Liberals lash out at Lauer, NBC

Democrats and Hillary Clinton allies are less than thrilled with Wednesday's Commander-In-Chief Forum, hosted by Matt Lauer on NBC.

At an event that saw both Clinton and conservative challenger Donald Trump challenged on their stances toward national defense and foreign policy, liberal operatives and Clinton supporters took exception to what they perceived as unbalanced questions, criticizing Lauer for failing to push back on false statements by Trump and for spending a significant amount of time on Clinton's email scandal.


During the forum, reporters openly fact-checked Trump's false claim that he opposed the decision to go into Iraq prior to the invasion, an argument he has repeatedly made on the campaign trail. Liberal figures pounced on the omission, ripping NBC for devoting so much time to Clinton's controversies instead.

Clinton campaign press secretary Brian Fallon criticized the forum for letting lies by Trump go "unchecked."

At least Hillary Clinton prebutted him on this lie, or else it would go unchecked.https://t.co/AtbLx9ijxr — Brian Fallon (@brianefallon) September 8, 2016





Correct the Record executive director Isaac Wright blasted NBC for fact-checking Trump's Iraq claim online but not during the forum.

Too bad they didn’t when HE WAS BEING INTERVIEWED: NBC News: “Fact-Checking Trump on His Support for the Iraq War”https://t.co/fULjsfASz7 — Isaac Wright (@Izac_Wright) September 8, 2016





ThinkProgress editor Judd Legum rated Lauer's assessment of the evening as a "success" as a "pants on fire" lie.

Lauer says the night was a "success" Fact check: Pants on fire — Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) September 8, 2016





CNN pundit and pro-Clinton super-PAC adviser Paul Begala quipped that Lauer's interest in Trump's past controversial statements might have been higher had they been sent in email form.

If only Trump had attacked that Gold Star family in an email, then it would be newsworthy to Lauer. https://t.co/TYMMq3qqXQ — Paul Begala (@PaulBegala) September 8, 2016





Matthew Gertz, research director for the liberal media watchdog group Media Matters, criticized the forum for not focusing on policy, adding, "Maybe if Matt Lauer hadn't spent 13 minutes on emails there'd be more time for ISIS."

Maybe if Matt Lauer hadn't spent 13 minutes on emails there'd be more time for ISIS. https://t.co/etCoYOiL28 — Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) September 8, 2016





Priorities USA co-director Guy Cecil called NBC's fixation with the Clinton email controversy a "waste of time."

I take no issue with asking Hillary tough questions, but with all of the global challenges, this is a waste of time. https://t.co/0Yc9IecCBo — Guy Cecil (@guycecil) September 8, 2016



