Morning Joe Defends Lack of Tara Reade Coverage: Media Should Not Apply ‘Kavanaugh Standard’ to Joe Biden

Mika Brzezinksi defended Morning Joe’s coverage of sexual assault allegations against Joe Biden in the context of criticism of a double standard in press reporting on allegations made against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, during his confirmation process.

Biden is facing allegations made by former aide Tara Reade that he sexually assaulted her in the early 90s. Brzezinski called out specific criticisms, “particularly on the right” that the media has not applied the same standard to allegations against Biden as it did against Judge Kavanaugh.

“We think that’s a good thing,” Brzezinski added. “The media should not apply what seemed to be a Kavanaugh standard to Joe Biden.”

“The standard for the media in covering sexual assault allegations needs to be to report the facts. Listen to the accuser. And give the accused full due process, both men and women. We were very clear about that on the show during the Kavanaugh story.”

Morning Joe producers then aired minutes of clips of both Brzezinksi and co-host Joe Scarborough criticizing what they deemed to be unfair media coverage of Justice Kavanaugh in a manner that critics may see as self-congratulatory but made a powerful point that on this issue, Morning Joe has been consistent in their handling of unproven allegations.

A transcript of Brzezinski’s comments below:

There’s been a lot of discussion and debate recently about how news outlets have handled and covered the recent allegation of Joe Biden by Tara Reade, a woman who briefly worked as a staff assistant in Biden’s office. We’re going to get to what she alleges he did to her in 1993 in a moment.

First, let’s talk about the criticism by some, particularly on the right, that the media has not applied the same standard to this allegation against Biden as it did the allegations against Judge Brett Kavanaugh when he was undergoing his confirmation process.

We think that’s a good thing. The media should not apply what seemed to be a Kavanaugh standard to Joe Biden. The media should not apply the same standard most applied to Judge Kavanaugh to Donald Trump. The media should not apply a Kavanaugh standard to any public figure. The blanket and absolute standard of simply believing all women is a notion we dismissed here on the show early on.

The standard for the media in covering sexual assault allegations needs to be to report the facts. Listen to the accuser. And give the accused full due process, both men and women. We were very clear about that on the show during the Kavanaugh story.

Reade alleged that Biden digitally penetrated her in a Capital building hallway while she was serving as part of his Senate staff, years before he became Vice President to President Barack Obama.   Reade’s allegations first came to light in late March in an interview with The New York Times.

Biden’s booked appearance came after a month of a failed “hope it will go away,” strategy and growing criticism that his ignoring the allegations only made the story more politically damaging.

Watch above MSNBC.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!