Remember NBC News’ Dasha Burns? You might not, because as interviewers go, she’s not exactly Barbara Walters, but she did manage to find herself leading the news during the lead-up to the 2022 election.
The fireworks started when Burns secured the first major interview with now-Sen. John Fetterman following his debilitating stroke. To that point in the election cycle, Fetterman had been heavily protected by the press. Burns made the mistake of telling the truth, though. During a post-interview morning show hit, the journalist stated that Fetterman “had a hard time understanding our conversations.” That was made apparent by the actual clips, illustrating just how far gone the Pennsylvania senator was.
Instead of her colleagues rallying around her, Burns was faced with an onslaught of friendly fire accusing her of being “ableist” and chastizing her for simply telling the truth. John Fettermans’ wife also joined the fray, stating that she felt “rage” at the reporter and didn’t understand how there weren’t “consequences.” It was a truly surreal time and one that should have pushed Burns away from doing the left’s bidding and more toward being an honest broker.
Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, that’s not what happened. Instead, she’s seeking redemption, and her recent interview with Ron DeSantis served as the perfect vehicle for her to show she’s back in the fold.
Amidst a series of partisan edits by NBC News that highlight Burns’ political responses and cut off DeSantis’ answers, the topic of abortion was handled in mind-numbing fashion.
NBC’s Dasha Burns, pants on fire, telling @RonDeSantis that “[t]here’s no evidence of Democrats pushing for abortions up until” birth & “there’s no indication” they are “pushing for that.”
Let’s start with states. Colorado, Maine, & NY have expanded abortion access in recent yrs pic.twitter.com/Vw6vicOXfr
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 7, 2023
(Narration)
DESANTIS: So, we will be a pro-life president and we will support pro-life policies. I would not allow what a lot of the left wants to do, which is to override pro-life protections throughout the country, all the way up really until the moment of birth in some instances, which I think is infanticide.
BURNS: Well actually, I’ve got to push back on you on that because that’s a misrepresentation of what’s happening. 1.3 percent of abortions happen at 21 weeks or higher.
(Narration)
BURNS: There’s no evidence of Democrats pushing for abortion up until…
DESANTIS: Their view is that all the way up until that there should not be any legal protections.
BURNS: There is no indication of Democrats pushing for that.
(Narration)
Burns is just outright lying. Democrats have not only pushed for (and passed) state laws legalizing abortion up until birth, but national Democrats have also pushed legislation that would do the same thing at the federal level. Does Burns think we were all born last week? That we can’t remember any of that?
From Nancy Pelosi to Joe Biden to Gavin Newsom and Kathy Hochul, you can’t find a prominent Democrat who will advocate for any restrictions on abortion. Yet, Burns has the audacity to suggest that it’s a misrepresentation to say that Democrats are pushing for abortion up to birth. She’s lying, and she’s smart enough to know she’s lying.
Further, it’s grotesque to suggest that if only 1.3 percent of abortions happen to viable babies (a statistic we are simply asked to trust), that somehow makes legalized abortion during that period acceptable. Would she make that same argument about police shootings of black men given how statistically small the number is? Of course, she wouldn’t.
Burns is simply a bold-faced liar. There’s no other way to interpret what she says in those clips. DeSantis is telling the truth when he says that Democrats have pushed for no restrictions on abortion. For anyone to say otherwise is gaslighting of the highest order.
