On Friday night, Chelsea Clinton gave birth to her first child, Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky, and ABC and NBC predictably swooned over the event and hyped the impact this could have on Hillary Clinton’s political future.
During Sunday's Good Morning America's ABC’s Mara Schiavocampo gushed: “While America waits for Hillary’s decision if she'll run for President, a more important duty calls for now, diaper duty.”
On Saturday’s NBC Nightly News, reporter Kristen Welker offered up a dose of Clinton promotional airtime by declairing "It's a girl. Today the entire Clinton family tweeted out photos of their new addition. Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky. Hillary writing, “Bill and I are over the moon to be grandparents.” And mom Chelsea tweeting “at 7:03 P.M. on September 26th we finally met Charlotte. We’re in love.”
The NBC reporter then turned to liberal historian Michael Beschloss who eagerly declared “Chelsea Clinton has been famous, world famous since she was about 12 years old. So it's almost like the British royal family.”
Welker noted that Beschloss “tweeted out photos of past presidents and their grandchildren from FDR, to Truman and LBJ and says being a grandparent can help politicians of both parties connect to voters on the campaign trail.”
The NBC reporter never questioned why the liberal historian only tweeted out pictures of Democratic presidents with their grandchildren, and instead allowed him to proclaim “I think that allows Hillary Clinton to say even more, you know, I've been First Lady, I was a senator, I was Secretary of State, but like you I'm a grandparent too."
Over on ABC, Schiavocampo read off a flurry of tweets from the Clinton family announcing the birth of their granddaughter before she announced “Chelsea delivering at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, a go-to for high-profile mommas like Beyoncé. The family has been looking forward to this new journey for some time. Clinton telling George he has high hopes for his new heir.”
ABC and NBC weren’t the only networks to get in on the Clinton baby celebration. On Saturday morning, MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki advertised “the early word is that the baby will be eligible for the presidency in 2052 if you’re keeping score at home.” Last Tuesday, CNN’s Don Lemon told colleague Fareed Zakaria that the Clinton’s were America’s royal family:
DON LEMON: I saw he [Bill Clinton] was at the Clinton Global Initiative. The president was. And even he joking saying that if Chelsea Clinton went into labor, that she could have his motorcade. This is kind of our version -- any time a politician's daughter has a child, this is our version of a royal baby, correct?
FAREED ZAKARIA: Well, particularly the Clintons, it does feel like that. It feels like there will be a rollout.
See relevant transcripts below.
NBC Nightly News
September 27, 2014
LESTER HOLT: Big news tonight from the Clinton family. A new arrival as Chelsea Clinton, a former member of our NBC family, gave birth to her first child and her parents finally got to call themselves grandma and grandpa. As speculation grows about a Hillary Clinton run for the presidency, today's news could have a big impact. We get more on that tonight from NBC's Kristen Welker.
KRISTEN WELKER: It's a girl. Today the entire Clinton family tweeted out photos of their new addition. Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky. Hillary writing, “Bill and I are over the moon to be grandparents.” And mom Chelsea tweeting “at 7:03 P.M. on September 26th we finally met Charlotte. We’re in love.”
MICHAEL BESCHLOSS: Chelsea Clinton has been famous, world famous since she was about 12 years old. So it's almost like the British royal family.
WELKER: For the past several weeks the expectant grandparents have been brimming with excitement.
HILLARY CLINTON: First and most importantly, Bill and I are on constant grandchild watch.
WELKER: Historian Michael Beschloss tweeted out photos of past presidents and their grandchildren from FDR, to Truman and LBJ and says being a grandparent can help politicians of both parties connect to voters on the campaign trail.
BESCHLOSS: I think that allows Hillary Clinton to say even more, you know, I've been First Lady, I was a senator, I was Secretary of State, but like you I'm a grandparent too.
WELKER: The image of Hillary as a grandmother in waiting was first on display in April when Chelsea announced she was expecting.
CHELSEA CLINTON: I just hope I will be as good a mom to my child and hopefully children as my mom was to me.
WELKER: Political analysts say Clinton will likely consider her new role.
HILLARY CLINTON: I’m back!
WELKER: As she weighs whether to run for president in 2016.
STUART ROTHENBERG: I think there's no question but that she'll take into consideration the fact that her daughter now has a daughter in terms of her deciding how much time she wants to spend in public life versus private.
WELKER: For now the Clintons are celebrating the newest member of their family and publicly sharing the moment as Hillary ponders what her next role will be. Kristen Welker, NBC News, Washington.
ABC’s Good Morning America
September 28, 2014
8:05:53-8:08:36 [2 minutes 43 seconds]
PAULA FARIS: And now to the first photos of Bill and Hillary Clinton taken with their daughter Chelsea's newborn baby girl named Charlotte. The couple beaming over their brand-new titles, grandma and grandpa, and ABC’s Mara Schiavocampo has the very latest from Lenox Hill Hospital here in Manhattan. Good morning, Mara.
MARA SCHIAVOCAMPO: Good morning, Paula. You know, the Clintons have held a lot of titles, but this is definitely a first for them. The newest little Clinton is reportedly doing just fine. Her grandparents already tweeting about their excitement. You're looking at the first pictures of Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky, beaming new mom Chelsea Clinton tweeting out “at 7:03 P.M. on September 26th we finally met Charlotte. We're in love.” Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton gushing in their new role, grandparents, tweeting “@billclinton and I are over the moon to be grandparents. One of the happiest moments of our life.” And “Charlotte, your grandmother @hillaryclinton and I couldn't be happier.”
The political power couple telling ABC News in a statement “Chelsea is well and glowing, Marc is bursting with pride. Charlotte's life is off to a good start.” And this morning we're getting new details on the birth. Chelsea delivering at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, a go-to for high-profile mommas like Beyoncé. The family has been looking forward to this new journey for some time. Clinton telling George he has high hopes for his new heir.
BILL CLINTON: I want them to really love being alive, and when they grow up, I want them to believe they have certain obligations to people who don't have all the opportunities they'll have.
SCHIAVOCAMPO: But some wonder how being a grandma will change Hillary Clinton, if that's what the baby will call her.
ROBIN ROBERTS: Have you offered any names to Chelsea?
HILLARY CLINTON: No, I'm going to wait. I want this to kind of develop organically because I've talked to a lot of my friends who have preceded me into grandmotherhood and some of them have said I knew exactly whey wanted to be called and I had a hard time convincing the baby to call me that because he or she wanted to call me something else so I just want to see how this develops, but I could not be happier. This is something that I've looked forward to for a long time.
SCHIAVOCAMPO: And while America waits for Hillary’s decision if she'll run for president, a more important duty calls for now, diaper duty. Chelsea Clinton is already combining her commitment to certain social causes with motherhood. She’s devoted to elephant protection, and the baby reportedly has an elephant themed nursery. I'm sure it's very adorable. Dan.
DAN HARRIS: Got to love the elephants. Thanks, Mara.
— Jeffrey Meyer is a News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Jeffrey Meyer on Twitter. [1]