after being challenged on his views on the 2020 election. So naturally, the mainstream media quickly “pounced” on the story.
“Trump Storms Out of Fiery Piers Morgan Chat When Pressed on Election Lies,” read the headline at The Daily Beast. “Trump Throws Tantrum After Piers Morgan Asks Him About 2020 Election Lies,” reported Rolling Stone. And so on.
But, it turns out Piers Morgan had been dishonest. Morgan didn’t count on Trump’s people recording the interview themselves and proving that Morgan was being deceptive. In fact, the discussion hadn’t ended with Trump abruptly ending the conversation and storming off the set at all.
NBC News obtained an audio recording of the interview and conceded that “according to the recording, which Trump’s spokesman provided, the two men thanked each other and laughed at the conclusion of the interview for Talk TV.”
The interview audio tells an entirely different story about how the interview ended. The two men are heard laughing together with Morgan telling Trump, “That was a great interview.” Trump agrees with him.
Related: Growing Impotence of Old Media on Display at WaPo and CNN+
Morgan may not have edited the promo, but he contributed to the false narrative by recounting the interview in a column, saying that “all hell broke loose after my fiery showdown with Trump over his stolen election claims.”
And Trump was not amused. “Piers Morgan, like the rest of the Fake News Media, attempted to unlawfully and deceptively edit his long and tedious interview with me,” Trump said in a statement. “He wanted to make it look like I walked out on the interview when my time limit of 20 minutes went over by an hour.”
“The good news is that the interview was taped by us as a means of keeping him honest,” Trump added. Indeed he is right. Trump had no reason not to trust Piers Morgan. Unlike most in the liberal media, Morgan has been relatively friendly to Trump, including defending him from unjust criticism. Now he’s releasing a deceptively edited video of his interview to boost his ratings. Had Trump’s people not recorded the interview, the media wouldn’t have backtracked on their original reporting.
Rolling Stone updated its article, changed the headline, and admitted that “new audio suggests Morgan tweeted a misleading promo reel of the interview to make Trump look worse.” The Daily Beast changed their headline to read “Trump Denies Piers Morgan Claim That He Stormed Out of Fiery Interview,” and updated its article to include information about the audio provided to NBC News.
Such deception is reminiscent of the infamous 2008 Charlie Gibson interview with then vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, which ABC News deceptively edited to make her appear less knowledgeable and more hawkish. These deceptions have been going on for years and will no doubt continue.
We know we will never be able to trust the media. So the question is, what can you do about it?
By joining PJ Media VIP, you help us hold the mainstream media accountable for their lies. With your help, we can continue to cover the stories honestly when the media won’t. By becoming a VIP subscriber, you help us force the MSM to acknowledge stories that are devastating to the narrative they want to promote. Please join the fight and help us do the job the MSM refuses to do!
Use the promo code MEDIABIAS for 25% off your VIP membership! You can’t afford to not take this deal!
While VIP members have access to a wealth of exclusive content, VIP Gold subscribers get even more. With VIP Gold, members can access all of the VIP content across the Townhall Media family (Townhall, RedState, PJ Media, and more) and live chats with their favorites like VodkaPundit and Stephen Kruiser—a nearly $300 value.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member