‘Meet The Press’ Forced To Issue Correction After Host’s Incorrect Claim About Kamala Harris

It might not be surprising to hear a mainstream media interviewer cut off a GOP guest in order to defend Kamala Harris, but Kristen Welker, the moderator of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” did so by making a patently false statement about the Democratic White House hopeful.

The on-air comment came during a conversation about the 13 American service members killed during the Biden administration’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.

According to Fox News:

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday and criticized President Biden and Harris for ignoring the families of the fallen soldiers.

“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris — where were they? Joe Biden was sitting at a beach. Kamala Harris was sitting at her mansion in Washington, D.C. She was four miles away — ten minutes. She could’ve gone to the cemetery and honored the sacrifice of those young men and women, but she hasn’t. She never has spoken to them or taken a meeting with them,” Cotton told Welker. “It is because of her and Joe Biden’s incompetence that those 13 Americans were killed in Afghanistan.”

“They did meet them during the dignified transfer. They were with them at the dignified transfer,” Welker interjected.

Of course, Harris was not at the ceremony, and “Meet the Press” was forced to issue a social media retraction after the program aired.

On our broadcast this morning, we incorrectly implied that both President Biden and Vice President Harris attended the dignified transfer of 13 American service members killed during the Afghanistan withdrawal. Biden was in attendance but Harris was not.

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) September 1, 2024

That correction was not enough for many critics of Welker and the mainstream media in general, though.

You didn’t imply it, you outright said it.

It’s a blatant LIE.

NBC and Meet the Press have no shame:pic.twitter.com/biH3PgHvGz

— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) September 1, 2024

No, @kwelkernbc did not "IMPLY" that both Biden and Harris were at the dignified transfer. She said that explicitly. She said "they did meet with them at the dignified transfer." STOP LYING YOU SICK PEOPLE. And stop doing Democrat propaganda.

— Mollie (@MZHemingway) September 1, 2024

You lied to cover for Kamala…

Nothing out of the ordinary for you.

— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) September 1, 2024

She didn’t “imply” it. She outright said it. She lied to protect Kamala. Shame on you. https://t.co/ti7P2SgRfY

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 1, 2024

And Biden, although present for the transfer, was obviously preoccupied, as reported by the New York Post at the time:

Family members of the US Marines killed in last week’s suicide terror attack at the Kabul airport are slamming President Biden for his behavior at the dignified transfer ceremony over the weekend — with one Gold Star father accusing the commander-in-chief of doing “the most disrespectful thing I’ve ever seen” by repeatedly looking at his watch during the ceremony.

Darin Hoover, the father of Marine Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover, told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that Biden checked his watch every single time a flag-draped coffin was removed from the hold of the Air Force C-17 Globemaster plane during Sunday’s ceremony at Dover Air Force Base in the president’s home state of Delaware.

“They would release the salute and he looked down at his watch on every last one,” Hoover said. “All 13, he looked down at his watch.”

Mark Schmitz — whose 20-year-old son, Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, died in the attack — corroborated Hoover’s story.

ADVERTISEMENT

Here’s a full clip of Cotton’s interview: