On Sunday, NBC’s Meet the Press addressed a growing lack of confidence in President Biden’s leadership ability. While Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) dodged confronting the trend to favor a standard Biden campaign speech, moderator Chuck Todd followed up with a mild question about Hunter Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland attending the same state dinner for India’s prime minister.
Naturally, it yielded a similar pro-Biden response.
Todd summarized a new poll NBC launched about President Biden’s ability to serve in the Oval Office:
We asked various questions having to do with President Biden and his ability to do the job. Does he have the mental and physical health to serve. The concern of Democrats has doubled since October 2020. It was only one in five Democrats that had that concern before election day 2020; it’s now over 40%, it’s 43%.
Since Klobuchar recently attended a state dinner with the President, Todd asked her if she agreed. “No, I don’t. He did so well at that state dinner,” Klobuchar responded.
Avoiding a discussion on Biden’s health, she instead launched into a minute-long list of Biden’s accomplishments centered around the 13 million jobs he allegedly added to the economy. Klobuchar forgot to mention that high COVID unemployment caused the uptick in jobs, not necessarily Biden. Overall, employment still remains 3.6 million jobs below pre-pandemic levels, according to Reuters.
After entertaining Klobuchar’s long affirmation of Biden, Todd asked her about Hunter Biden’s presence at the state dinner: “Do you think it was appropriate for Hunter Biden to be at the same event as the Attorney General Merrick Garland was in the same week he accepted a plea deal?”
“You know, I think, as the President explains, that’s his son. That’s a separate thing,” Klobuchar said. She continued to offer her own assessment of the plea deal’s fairness, followed by a warning to Republicans:
And, by the way, if that’s what the Republicans want to run on in the coming election, good luck cause the president is going to be able to run on the strength of his work in bringing 13 million jobs back to America in resurging manufacturing in our country, and moving forward.
Klobuchar repeated her lucky job number and cautioned Republicans to beware of Biden’s alleged success.
To his credit, Todd insisted she address the implications of Hunter Biden mingling with his father’s chief prosecutor after receiving a light sentence for firearm and drug charges. “You understand the perception,” Todd asked. 
“Yes, I do. I do,” She asserted. “You always wish there were different perceptions, but that’s not reality.” Klobuchar returned to praising the jobs she claimed Biden created.
NBC seldom addresses any issue that paints liberals in a negative light, so addressing Biden’s low competency ratings and his son’s plea deal was a step in the right direction.
However, their coverage was still subpar at best, given the cursory mention of the scandal that beset the country for years and ended with an outcome that’s surprising to some and a sign of corruption to others.
While still stilted coverage, at least NBC addressed the elephant in the room, even if it consisted of trying to rhetorically dress it up with lipstick.
NBC’s biased coverage was sponsered by Wayfair.
The Transcript is below, click “expand” to read.
NBC’s Meet the Press
6/26/2023
10:25 AM EASTERN
CHUCK TODD: I’m going to ask you a couple of political questions here; we have a new poll out. We asked various questions having to do with President Biden and his ability to do the job. Does he have the mental and physical health to serve. The concern of Democrats has doubled since October 2020. It was only one in five Democrats that had that concern before election day 2020; it’s now over 40%, it’s 43%. You were just with the President at the state dinner. What are – do you have any concerns?
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MIN): No, I don’t. He did so well at that state dinner. I think we all saw his power at the State of the Union. Our party is united behind him, why? Because we work in a results-oriented business, Chuck, and he has gotten results. Added over 13 million jobs since the beginning of his presidency. When he took over, our democracy was in shambles. We were in the middle of a pandemic, people were dying. Now, we’ve emerged from that. The economy is moving forward. Manufacturing in our own nation, made in America, is resurging. We finally got veterans’ healthcare done for those stationed next to burn pits. We’ve united our allies when it comes to Ukraine. We’ve finally taken on the pharmaceutical companies just by everyone talking about it and passed a version of my bill which allows Medicare to negotiate for lower prices for our seniors. Those aren’t small accomplishments. Those are big deal things.
TODD: I want to ask you before you go, I brought up the state dinner. Do you think it was appropriate for Hunter Biden to be at the same event as the Attorney General Merrick Garland was in the same week he accepted a plea deal?
KLOBUCHAR: You know, I think, as the President explains, that’s his son. That’s a separate thing. And, I would like to say about that; that decision was made by an independent prosecutor, who was a Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney, who had ten years of experience, well respected, Philadelphia Inquirer reported that he was a registered Republican, he looked at the facts and evidence, and made that decision. And, by the way, if that’s what the Republicans want to run on in the coming election, good luck cause the president is going to be able to run on the strength of his work in bringing 13 million jobs back to America in resurging –
TODD: You – you understand the perception.
KLOBUCHAR: — manufacturing in our country, and moving forward.
TODD: You – you understand the perception issue of something like that though.
KLOBUCHAR: Yes, I do.
TODD: And do you wish the perception were different?
KLOBUCHAR: I do. You always wish there were different perceptions, but that’s not reality. Reality is whether or not someone is going to be able to get their insulin, and the President has made changes. Reality is whether someone has a job. Reality is when they can go visit their grandma again in an assisted living. Those are people’s realities, not who is sitting where at a state dinner.
