On Monday morning, CNN and MSNBC missed an easy lay-up that would have reinforced their love for America and our military. Instead, they refused to carry live the public portion of a White House event honoring Conan, the Belgian Malinois dog who became famous for their heroism during the October 26 raid that killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

In CNN’s case, the Jeffrey Zucker-led network’s hatred for Trump led them to not even acknowledge that the event took place during Inside Politics and since then (as of this blog’s publication).

And for MSNBC, there was a 34-second brief before a pivot back to the only story that matters to the press, which is removing President Trump from office. Here was MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell during her eponymous show (click “expand”):

And that's the President and First Lady with Conan and of course the Vice President. Conan is a Belgian Malinois. He is the hero dog from the Baghdadi takedown. His name was declassified by the president. Also gave some interesting details about that raid, none of which were confirmed by military officials, such as the alleged screaming of Baghdadi when he was taken down and captured. If the President takes questions about impeachment, we'll return to this, but there is Conan, who’s been given a plaque and a medal today at the white house. And for now, we’ll talk about the impeachment hearings.

Earth to the news media: It’s not Trump propaganda or caving in any way to dip in for one, two, or even five minutes to honor this heroic dog. Once again, CNN and MSNBC need to be reminded to not be holed up in their little worlds sniffing their own glue.

If the broadcast network newscasts can engage in a juggling act, CNN and MSNBC can too. Trust me, Jeff, it won’t kill you. Trust me, Phil Griffin, because covering Conan wouldn’t have resulted in anyone spontaneously combusting.

The Fox News Channel’s Outnumbered didn’t see this as unimportant and some evil plot to change the day’s top stories. Instead, they carried most of the appearance, which featured Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and Vice President Mike Pence.

Here’s a portion of what the President told reporters in the Rose Garden (click “expand”):

He’s trained and if you open your mouths, you will be attacked. You want to be very, very careful, but Conan came over from the Middle East and just arrived with some of the great people from the special forces that did the incredible, flaw — it was a flawless attack and al-Baghdadi is gone. But that was a flawless attack and I just a met quite a few of them and we just gave him a metal and a plaque. And it’s really — and I think Conan knew exactly what was going on. But a dog that is very, very special....We spent some good time with it. So brilliant, so smart. The way it was with the special forces people that have worked with him, for obvious reasons that can't be out in front of the media. But they did a fantastic job. Conan did a fantastic job and we’re very honored to have Conan here and to have given Conan a certificate and an award that we’re going to put up in the White House. (....) Conan is not retiring yet, Conan is prime time. Age-wise, primetime. I asked them, about six years like an athlete. Six years. They start, they like to get them at one and a half or two years old and they go for about six years from that time....[T]hey’re very special dogs. They’re very hard to get, this particular dog is — this is the ultimate fighter, the ultimate everything. Ultimate in terms of sniffing drugs. We have — we spent a tremendous amount of money on drug equipment at the border and I was talking to the people I said, is there anything better than this equipment? No, sir. The only thing better is a dog, this type of dog exactly because it's a certain type of dog and it's pretty amazing.

As co-host Kennedy pointed out afterward, the President does have a number of negative headlines out there swirling in the news cycle, but she didn’t take issue with Conan having a place in the spotlight.

If CNN and MSNBC wanted to show their appreciation for a pivotal figure in the al-Baghdadi raid and those brave special forces, perhaps they would have spared a few minutes. Unfortunately, hating Fox News, the Republican Party, and Trump have proven to be full-time jobs.

Or who knows, maybe it’s because they agree with these three clowns:

Editor's Note: This piece has been updated to include one of CNN political commentator Joan Walsh's remarkably bad takes about Conan's visit.

To see the relevant transcript from FNC’s Outnumbered on November 25, click “expand.”