ABC Praises Biden’s ‘More Aggressive Use of Executive Action’

For four years, the liberal media were President Trump was acting like a dictator for relying on executive orders to push his policy agenda. But during Sunday’s This Week, George Stephanopoulos and ABC chief Washington correspondent Jon Karl gushed and praised President Biden for his “speed” and “more aggressive use of executive action” than former-President Trump, whose executive actions they decried.

“The emphasis in these first weeks of the Biden presidency, speed,” Stephanopoulos touted to Karl near the top of the program.

In response, Karl marveled at the “remarkable speed” Biden was using “to take down some of the central pillars of the Trump presidency in just two weeks!” He then lauded Biden for completely reversing Trump’s immigration policy by halting border wall construction and “reinstated DACA.”

DACA was an example of the media’s hypocrisy with executive orders. They all attacked Trump for getting rid of it with his executive action because former-President Obama, with Biden as his vice president, created it out of thin air with his own executive action.

Karl was tripping over his words trying to heap as much praise onto Biden as he could (Click “expand”):

Then on climate, he’s rejoined the Paris climate accords, paused new oil and gas leases, halted construction of the Keystone Pipeline, and he’s reestablished climate change — combatting climate change as a central national security priority.

Then look at COVID relief. This perhaps the most significant area. He has gone with his mask mandates, and he has rejoined the World Health Organization, and George, he has done all of this through executive action, a more aggressive use of executive action, than even what we saw with Donald Trump or Barack Obama, he has not had to wait for Congress.

It was just back in August when ABC was attacking Trump for using executive orders to deliver COVID unemployment aid to struggling Americans.

“President Trump taking matters into his own hands, sidestepping Congress on coronavirus relief, setting up the stage for a potential legal battle,” decried then-White House correspondent Rachel Scott at the time. She went on to whine that Trump was “pushing to bypass Congress with the stroke of his pen” and “placing the blame on Democrats after both parties failed to reach a deal.”

On Sunday, however, Karl was excited that Biden was ditching bipartisanship with Senate Republicans and passing his $1.9 trillion package with only Democratic support. “He does not need Republican support,” Karl boasted to Stephanopoulos. “His biggest challenge is going to be keeping all the Democrats online, but the bottom line is he doesn’t actually need Republicans.”

After Stephanopoulos reminded him that Biden campaigned on unifying the country, Karl then took to suggesting Republican votes on his cabinet nominees was a sign that Biden was working with them. “And if you look at the Biden cabinet, we’ve only had six of his nominees confirmed so far, but all six of them have had Republican support, at least some Republican support,” he enthusiastically told viewers.

“And I also think it was significant, at least symbolically, George, that the very first meeting that Joe Biden had with members of Congress in the Oval Office was with the group of Senate Republicans,” he concluded.

ABC’s hypocrisy on executive actions was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Advil and FedEx. Their contact information is linked so you can tell them about the biased news they fund.

The transcript is below, click “expand” to read:

ABC’s This Week
February 7, 2021
9:02:09 a.m. Eastern

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: The emphasis in these first weeks of the Biden presidency, speed.

JON KARL: Good morning George. No doubt. Joe Biden has worked with remarkable speed to take down some of the central pillars of the Trump presidency in just two weeks!

Consider just a few of the issues. Immigration, he has lifted the cap on refugees, moved to reunite some of those families separated at the border, stopped construction of the border wall, dropped the travel ban on majority Muslim countries, and reinstated DACA.

Then on climate, he’s rejoined the Paris climate accords, paused new oil and gas leases, halted construction of the Keystone Pipeline, and he’s reestablished climate change — combatting climate change as a central national security priority.

Then look at COVID relief. This perhaps the most significant area. He has gone with his mask mandates, and he has rejoined the World Health Organization, and George, he has done all of this through executive action, a more aggressive use of executive action, than even what we saw with Donald Trump or Barack Obama, he has not had to wait for Congress.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And, Jon. He has had meetings with Republican senators, but it’s pretty clear there is not going to be Republican support for this COVID relief package.

KARL: No, and this shows, George, when you saw Kamala Harris cast that tie-breaking vote for that budget resolution, you saw just how those two runoff elections in the Senate races in Georgia have really changed the course of the Biden presidency.

He does not need Republican support. He can go ahead with his $1.9 trillion COVID relief package, the biggest legislative priority he has without a single Republican vote. His biggest challenge is going to be keeping all the Democrats online, but the bottom line is he doesn’t actually need Republicans.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But the President did promise during his campaign that he’d helped unify the country; that he’d try for bipartisan approaches. He also said the Republicans would have an epiphany once he’s elected and come around.

KARL: Not exactly an epiphany, but it is remarkable, George, that even through all of this, Biden has maintained to have, so far, a pretty good relationship with Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate.

The two, I am told, speak regularly. And if you look at the Biden cabinet, we’ve only had six of his nominees confirmed so far, but all six of them have had Republican support, at least some Republican support. And Mitch McConnell has voted for all of them except for Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas.

And I also think it was significant, at least symbolically, George, that the very first meeting that Joe Biden had with members of Congress in the Oval Office was with the group of Senate Republicans.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Jon Karl, thanks very much.