CBS News’ Tony Dokoupil Slammed Live On-Air for Broadcasting Trump’s ‘Lies’
What To Know
- CBS News and anchor Tony Dokoupil faced live on-air criticism from Senator Mark Warner for broadcasting President Trump’s speech on election fraud.
- Warner accused the network of irresponsibly airing and amplifying Trump’s “lies.”
- While other major networks declined to air Trump’s speech, CBS chose to broadcast the majority of the address.
CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil was called out live on air on Thursday night (July 16) after the network aired President Donald Trump‘s speech about so-called election fraud.
During a CBS News special report, Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) took Dokoupil and the network to task, accusing them of airing Trump’s “lies” and “falsehoods” without context or fact-checking. CBS News has faced accusations of sucking up to the president since Paramount CEO David Ellison appointed Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief last October.
“I was embarrassed that the President of the United States went before our whole country, and networks like yours carried this as news, as opposed to a rehash of falsehoods,” Warner told Dokoupil, per Mediaite. “And it is incumbent upon you and any responsible journalist to push back on these falsehoods.”
Dokoupil tried to respond, but Warner continued, saying of the upcoming midterms, “[Trump’s] going to lose a free and fair election. And unless responsible journalists and the American people step up and say, our system, which has stood the test of time, is not going to be undermined by this kind of falsehood, then, you know, we all have to live with those responsibilities.”
The former CBS Mornings co-host attempted to defend himself and the network, telling Warner, “You are calling for context and analysis and pushback. You are on the show right now giving it, and acting as though it’s not happening.”
He added, “I just want to underscore that the reason you’re on is because we agree, you and I, that this is a vitally, vitally important topic. And the president has a terrible track record on it, as we said at the top and as we’ve been trying to buttress and fact-check and give context and analysis for throughout.”
Other major networks, including ABC, NBC, and CNN, refused to interrupt their scheduled programming to air Trump’s speech. CBS, meanwhile, cut to the president’s address four minutes after it had begun and cut it five minutes before he wrapped up.
Before airing Trump’s speech, Dokoupil gave a disclaimer, telling viewers, “Much of what the president has said on this topic [of election fraud] has been false. Most notably, of course, the claim that he won the 2020 election when, of course, he did not.”
He continued, “Because of this, there is an argument that it’s irresponsible to air the president’s speech tonight. But this speech will be made. It will be news, and it’s our job to cover the news.”
The disclaimer wasn’t enough to appease Warner, though, who told Dokoupil, “I’ve never seen comments like this from a President of the United States. Doesn’t matter what party, nothing to do with party, that is so less connected to truth than this. And if we don’t step up and you guys as journalists and people across the political aisle stand up and say, our election integrity is too important to mess around with, then shame on all of us.”
Conversation12 Comments
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J
To be honest, I'm confused about this. At the end of the Evening News, Tony said the speech would be broadcast on whatever the CBS app is called-- in other words, indicating that it would not be aired on the actual CBS network. So later that evening, sometime after 9pm, I checked some of the major networks to ensure they weren't airing the speech, and lo and behold, on CBS I see Tony and some guest discussing it. I assumed the speech was over, but I went over to Fox, and the Orange Idiot was still speaking. So I don't know if Fox aired it on delay, or if CBS was speaking about the speech, but not airing it live, or what. So I don't know what actually happened.
In any case, I'm disappointed that CBS chose to even engage with it... the whole speech was nonsense.
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A
And it's too bad Cobert isn't around to make fun of it! Meanwhile, I have to wait until Monday for Seth Meyers and whoever subs for Jimmy Kimmel to do so...
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S
OMG, Cobert would have been SOOOO GREAT!! I miss him!
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J
Kind of off-topic, but I've often wondered why Colbert didn't have guest hosts while he was on vacation. I know Johnny Carson did, and even though that was a different network, it's kind of what I was used to hearing about. (I never watched late-night TV before Colbert, and don't really watch any other show now that he's gone.)
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G
Well, maybe as to NOT copy what Carson did, odd as that may seem with guest hosts anyway. More likely, it was CHEAPER for CBS to just air reruns instead, when colbert went on vacation.
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R
CBS, intentionally or not, lent credence to trump’s easily disproven whining by simply airing his tantrum. Some people still think whatever they see on tv is the truth, making the assumption there’d be serious consequences for knowingly misrepresenting the truth, or just flat out lying like trump does on the regular. By the way, I spell his name with a lower case t on purpose. Capitalization infers respect, and I have none for him.
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S
I'm not much of a CBS lover now but I give them credit for airing the speech. ABC, NBC and CNN should've shown America once again who and what this man really is. A crier and a whiner who lost six years ago and wants to plant seeds of doubt about elections in the upcoming midterms. Too their credit Tony, Major and Margaret didn't say anything to the contrary of what those other networks would've said. Just saying the truth is all we ever needed to hear. I believe we got the truth yet once again.
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N
I was very disappointed (but not surprised) that CBS aired it. There was nothing honest about what Trump said and airing his speech just lent it credibility. I give the other networks all the credit for refusing to damage our democracy further by airing a lying President’s words. They stood up for the truth. Tony Dokoupil was wrong to say that it was “news” and that’s why they’re airing it. There was absolutely nothing new or newsworthy about Trump’s speech - it was just a rehash of all the same old grievances and lies he’s told since 2020. I’m done with CBS!
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S
I understand the feelings about airing the broadcast
Still, I think it's important for all to see just who and what this man really is. Garrett, Brennan and Tony did say there was nothing new to see. Too some it may look like the networks were " hiding evidence" which is of course, just nonsense. I say let him talk.The more he talks the more the foot is in the mouth. Anyone, including CBS, will never be able to change that very well known fact.
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U
I hate censorship in any form bc of the distrust and divisivenesses it can cause on the the side of the aggrieved party (whether they’re right or wrong). It’s one of the main storylines of all government-conspiracy-theories. “They’re not showing us what’s really happening”.
Once people become convinced both sides censor (as a weapon) then it it will be almost normalized in society as it is in Russia. They expect and accept their news to be untruthful and censored for political reasons.
We cause our own oppression and loss of rights and liberties when too tribally political.
The republican party is already doing this and have been since Trump took over their side. They’re more focused on hurting Dems than they are making better lives for their families.
It’s very dangerous. Trump has them basically begging for their own oppression and loss of civil liberties…every single day.
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S
Dangerous is an understatement. Republicans have the House, Senate, Supreme Court and the White House. How are Libs cheating exactly? This current whining from DJT has everything to do with sowing election doubt and passing this Save America Act to make sure it's very difficult for many of us to vote. He knows red is about to be smoked and they and him could lose most of the power. Censorship is not the answer in silencing him or his party. Let him talk. Hopefully, many who have supported him are now waking up to the deception and nonsensical rhetoric. Dems have nothing to hide. Really can't say the same about the other side.
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R
I get what you’re saying but the fact that trump was elected AGAIN says it makes more sense NOT to waste airtime on him. Millions of your fellow Americans are dangerously disinformed and willfully ignorant of anything that contradicts what they WANT to believe. That they voted for Trump again despite the metric tons of evidence to his incompetence and criminality that they CHOSE to ignore. They’re as much a threat to our representative democracy as Trump himself, if not more so.
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