Just as they did Wednesday morning, the liberal “Big Three” networks steered clear of any of the more deeply personal attack against the Clintons in former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s e-mails, while continuing to rail against Donald Trump that evening. “Calling Donald Trump in e-mail, quote, “a national disgrace,” and Trump's birther movement, quote, “racist,”” announced a critical David Muir on ABC’s World News Tonight, while playing down attacks on Clinton. ABC, CBS, and NBC all ignored how Powell accused former President Bill Clinton of “dicking bimbos at home.”
“He is one of the most famous faces in the GOP, serving under three Republican presidents, but in his hacked e-mails, Colin Powell calls his own party's nominee "A national disgrace" and an "International pariah,"” ABC’s Cecilia Vega began her report. She went on to hype Powell’s criticism of the Congressional investigation into Benghazi as “a stupid witch hunt.”
Vega did read from the e-mail where Powell attacked Bill Clinton, but omitted the critical details of his sexual exploits. “But in 2014, he wrote, "I would rather not have to vote for her, although she is a friend I respect,"” Vega read, “He says Clinton has "Unbridled ambition" and calls her "Greedy, not transformational."”
The content of that e-mail from Powell reads as such: “I would rather not have to vote for her, although she is a friend I respect. A 70-year person with a long track record, unbridled ambition, greedy, not transformational, with a husband still dicking bimbos at home (according to the NYP).”
On CBS Evening News, they focused mostly on Powell’s displeasure with the Clinton campaign for fingering him as the reason she used a private e-mail server. “He told a friend last month, "I told her staff three times not to try that gambit,”” Nancy Cordes reported Powell as saying. The only personal attack towards a Clinton she reported was Powell saying, “"Everything Clinton touches she kind of screws up with hubris."”
Reporter Pete Williams, on NBC Nightly News, gave little time to Powell’s thoughts on the candidates and focused mostly on hacking attacks at-large in the 2016 election. But he did report about how Powell believed the birther issue was racist, and Powell’s thoughts on Clinton’s e-mail woes. The only critical thing Williams reported Powell said in regards to Clinton was, “Referring to her speaking fees, Powell calls her, “the gift that keeps taking.””
It was the same on the Spanish-language networks Wednesday evening. Telemundo quoted Powell calling Trump a “national disgrace.” They only mentioned Powell criticized Clinton, but didn’t quote anything. On Univision, they mentioned how Powell is upset with the Clinton campaign over her e-mail scandal, but touted an e-mail where Powell hammered Trump, saying, “He said that Trump's wish of attracting the black vote is a "schizophrenic fantasy."”
. Eric Scheiner
