ALISYN CAMEROTA (CO-HOST): Gentlemen, thanks so much for being here. You guys don't seem like the lowest form of life. And, you know, we joke about it because it's obviously laughable on some level, but I think that there does need to be a distinction drawn between the media, which some people lump all sorts of television shows and reality shows, and journalism. And journalism is not supposed to curry favor with any particular candidate. They're supposed to point out hypocrisy and everything else. Do you think the coverage of [Donald Trump] has been unfair, Brian?
BRIAN STELTER: Carl Bernstein says, “Journalism is the best obtainable version of the truth.” That line always sticks in my mind when I think about campaign coverage. I think reporters are trying to get to the best version of the truth with Donald Trump. And he is an especially hard candidate to cover. Sometimes there are missteps. And sometimes it does, I'll be the first to say, sometimes it does feel like there is a pile-on going on because we live in this world of saturation media coverage where everything gets hammered home ten times again and again. That said, there's some serious controversies to cover with this candidate. He's loose with the facts, he has a tendency toward conspiracy theories, and if he doesn't think we're going to hold him accountable, he has another thing coming.
BILL CARTER: Well, exactly. If you say something outrageous day after day after day, you can't then say you're not covering my opponent enough. He is making all the reasons for us to cover him very emphatic. We have to do it. What are we supposed to do? Not say, “Oh, that's a pretty outrageous thing for that guy to say”?
CHRIS CUOMO (CO-HOST): I think that his argument fails on every level of fact that you could apply to it. However, it may succeed, because what he is doing is what he does best. He is using a tactic.
