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.”