‘Not Up to Us': New MSNBC Anchor Begs Colleagues Not to Whip Dem Votes

Nicholas Fondacaro | February 9, 2020
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***To read the full blog, please check out the complete post on NewsBusters***

During Sunday’s Meet the Press on NBC, newly hired MSNBC anchor Joshua Johnson (formerly with NPR) had a candid moment when he admitted the media took part in helping the DNC whip votes for Hillary Clinton in 2016, and implored his colleagues not to lobby for certain candidates in the 2020 Democratic primary.

Johnson’s truth bomb was dropped after moderator and NBC political director Chuck Todd lamented how each of the Democratic candidates had a “fatal flaw.” The first point Johnson sought to make was to recall how the Democratic National Committee threw their institutional bulk behind Clinton early in the process:

One of them is going to have to become the nominee. And I think one of the things that Democrats are going to remember from 2016 is this whole question of a narrative. I mean, that's exactly why a lot of Bernie Sanders supporters came out of 2016 ticked off, because they felt like the DNC told them, “No, no, no, you're kind of supporting the wrong person. You can vote for who you want, but shouldn't you be voting for--”

Going further, Johnson shifted to discussing what the media’s role was in 2016. “So, one of the things I'm interested in seeing in 2020 is, how much we will allow Democrats to make their own choice? The story of who the party is supposed to support is not up to us, it's up to Democrats.”

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