Topic: Media Research Center
The Media Research Center has been hitting the Clinton Equivocation hard this election season as it tries to deflect ever-more-sleazy accusations against Donald Trump by insisting that a Clinton did it first and worse.
One MRC researcher with a particular Clinton Equivocation fixation is Brad Wilmouth. On Oct. 11 he complained:
As the broadcast network evening newscasts on Monday recalled both the tape from 2005 revealing Donald Trump speaking lewdly about his behavior toward women, and Trump inviting women who have accused Bill Clinton of either sexual harrassment or assault to Sunday's debate, there was an obvious double standard in the willingness to use the term "sexual assault" with regard to Trump's behavior, while Clinton's behavior was alluded to in a more vague and toned down manner.
While the CBS Evening News called Trump's behavior "sexual assault," but Clinton's more violent behavior was labeled as "extramarital affairs" on the same show, ABC's World News Tonight and the NBC Nightly News each used a clip of debate moderator Anderson Cooper charging that Trump "sexually assaulted" women, but in both news casts used more vague terms like "wrongdoing" and "abused," or using words like "accusers" and "accused," giving little detail on what the Clintons were being accused of.
But Wilmouth still wasn't satisfied that the media was sufficiently dragging Bill Clinton down to Trump's level. So he recycled his complaint for an Oct. 21 post:
Since a number of women have gone public with charges that Donald Trump groped or forceably kissed them in past encounters, there has been a pattern of the broadcast networks being more likely to use the words "sexual assault" in referring to Trump's behavior, while using more toned down or vague wording to describe accusations against former President Bill Clinton of behavior that is at least as severe. This double standard has especially recurred several times over the past week on ABC's World News Tonight.
Between them, ABC correspondents Tom Llamas and David Wright have used forms of the words "sexual assault" or "assault" five times across three shows since last Thursday. But, on all five occasions when similar accusations against Clinton were referenced, Llamas avoided the word "assault," using words like "sex scandals," "sexual misconduct," and "accusers."
Yes, Wilmouth is spending what appears to be a substantial amount of time obsessing over whether Trump is being accused too much of engaging in "sexual assault,"and not enough time wondering why Trump's behavior should be compared to someone who is not on the ballot.
