On Morning Joe, Trump Campaign Manager Slams Embeded Reporters Who “Just Slander Our Candidate”

Kellyanne Conway: “Why Are They On Our Campaign Plane” If They Won’t Report The Size Of Trump’s Rallies? 

From the September 26 edition of MSNBC’s Morning Joe:

Video file

KELLYANNE CONWAY: The thing that concerns us is not the moderators themselves, who have been selected by the commission, because they will be seen as fair and evenhanded. What bothers us, Mark, is the very public and very coordinated attempt to game the refs. The idea that Jenn Palmieri, Robby Mook, and others -- really smart people, I respect them as colleagues across the aisle -- the idea that they are out there publicly telling the media, this is what you should be doing, this is what you should be doing. Do you consider yourself an object on the Clinton campaign, because they sure the hell do. And it is irresponsible of them to be telling the media through Twitter, through the back of the plane comments last week, that’s here's your job. If you don't fact-check Donald Trump, the bar is lower. Some of them even suggesting that the questions would be tougher on her because of sexism. Seriously? You've been secretary of state. You've been first lady. You've been a U.S. Senator. 

JOE SCARBOROUGH (CO-HOST): And again, not only are they playing the refs during, they have now taken this to a whole new level. They are already suggesting she's going to lose the debate and telling people how they need to respond after the debate. 

CONWAY: It's terrible. 

[…]

SCARBOROUGH: We need to get to John Heilemann, and I’m not pushing this along, but we're running out of time. You've had about five minutes on this. Go ahead. Give me a quick answer and then let's go to John Heilemann. We could make the whole thing about this if we wanted to, but we don’t.

CONWAY: What I would ask you all to do is start looking at the Twitter feeds of, quote, “objective reporters,” particularly our embeds. These are not profiles in courage, and this is not journalism. There are people who cover our campaign who actually just slander our candidate on Twitter. 92 percent of one of them, I have them all on my desk, we printed them all out. 92 percent of at least two of our embed’s tweets are negative towards Donald Trump. Why are they on our campaign plane? Why are they covering our campaign if they can't say hey look at this crowd, look at the RSVPs of 32,000 people in Ft. Myers, Florida, last Monday and the place only held 8,500. Hey look at the rise in the polls. They have none of the polling stories that you are covering responsibly on your show. So, excuse the Trump campaign if we feel like we can't get a fair shake from certain people. 

Previously:

On ABC, Trump's Campaign Manager Says Debate Moderators Shouldn't Be “Virtual Fact-Checkers”

New Roundups Of Trump’s Lies Prove Why Fact-Checking Is Vital During Presidential Debates

Trump’s 12 Biggest Lies That Debate Moderators Should Be Prepared To Address