Pompous PBS Whines About 'Creepy' Hunter Biden Trial, Plays Whataboutism Game With Trump Trial

Back in the proverbial day, PBS was a widely respected news outlet.

I'm talking about quality reporting and objective political analysis. The "MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour," launched in 1983, was the network's crown jewel. MacNeil retired in 1995. Lehrer walked away in 2011, two years after the show adopted a multi-anchor format. The rest, as they say, is history. Biased as hell history, that is.

On Friday's episode of "PBS Newshour," the bias not only couldn't have been more blatant; it was absurd, riddled with whataboutism, and in my not-so-humble opinion, an affront to any intelligent and objective person misfortunate enough to watch it. At issue: The Hunter Biden trial.

Host Amna Nawaz kicked off the festivities, with guests MSNBC host Jonathan Capehart and New York Times David Brooks, thusly:

I do want to briefly also get both of your takes on the Hunter Biden trial this week, which was under way. It's a criminal trial on federal gun charges alleging he lied about his drug addiction when purchasing a weapon back in 2018.

Nawaz then slid into editorializing before asking a single question.

I think it's fair to say it was a very tough week, a lot of personal and embarrassing anecdotes and details that came out from a number of people, Beau Biden's widow and his ex-wife — Hunter Biden's ex-wife as well. I'm just curious about how you both view the place that this trial holds right now in our political and social conversations.

Finally, the set-up question:

And what kind of impact do you think it's having on people paying attention?

Capehart came out of the box, senselessly whining:

Well, the place this trial holds, unfortunately, is latched onto the criminal proceedings of the former president, of Donald Trump.

"Latched onto the Trump trial"? How so? What connection exists? None; Capehart was simply setting the stage to play the "Hunter's trial isn't as bad as Trump's trial" game.

Capehart continued (emphasis, mine):

Republicans have been trying to make Hunter Biden an issue for President Biden in an attempt to bring him down and the — quote, unquote — "Biden crime family." But what we have in this trial in Wilmington has nothing to do with any kind of policy or any of the other things that Republicans have been talking about.
We're talking about a drug addict who had a very bad problem, lied on some government forms, is being held accountable, and is being held accountable in a court of law, where all the messiness is coming out.
And I think the one thing that I might inure to the president's benefit and his family's benefit is what they're going through is what millions of American families are going through. And so, in the end, I think this will be — the Hunter Biden court case, this court case will fall into that bucket, and it'll be very empathetic, I think.

As to the second paragraph, Hunter's lying isn't only past tense — he continues to lie.

On the last paragraph, fair enough. The impact of drug addiction and alcoholism on millions of families across the country is a serious issue and should not be dismissed. That said, Capehart's efforts to empathize with Hunter Biden's addiction, so as to minimize the seriousness of his actions, was transparent as hell.

David Brooks wasted zero time going melodramatic about poor Hunter — while making a surprising (for Brooks) comment about the Trump trial:

I felt sort of dirty following the trial. I mean, he's a lost soul. I mean, he's — the guy is in the shadow of his father. He's in the shadow of his really kind of amazing brother.
And he's lost, and he has a drug problem. And drug addiction leads you to horrible things. It leads you to wandering around the middle of the night trying to get your supply. And it's unpleasant to look at. And so I just thought this wouldn't have been tried if it wasn't the son of the president, in my view.
And so I just felt creepy that we're all exposed to this. And let him have some dignity. Will it affect the election? Absolutely not. The conviction of Donald Trump I don't think is affecting the election. So whatever happens to Hunter Biden, I don't think it will affect the election. So I don't think so.

On the October 1 episode of "PBS Newshour," Brooks mourned the GOP reaction to the Trump trial, preaching that conservatives should accept the jury's verdict:

"[If private virtue falls apart, the public order collapses. And we shouldn't forget the fact this case was about a president, a former president, paying hush money to a porn star. I mean, in what world do we enter that?”
[...]
"And if he wins in the fall, the attack on the institutions won't only be to the justice system. It'll be to the Defense Department. It'll be to the attorney general's office. It'll be a comprehensive assault on American institutions. And that's sort of what's at stake."

PBS: Bringing you highbrow bias, one ridiculous episode at a time.

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