Tag Archives: Richard Nixon

TV News Record: McCain returns to vote, Spicer departs

A weekly round up on what’s happening and what we’re seeing at the TV News Archive by Katie Dahl and Nancy Watzman. Additional research by Robin Chin.

Last week, Sean Spicer left his White House post and Anthony Scaramucci, the new communications director, made his mark; Sen. John McCain, R., Ariz., returned to the Senate floor to debate–and cast a deciding vote on–health care reform; and fact-checkers examined claims about Trump’s off-the-record meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and more.

McCain shows up in D.C. – and on Face-O-Matic

Last week, after we launched Face-O-Matic, an experimental Slack app that recognizes the faces of top public officials when they appear on TV news, we received a request from an Arizona-based journalism organization to track Sen. John McCain, R., Ariz.. Soon after we added the senator’s visage to Face-O-Matic, we started getting the alerts.

News anchors talked about how McCain’s possible absence because of his brain cancer diagnosis could affect upcoming debates and votes on health care.

Reporters gave background on how the Senate has dealt with absences due to illness in the past.

Pundits discussed McCain’s character, and his daughter provided a “loving portrait.” Then coverage shifted to report the senator’s return to Washington, and late last night his key no vote on the “skinny” health care repeal.



White House: Spicer out, Scaramucci in 

After Sean Spicer resigned as White House communications director, Fox News and MSNBC offered reviews of his time at the podium.

On Fox News, Howard Kurtz introduced Spicer as someone “long known to reporters as an affable spokesman; he became the president’s pit bull,” and went on to give a run-down of his controversial relationship with the press. The conclusion, “He lasted exactly, six months.”

MSNBC offered a mashup of some of Spicer’s most famous statements. These include: “This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe,” and “But you had a – you know, someone who is as despicable as Hitler who didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons.”

Late this week, Ryan Lizza published an article in The New Yorker based on a phone call he received from the new White House communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, in which the new White House communications director used profanity to describe other members of the White House staff he accused of leaking information. That article soon became fodder for cable TV.



Schumer, Ryan weigh in on Mueller

As Special Counsel Robert Mueller widens his investigation into Russian interference in U.S. elections, speculation is running high on TV news that President Donald Trump might fire him.

Fox News ran a clip of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D., NY., saying, “I think it would cause a cataclysm in Washington.”

MSNBC ran a radio clip from House Speaker Paul Ryan, R., Wis.:  “I don’t think many people are saying Bob Mueller is a person who is a biased partisan. We have an investigation in the House, an investigation in the Senate, and a special counsel which sort of depoliticizes this stuff and gets it out of the political theater.”



Fact-check: Transgender people in the military would lead to tremendous medical costs and disruption (lacks context)

In a series of tweets this week, President Trump wrote, “After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow… Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming… victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you.”

For FactCheck.org, Eugene Kiely reported, “Although Trump described the cost as ‘tremendous,’ RAND estimated that providing transition-related health care would increase the military’s health care costs for active-duty members ‘by between $2.4 million and $8.4 million annually.’ That represents an increase of no more than 0.13 percent of the $6.27 billion spent on the health of active-duty members in fiscal 2014.”



Fact Check: Nixon held meetings with heads of state without an American interpreter (true)

Speaking on “The Rachel Maddow Show,” Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, said:  “Apparently, President Nixon used to do it because he felt, didn’t really trust the State Department, at that point, providing the translators and didn’t necessarily want information getting out, leaking, that he would want to keep private.”

“True,” wrote Joshua Gillan for PolitiFact: “Presidential historians, historical accounts and Nixon’s own memoir show this was the case. But it’s notable that even in the example most comparable to Trump’s meeting with Putin, when Nixon used only a Soviet translator during two meetings with Brezhnev, official records of the meeting exist.”



Fact-check: Allowing insurers to sell plans across state lines will mean premiums go down 60-70% (no evidence)

Not long before the Senate took up health care reform, President Donald Trump said “We’re putting it [allowing insurers to sell plans across state lines] in a popular bill, and that will come. And that will come, and your premiums will be down 60 and 70 percent.”

