The Tuesday evening following the first 2016 presidential debate, CBS Evening News was eager to share the opinions of people at debate watch parties from all across the country, including Los Angles, Philadelphia, and Dallas. Of the three watch parties they covered, CBS chose to lead with Los Angles where the makeup of the room was highly biased. “This group of Latino debate watchers gathered early,” reported CBS’s John Blackstone, “None here support Donald Trump, but Ana Reyes came looking for more reasons why Hillary Clinton deserved her vote.”
Reyes told Blackstone that she was hoping to hear more about Clinton’s plans for immigration reform. From there, the CBS reporter turned a rather surprising figure, “Pedro Trujillo is an undocumented immigrant who can't vote. His interest is in convincing others.” “I can knock on doors, call voters, remind them to go out and vote and to think of my family and think of me when they go out and cast their ballot in November,” Trujillo told Blackstone.
Blackstone noted that immigration was never brought up as a topic for discussion, neither by moderator Lester Holt nor the candidates themselves. But that didn’t stop Blackstone from showcasing the debate watchers’ disdain for Trump:
REYES: Donald Trump, again, you know, attacked the immigrants even though he didn't really say it, you know, too bluntly, as he usually does. But he, you know, still made a comment that the reason why a lot of, you know, crimes are still happening is because immigrants have guns.
TRUJILLO: Associating immigrants as gang members, right, like something horrible to say when he doesn't know the community.
CBS’s coverage from Philadelphia and Dallas was more balanced, with both Trump and Clinton supporter represented. They even highlighted a Trump supporter in Philly who poked fun and Clinton’s characterization of him. “I'm a deplorable, very deplorable. I'm a big Trump supporter,” John Sudzina joked with reporter Jericka Duncan.