MSNBC’s Mitchell apologizes for sharing ‘editorial speech’ after accusing Trump WH of pressuring FDA

MSNBC presenter Andrea Mitchell offered a rare admission and apology for what she described as her “editorial speech” on the apparent tensions between Trump’s White House and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over the matter approval of a vaccine against the coronavirus.

As Pfizer and Moderna announced they would seek emergency clearance from the FDA to distribute their vaccines, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn was summoned to the White House on Tuesday in what appears to have been an effort to accelerate vaccine approval.

During a panel discussion, Mitchell suggested she was dismayed at what she described as the “improper political pressure” the White House was pushing on the commissioner.

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“You have Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff calling FDA commissioner Steve Hahn, Dr. Hahn, calling him on the mat. What is it?” Mitchell asked. “The deployment of Pfizer and its authorization seems to be an improper political pressure on scientists.”

NBC News White House correspondent Kristen Welker responded by reiterating the “question” that Meadows and President Trump had, which is why the approval of Pfizer’s vaccine has not been faster by the FDA and suspected that the meeting between the White House and Hahn was “tense.”

Mitchell continued to hit the Trump administration more, telling the panel “you’d think … they’d understand that markets are increasing with vaccine production and licensing precisely because scientists are in charge and scientists are delivering. . “

“People are suspicious and need reassurance, they don’t need to see former members of Congress, White House chiefs of staff are lobbying scientists who are eminent doctors” , the longtime NBC correspondent said.

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She then took a moment to recognize how well she was writing up her vaccine cover.

“I’m sorry,” Mitchell paused before offering a small laugh as he concluded the discussion. “That was my editorial pitch.”

While it was common in Trump’s time for so-called straight press journalists to ring against the current administration, it is rare for any of them to acknowledge every time they project their opinions into their papers. reports. Mitchell was not so outspoken about her coverage in September when reporting on the Abrahamic Accords that were signed by Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which she said “is not peace in the Middle East “.

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“With pomp and circumstance, the president announces the first Arab nations to recognize Israel since 1994,” Mitchell reported on NBC. “The two countries have been dealing quietly with Israel for years, sharing intelligence against Iran, a common enemy.”

She continued, “But today’s agreements open the doors to trade, travel and tourism. But it’s not peace in the Middle East,” later describing how the Palestinians were “abandoned by their Arab neighbors “and how they found themselves” powerless to do anything other than protest. “