FactCheck.org’s Lori Robertson reported the “National Association of Insurance Commissioners — a support organization established by the country’s state insurance regulators — said the idea that cross-state sales would bring about lower premiums was a ‘myth.’”



Fact-Check: When the price for oil goes up, it goes up, and never goes down (false)

In an interview Sunday about the new Democratic Party national agenda, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D., N.Y., said, “We have these huge companies buying up other big companies. It hurts workers and it hurts prices. The old Adam Smith idea of competition, it’s gone. So people hate it when their cable bills go up, their airline fees. They know that gas prices are sticky. You know … when the price for oil goes up on the markets, it goes right up, but it never goes down.”

For PolitiFact, Louis Jacobson reported, “This comment takes a well-known phenomenon and exaggerates it beyond recognition. While experts agree that prices tend to go up quickly after a market shock but usually come down more slowly once the shock is resolved, this phenomenon only occurs on a short-term basis – a couple of weeks in most cases.”

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Is it 1968? Not really — but past convention video clips show controversy

Research by Robin Chin

Is it 1968? Many pundits have been asking this question in recent days, in the lead up to what is expected to be a contentious–and some worry about violent–GOP convention in Cleveland, where Donald Trump is expected to accept the GOP nomination. A spate of mass gun killings, the death of two African American men in recent weeks at the hands of police, the murder of five police officers by a sniper during a demonstration and then three more by a lone gun man in Baton Rouge, terrorism here and abroad, involvement overseas in intractable conflicts, growing economic inequality — none of these developments quite parallel the tumultuous events of the 1960s. But the situation was volatile then, and it’s volatile now.

To set the scene, thanks to the TV News Archive, the Internet Archive‘s online free library of TV news clips, revisiting some of the more “crazy” conventions of years past (headline by Politico), or simply notable or controversial moments, is just a search away. All of these clips are editable, embeddable, and shareable on social media.

Chicago, 1968

When the Democrats met in Chicago in 1968, it was in the shadow of the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Democratic primary candidate Robert Kennedy. Vice President Hubert Humphrey had the support of the some 60 percent of the delegates, largely local party leaders — people who would be super delegates today. While a liberal, Humphrey’s support of the war as Lyndon B. Johnson’s vice president made him unpopular in the anti-war movement.

As described by Politico, “With Humphrey’s nomination all but certain, protesters associated with the Youth International Party (the Yippies) and National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam (the MOBE) took to the streets outside Chicago’s convention hall; inside, city policemen allied with the local political machine roughed up liberal delegates and journalists in plain view of news cameras. “I wasn’t sentenced and sent here!” a prominent New York Democrat bellowed as a uniformed officer dragged him off the floor. “I was elected!”

The clip below, from the CNN documentary series, “The Sixties,” shows police beating up protestors on the streets. A special commission appointed to investigate the protests characterized the violent events as a “police riot” directed at protesters and recommended prosecution of police who used indiscriminate violence.

That same night, Humphrey took to the podium to accept the nomination. He referred the violence outside when he said, “[O]ne cannot help but reflect, the deep sadness that we feel over the troubles and the violence which have erupted regrettably and tragically in the streets of this great city and for the personal injuries that have occurred. Surely we have now learned the lesson that violence breeds counter violence and it cannot be condoned whatever the source.”

San Francisco, 1964

In 1964, GOP moderates Nelson Rockefeller and George Romney, then governor of Michigan, led an unsuccessful campaign against conservative insurgent Barry Goldwater, at a convention Goldwater biographer Robert Alan Goldberg later dubbed the “Woodstock of the right.” (Romney was former presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s father.) Goldwater was a fierce opponent of the Civil Rights Act and strong supporter of military intervention against the Soviet Union.

Some have compared him to Trump because of his belligerence and unpopularity with the establishment Republicans. For example, like Trump, he was not one to mince words about his enemies. At the convention, when asked by a reporter about LBJ and the Civil Rights Act, he replied, “He’s the phoniest individual who ever came around.”

