ABC News announced [1] on Wednesday that journalist David Muir would be replacing Diane Sawyer as the anchor of World News in September. Muir has a history of fawning over "cool kid" Barack Obama and attacking conservatives. The Media Research Center has compiled a Profile in Bias of his worst examples of liberal bias.
On April 9, 2009 [2], Muir, then the World News weekend anchor, thrilled over pictures of pictures of Obama at the G-20 summit. The journalist enthused to George Stephanopoulos: "...Heads of state are seemingly trying to get close to the head of the class, or the cool kid in the class, if you will, President Obama." [MP3 audio here [3].] On January 20, 2009, inauguration day, Muir insisted that even traffic jams had been hushed: "So many of the streets are closed, those that are open are clogged. But there were no car horns, no shouting."
In contrast, Muir was almost gleeful as he recounted heckling that Mitt Romney endured in 2012 [4]:
David Muir: "They were at a polling place in Manchester, the governor and his wife, holding a baby. Very much an image you'd expect from the front-runner. But if you rewind the tape and play up the sound --"
Man's voice: "Are you going to fire the baby? Are you going to fire the baby?"
Muir: "Those shouts there, ‘Are you going to fire the baby?' These are words that are going to follow Mitt Romney beyond New Hampshire right into South Carolina."
— ABC's World News, January 10, 2012.
Some other examples:
"This morning, above the law? The President decides convicted White House official Scooter Libby should not go directly to jail. He's not going to jail at all. Was justice served?"
- Fill-in co-host David Muir opening ABC's Good Morning America, July 3, 2007.
"So many of the streets are closed, those that are open are clogged. But there were no car horns, no shouting. Instead, the San Francisco Boys and Girls choruses practicing for their Inaugural moment on the steps of the Capitol."
— ABC’s Muir talking about traffic tie-ups associated with Obama’s inauguration, January 19, 2009 World News.
"George, as we wrap up the week we wanted to take note of these images we've been looking at, particularly this one where other heads of state are seemingly trying to get close to the head of the class, or the cool kid in the class, if you will, President Obama."
— ABC anchor Muir, over a photo of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arm-in-arm with President Barack Obama during the G-20 group photo session, April 4, 2009 World News.
"This Occupy Wall Street movement is multiplying not only in cities across this country, but now around the world. Look at the images coming in tonight, spelling out the anger. This sign in New York, ‘The rich get bailed out, the poor get sold out.’”
— ABC anchor Muir on World News, October 9, 2011.
"The President marked quite a week in Washington. The oil, for now, is finally stopped, and on the political front, his financial reform package finally passed. So why such low poll numbers?"
— Fill-in anchor David Muir on ABC’s World News, July 16, 2010.
Muir takes over in September.
— Scott Whitlock is Senior News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Scott Whitlock on Twitter. [5]