NBC News reporter Dasha Burns was savagely attacked by journalist Kara Swisher and a bevy of other leftist media types after she spilled the beans on her computer-aided interview with Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor and Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman.
(Video Credit: MSNBC)
Fetterman is leading Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz in the PA Senate race by a 3.7-point margin according to Real Clear Politics. The media has been promoting the Democrat for all they are worth despite his stroke and questionable incidents in his past.
On Tuesday, Burns gave a preview of her interview with Fetterman. She noted that he had difficulty “understanding” conversations without the assistance of closed captioning. He also reportedly had trouble finding the right words to answer her.
The interview between Burns and Fetterman was his first since his stroke in May. She admitted that “In small talk — before the interview, without captioning — it wasn’t clear he was understanding our conversation.”
The discussion involved whether he’s physically fit to be senator, and why his campaign hasn’t provided an update on his medical condition. They are allegedly refusing to turn over his medical records or discuss his health.
NBC reporter on her interview with John Fetterman: “In small talk before the interview without captioning, it wasn’t clear he was understanding our conversation.”
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 12, 2022
John Fetterman sat down with NBC News for an interview tonight. He had to used closed captioning during the interview, the reporter says he had trouble speaking in the "small talk" before the captioning was on, and Fetterman's team is refusing to give them his medical records. pic.twitter.com/Y6tDhYMEPB
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 11, 2022
After suffering a stroke, PA Senate candidate John Fetterman is now dealing with auditory processing issues and uses closed captioning systems to read questions in real time.
Dr. @DavidAgus says he could recover from that issue — but it may "be with him for a lifetime." pic.twitter.com/tgiaHHE1Ea
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) October 12, 2022
Burns tweeted that Fetterman’s computer wasn’t there to be a crutch, that “we had no problem with accommodating the closed captioning,” and that NBC would release a full version of the interview.”
We were in the room with him at his home, not on facetime/zoom/etc. Releasing full intv tomorrow for anyone w questions about editing. We had no problem with accommodating the closed captioning. Our job as reporters is to be as transparent as possible. https://t.co/Mvi7234olZ
— Dasha Burns (@DashaBurns) October 12, 2022
Because Burns did what journalists are supposed to do and reported on what she observed, she was excoriated for it by other reporters. They didn’t like the way she described his inability to understand portions of the interview, and the emphasis on his auditory challenges.
“Our reporting did not and should not comment on fitness for office,” Burns asserted in defense of the interview.
“This is for voters to decide,” Burns stated. “What we do push for as reporters is transparency. It’s our job. Fetterman sat down and answered our questions. That’s his job.”
Swisher led the pack of media hyenas who circled Burns and moved in for the journalistic kill.
It's possible for two different reporters to have two different experiences w a candidate. Our team was in the room w him & reported what happened in it, as journalists do. Before & after closed captioning was on.
Our full intv is now available to watch:https://t.co/UIRrzEd70X https://t.co/3s1TBKjFhb
— Dasha Burns (@DashaBurns) October 12, 2022
I was expecting a lot worse in presentation from @JohnFetterman, since stroke victims often only lose the ability to express but not to think clearly. Btw many fully functional subjects do worse. So a hot take from network small talk pre-game isn’t a diagnosis I’m going trust.
— Kara Swisher (@karaswisher) October 12, 2022
We were happy to accommodate closed captioning. Our reporting did not and should not comment on fitness for office. This is for voters to decide. What we do push for as reporters is transparency. It’s our job. Fetterman sat down and answered our questions. That’s his job. https://t.co/gFZ02hlUs5
— Dasha Burns (@DashaBurns) October 12, 2022
Evidently, journalistic ethics be damned… the media was enraged by Burns’ comments regarding the interview. They are terrified that she will make Fetterman look bad and that Oz will win because of it.
New York Magazine’s Rebecca Traister basically called Burns a liar, claiming that Fetterman was sharp as a woke tack.
As someone who has recently interviewed him: Fetterman’s comprehension is not at all impaired. He understands everything, it’s just that he reads it (which requires extra acuity, I’d argue) and responds in real time. It’s a hearing/auditory processing challenge. https://t.co/RzmyfBDJX6
— Rebecca Traister (@rtraister) October 12, 2022
Anyway, I think JF offering an open view of his recovery is fascinating & potentially very powerful in a period when this whole nation is struggling to recover from…a lot. Callous and contextually loose treatment of that recovery process is striking. https://t.co/NU7IQVmBFv
— Rebecca Traister (@rtraister) October 12, 2022
Leftists dogpiled Burns for daring to tell the truth:
Wild that @NBCNews is out here claiming that the millions of Americans who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or who have auditory processing issues are *actually* just idiots unfit for public service https://t.co/aaQVPb9Zb8
— Melissa Hillman (@bittergertrude) October 12, 2022
A month ago I thanked CNN commentator @ashleyrallison for rightly stating that Fetterman’s request for captions was a reasonable accommodation. I wish I’d seen NBC’s programs have similar content instead of repeating the very same ableism he is experiencing on the campaign trail. https://t.co/dxIwj1CJac
— Maria Town (@maria_m_town) October 12, 2022
Pretty wild how Chuck Grassley and Dianne Feinstein almost certainly don't even know what year it is and are basically being Weekend At Bernie's-ed through their time in office by staff, but a candidate needing closed captioning is what has political reporters freaking out.
— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) October 12, 2022
This Ed O’Keefe tweet, in particular, was really gross https://t.co/kFTTdDzZkG
— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) October 12, 2022
Right, this👇. Fetterman has been transparent about the lingering issues from his stroke, including the need for closed captioning. Not bad for a recovery! Yet NBC is penalizing him for using exactly what he has publicly said he needs, and treating it like some kind of expose. https://t.co/1K79VUeWrf
— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) October 12, 2022
Horrifying that you work for @NBCNews versus @FoxNews with this Republican propaganda bashing someone for accommodating a (temporary) disability AND trying to distract voters from issues to help Republicans. What matters is how senators vote not how they conduct interviews.
— David Rothschild 🌻 (@DavMicRot) October 12, 2022
Your job as a reporter is also to adequately contextualize things & not perpetuate harmful stereotypes.
Disability isn’t disqualifying and basic disability accommodations shouldn’t be treated as some shocking revelation. Shame on you for helping further stigmatize our community.
— Kendall Brown (@kendallybrown) October 12, 2022
Nonsense. A reasonable accommodation for a mild impairment doesn’t require “transparency” for voters to draw conclusions unless you already decided it’s controversial and possibly disqualifying. It isn’t. The backpedaling is nearly as embarrassing as the sophomoric reporting.
— Brian Normoyle (@BrianNormoyle) October 12, 2022
just admit that your attempt at doing your job was lazy and ableist in both its execution and its framing
— Sammy Nickalls (@sammynickalls) October 12, 2022
Oh, honey. You’re going to have to apologize for making your #ableism the main topic of the piece, for doubling down on Twitter w lies like “he doesn’t understand small talk” & then for posting this pathetic lie when we all pushed back. Use your platform for good FFS. pic.twitter.com/5KY7us6vDl
— Melissa Hillman (@bittergertrude) October 12, 2022
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