The convention was raucous, filled with delegates booing the moderates — as when Rockefeller called on the crowd to reject extremists. But the moment most remembered was when Goldwater took the podium to accept the nomination, when, to enormous applause, he said:

“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. [applause] And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”

Goldwater went on to lose the election, badly, to Lyndon B. Johnson.

Other historic moments

The TV News Archive is full of many other convention speech clips of moments that turned history’s tide. Here, for example, is John F. Kennedy, accepting the Democratic nomination in 1960, stating that voters should not “throw away” their vote because of concern about his religious affiliation. He went on to become the first Catholic president of the United States.

And here is Richard Nixon, in his 1968 nomination speech, talking about the increase in crime and criticizing those who say “law and order” was code for racism. He was speaking to the charged issues surrounding race and policing at the time:

“Time is running out for the merchants of corruption…and to those who say law and order is a code word for racism there and here is the reply. Our goal is justice for every American. If we are to have respect for law in America we must have laws that deserve respect.”

Nixon’s words, however, have a doubly ironic ring today. First, because the debate over policing in the African American community stubbornly persists decades later. And second, because of his own role in covering up the Watergate scandal, which involved dirty tricks against the Democrats during the 1972 campaign. Nixon would eventually resign from the presidency in 1974. Three years later, in 1977, the journalist David Frost asked Nixon under what circumstances a president can do something illegal. Nixon’s famous answer: “Well, when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal.”

For those wanting to plumb the riches of past convention speeches, below is a list, with links, of most major convention speeches by nominees, starting with Harry Truman in 1948 and going to Barack Obama in 2012. The speeches were broadcast on C-Span.

1948: Harry Truman acceptance speech at Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, PA Part 1.

Harry Truman acceptance speech at Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, PA Part 2.

1952: Adlai Stevenson acceptance speech at Democratic National Convention in Chicago, IL Part 1.

Adlai Stevenson acceptance speech at Democratic National Convention in Chicago, IL Part 2.

1956: Republican Convention and Eisenhower’s nomination  Universal newsreel.

Dwight D. Eisenhower acceptance speech at Republican National Convention in Daly City, CA Part 1.

Dwight D. Eisenhower acceptance speech at Republican National Convention in Daly City, CA Part 2.

1960: John F. Kennedy acceptance speech at 1960 Democratic National Conventions in Los Angeles, CA Part 1.

John F. Kennedy acceptance speech at 1960 Democratic National Conventions in Los Angeles, CA Part 2.

Former President Hebert Hoover speech at Republican National Convention Chicago, IL.

Henry Cabot Lodge VP acceptance speech at  National Convention Chicago, IL.

1964: Barry Goldwater acceptance speech at Republican National Convention Daly City, CA.

Robert Kennedy speech at Democratic National Convention Atlantic City, NJ.

Lyndon Johnson acceptance speech Atlantic City, NJ Part 1.

Lyndon Johnson acceptance speech Atlantic City, NJ Part 2.

1968: Spiro Agnew VP acceptance speech at Republican National Convention in Miami Beach, FL.

Richard Nixon acceptance speech at Republican National Convention Miami Beach, FL.

Hubert Humphrey acceptance speech at Democratic National Convention Chicago, Il  NBC News.

1972: McGovern acceptance speech at Democratic National Convention Miami Beach, FL Part 1.

McGovern acceptance speech at Democratic National Convention Miami Beach, FL Part 2.

Richard Nixon acceptance speech at Republican National Convention Miami Beach, FL.

Richard Nixon acceptance speech at Republican National Convention Miami Beach, Florida NBC News.

1976: Barbara Jordan keynote speech at Democratic Convention New York, NY.

Jimmy Carter acceptance speech at Democratic National Convention New York, NY Part 1.

Jimmy Carter acceptance speech at Democratic National Convention New York, NY Part 2.

August 17, 1976 Republic National Convention Kansas City, MO delegates debating Ronald Reagan rule requiring Ford to name VP before they vote  CBS News Part 1.

