Disturbing and authoritarian tendencies were on full display during Wednesday’s NBC Nightly News, as anchor Lester Holt and reporter Gabe Gutierrez decried a gathering of mourning orthodox Jews in New York City recently. And despite cries of anti-Semitism against Mayor Bill de Blasio (D), the network suggested state and local governments had the “moral authority” to crackdown on public and private gatherings of any size.

“In the age of social distancing, it was a shocking sight. Thousands of mourners in Brooklyn at a rabbi's funeral,” Gutierrez exclaimed at the top of his report. “New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says he’s instructing the NYPD to cite or arrest anyone who disobeys a social distancing order.”

Arresting people for interacting was an unsettling concept for NBC to promote. Especially since they did it the same day video surfaced of Wisconsin police writing up a mother for letting her daughter visit the neighbor’s house.

After being appalled by homeless people seeking shelter on the New York City subway system, Gutierrez touted the state’s increased fines. “New York State recently raised the maximum fine to $1,000. Now, some towns in Massachusetts are doing the same for face coverings,” he said.

Gutierrez followed up by wondering: “What authority do these cities have to really enforce social distancing?” That question was directed to Obama-era CDC director, Tom Frieden, who cranked up the call for greater government control.

“The most important authority any community has is moral authority, understanding that by distancing not only are you protecting yourself but others, also,” he declared.

It was such an authoritarian view considering that, over the weekend, de Blasio was caught outside in a Brooklyn park, nowhere near where he lived and with many people around. A blatant case of ‘do as I say, not as I do.’ And earlier in the crisis, the Mayor was also caught visiting a YMCA after he had told people not to go to the gym.

If ambiguous “moral authority” was all that was needed, NBC may have been applying a double standard when it came to President Trump’s orders.

For two days, NBC Nightly News had been decrying Trump’s executive order under the Defense Production Act to supposedly forcing meat processing plants to stay open. A move intended to keep the food supply chain from breaking down, get relief to farmers, and keep Americans fed. But NBC had mostly scorn:

BLAYNE ALEXANDER: Smithfield and Tyson Foods are praising the President’s order. But many workers are not. (…) ALEXANDER: With more than 5,000 workers I'm packed by COVID-19, unions are demanding protections including more testing. EDGAR FIELDS (union rep): How much is a life worth as opposed to beef, pork, and chicken? That is the decision that we have to make because that worker makes it every day when they go to work.

What went unmentioned was how the order reportedly included protective equipment form the federal government.

The transcript is below, click "expand" to read: