With Republicans Awash in Disinformation, Networks Cut Away from Iowa Winner
Nearly 70 percent of Iowa Republican voters wrongly think Biden stole 2020 election
Although Donald Trump won the Iowa caucuses Monday night, putting the former president back on the road to the White House, at least two major TV networks refused to air his victory speech.
That decision is made more clear by the clear impact of the falsehoods and disinformation Trump regularly spouts in his vitriolic rhetoric.
Trump won the nation’s first contest for the Republican nomination for president, capturing 51 percent of the vote — far and away more than either runner-up Florida Gov Ron DeSantis at 21.2 percent or third-place finisher Nikki Haley, the one-time governor of South Carolina.
Wealthy businessman Vivek Ramaswamy trailed through the evening, and announced that he was getting out of the presidential race.
However, Trump found himself yanked off at least two major networks — CNN and MSNBC — when he stepped to the podium to deliver a victory speech as a result of his propensity to speak volumes of falsehoods and disinformation about the 2020 election and other matters.
“At this point in the evening, the projected winner of the Iowa caucuses has just started giving his victory speech. We will keep an eye on that as it happens, we will let you know if there is any news made in that speech, if there's anything noteworthy, something substantive and important,” MSNBC host Rachel Maddow reported Monday evening. “The reason I am saying this is, of course, there is a reason that we and other news organizations have generally stopped giving an unfiltered, live platform to remarks by former President Trump.
“It’s not out of spite, it is not a decision that we relish, it is a decision that we regularly revisit. And, honestly, earnestly, it is not an easy decision, but there is a cost to us — as a news organization — of knowingly broadcasting untrue things,” she added. “That is a fundamental truth of our business and who we are. So his remarks tonight will not air here live. We will monitor them and let you know about any news that he makes.”
The wisdom of such decisions to filter Trump seems clear from the results of opinion polling like one recent CNN poll which found that 68 percent of Iowans at caucus sites do not believe President Biden legitimately won in 2020 after years of Trump claiming — falsely — that he was the the true winner of that election.
Meanwhile, CNN also cut away from Trump's live remarks, as the Republican frontrunner started in with what has become his fascist language regarding immigration.
“Donald Trump declaring victory with a historically strong showing in the Iowa caucuses. If these numbers hold, the biggest victory for a non-incumbent president in the modern era for this contest,” said host Jake Tapper. “A relatively subdued speech as these things go so far. Although here he is, right now, under my voice, you can hear him repeating his anti-immigrant rhetoric.
“He did take time to praise his rivals, Haley and DeSantis and Ramaswamy by name, rather un-Trump-like to do that. Gracious, but perhaps a sign of some message discipline, at least for one night.”
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