August 17, 976 Republic National Convention Kansas City, MO includes delegates debating Ronald Reagan rule C16 requiring Ford to name VP before they vote  CBS News Part 2.

Gerald Ford acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention Kansas City, MO Part 1.

Gerald Ford acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention Kansas City, MO Part 2.

Ronald Reagan endorsement speech of Gerald Ford as Presidential Nominee at Republican National Convention Kansas City, MO.

1980: Ronald Reagan acceptance speech  at the Republican National Convention Detroit, MI.

Ted Kennedy speech at Democratic National Convention in New York. Kennedy was a rival for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Jimmy Carter acceptance speech at Democratic National Convention in New York, NY Part 1.

Jimmy Carter acceptance speech at Democratic National Convention in New York, NY Part 2.

1984: Geraldine Ferraro VP acceptance speech at Democratic National Convention San Francisco, CA.

Walter Mondale acceptance speech at Democratic National Convention San Francisco, CA Part 1.

Walter Mondale acceptance speech at Democratic National Convention San Francisco, CA Part 2.

Ronald Reagan acceptance speech at Republican National Convention Dallas, TX.

Mario Cuomo keynote speech at Democratic National Convention San Franciso, CA.

1988: Ann Richards keynote speech at Democratic National Convention Atlanta, GA.

Michael Dukakis acceptance speech at Democratic National Convention Atlanta, GA Part 1.

Michael Dukakis acceptance speech at Democratic National Convention Atlanta, GA Part 2.

Dan Quayle VP acceptance speech at Republican National Convention New Orleans, LA.

George H.W. Bush acceptance speech at Republican National Convention New Orleans, LA.

1992: Barbara Jordan speech at Democratic National Convention New York, NY.

Al Gore VP acceptance speech at Democratic National Convention New York, NY.

Bill Clinton acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention New York, NY.

Pat Buchanan Keynote speech at Republican National Convention Houston, TX.

Ronald Reagan speech at Republican National Convention  Houston, TX Part 1.

Ronald Reagan speech at Republican National Convention  Houston, TX Part 2.

George H. W. Bush acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention Houston, TX.

1996: Jack Kemp VP acceptance speech at Republican National Convention San Diego, CA.

Bob Dole acceptance speech at Republican National Convention San Diego, CA.

Hillary Clinton speech at the Democratic National Convention Chicago, IL.

Bill Clinton acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention Chicago, IL. (Currently not available on the TV News Archive.)

2000: Dick Cheney VP 2000 acceptance speech at Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, PA.

George W. Bush acceptance speech at Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, PA Part 1.

George W. Bush acceptance speech at Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, PA Part 2.

Al Gore acceptance speech at Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, CA.

2004: Barack Obama keynote speech at Democratic National Convention Boston, MA. (Currently not available on the TV News Archive.)

2004 John Edwards speech at Democratic National Convention  Boston, MA.

John Kerry acceptance speech at  Democratic National Convention  Boston, MA.

John McCain speech at Republican National Convention New York, NY.

Laura Bush speech at  Republican National Convention New York, NY.

George W. Bush acceptance speech at Republican National Convention New York, NY.  (Currently not available on the TV News Archive.)

2008: Ted Kennedy speech at Democratic National Convention Denver, CO.

Michelle Obama speech at Democratic National Convention Denver, CO.

Bill Clinton speech at Democratic National Convention Denver, CO.

Joe Biden VP portion of acceptance speech at Democratic National Convention Denver, CO.

Barack Obama acceptance speech at Democratic National Convention Denver, CO.

Sarah Palin VP acceptance speech at Republican National Convention St. Paul, MN.

Cindy McCain speech at Republican National Convention St. Paul, MN.

John McCain acceptance speech at Republican National Convention St. Paul, MN.

2012: Barack Obama acceptance speech at Democratic National Convention Charlotte, NC CSPAN coverage.

Mitt Romney acceptance speech at Republican National Convention Tampa, FL CSPAN coverage.