ABC & NBC Seize on Palin 'Sparking New Controversy' in 'Feud' With PETA

On Monday, both ABC's Good Morning America and NBC's Today hyped a supposed "controversy" between Sarah Palin and radical animal rights group PETA, after Palin shared a touching photo of her Down Syndrome son using his service dog as a step stool to reach the kitchen sink.

During a news brief on GMA, anchor Amy Robach announced: "Sarah Palin sparking new controversy, this time among animal lovers. Reaction has erupted on social media when Palin posted this photo of her 6-year-old son standing on top of their dog."

Today featured a full two and half minute report on the uproar, with co-host Matt Lauer proclaiming: "Sarah Palin is back in the spotlight once again, now responding to some criticism over a controversial photo of her son, Trig, standing on the family dog."

Moments later, correspondent Peter Alexander explained:

The feud was sparked by these photos that Palin posted last week of her 6-year-old son, Trig, who has Down Syndrome, stepping on the family dog to reach the kitchen sink....A day later, PETA pounced, insisting Palin had "no apparent sympathy for the dog" and that the animal rights group "is used to the hard-hearted seeming obliviousness of this bizarrely callous woman."

Unlike GMA, Today at least took the time to detail Palin's strong pushback against PETA:

Once John McCain's vice presidential attack dog, Sarah Palin sank her teeth into PETA this weekend, "At least Trig didn't eat the dog," she wrote, a reference to President Obama's admission that he tried dog meat as a child in Indonesia. "Did you go as crazy when your heroic Man-of-Your-Lifetime, Barack Obama, revealed he actually enjoyed eating dead dog meat?" And highlighting this photo of another child stepping on a dog posted by the group's past woman of the year, Ellen DeGeneres's show, last summer. "Did you get all wee-wee'd up when she posted this sweet picture?"

Wrapping up the segment, Alexander touted more anti-Palin bile from the organization: "In a statement to NBC News, PETA said Palin's response shows, quote, 'She knows PETA about as well as she knows geography,' before going on to wish the Palins a peaceful and humane 2015."

Here is a full transcript of Alexander's January 5 report:

7:15 AM ET

MATT LAUER: Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is back in the spotlight once again, now responding to some criticism over a controversial photo of her son, Trig, standing on the family dog. NBC national correspondent Peter Alexander fills us in on the rest of this story. Peter, good morning.

[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Palin vs. PETA; Former Gov. Fights Back Over Photo of Dog and Son]

PETER ALEXANDER: Hey, Matt, good morning to you. Sarah Palin and animal rights groups, as you know, have certainly had their differences in the past, but after Palin posted photos of Trig getting a leg up, as it were, with the help from the family dog, she and PETA got into it again, with Palin this time accusing the group of hypocrisy and taking a swipe at the President in the process.

Sarah Palin is biting back with a message for PETA, "Chill." The feud was sparked by these photos that Palin posted last week of her 6-year-old son, Trig, who has Down Syndrome, stepping on the family dog to reach the kitchen sink. Palin's New Year's Day message read, "May 2015 see every stumbling block turned into a stepping stone on the path forward." A day later, PETA pounced, insisting Palin had "no apparent sympathy for the dog" and that the animal rights group "is used to the hard-hearted seeming obliviousness of this bizarrely callous woman."

SARAH PALIN: They say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull – lipstick.

ALEXANDER: Once John McCain's vice presidential attack dog, Sarah Palin sank her teeth into PETA this weekend, "At least Trig didn't eat the dog," she wrote, a reference to President Obama's admission that he tried dog meat as a child in Indonesia. "Did you go as crazy when your heroic Man-of-Your-Lifetime, Barack Obama, revealed he actually enjoyed eating dead dog meat?" And highlighting this photo of another child stepping on a dog posted by the group's past woman of the year, Ellen DeGeneres's show, last summer. "Did you get all wee-wee'd up when she posted this sweet picture?"

Palin, who adopted the service dog for Trig last summer, has been upfront about the challenges raising a child with special needs.

PALIN: When we hold Trig and when we care for him, we don't feel scared anymore, we truly feel blessed.

ALEXANDER: Still, Palin called PETA's criticism, "a shame," because as she wrote, "I'll bet we agree on what I hope is the true meaning of your mission – respecting God's creation and critters."

In a statement to NBC News, PETA said Palin's response shows, quote, "She knows PETA about as well as she knows geography," before going on to wish the Palins a peaceful and humane 2015. Matt, by the way, we checked, Palin's original Facebook post, the one with Trig stepping on the dog, now has more than 70,000 likes.

LAUER: Alright, Peter Alexander. Peter, thanks very much. By the way, you can read Sarah Palin's full statement on our website, Today.com.