Gibbs, On Fox News, Criticizes Fox For Showing Dance Reality Show Instead Of Obama's Speech (VIDEO)

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs appeared on "Fox & Friends," the Fox News morning show, to preview President Obama's speech to Congress tonight on health care reform. Gibbs ribbed the morning show hosts about the fact that Fox broadcast channel is choosing to run the dance reality show "So You Think You Can Dance?" instead of the President's speech.

"I do hope the viewers of FOX will find a way to watch this speech tonight," Gibbs said. "I know the network, instead of dealing with the reality of millions of people on health insurance reform have decided to show a reality show called 'So You Think You Can Dance?'"

The Fox News hosts defended their sister network's decision, noting that the Fox News channel would be carrying the speech live. Gibbs replied: "I do hope people will check in to the reality of what's going on in America rather than the distraction of a reality TV show."

WATCH:

For more from Gibbs about Obama's speech tonight, watch his interview with the "Today Show" below.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Send us tips! Write us at [e-mail] if you see any newsworthy or notable TV moments. Read more about our media monitoring project here and click here to join the Media Monitors team.

Comments

[SO12]

why would you chose to air the same program on three channel /

Fox News channel , Fox Business, and FOX Local .

so 33million watched the speech and there where poeple watching the weather channal ,MTV , and evey other network that didn't run the President ,so we just blast Foxes where they where running it on two channels already ?

I don't want to think I have talking heads to listen too

[JustMyWords]

If they didn't choose to run the show on 3 channels, why choose to leave out the broadcast channel and show it only on cable channels? FOX chose to televise the speech ONLY on channels that people have to pay to receive - and didn't televise it on the public airwaves.

[american-dolt]

FoxNews is the Most Un-American Institution in this Country, get the FUG OUT!

[yankees]

How were the ratings that night in that time slot? It's all about ratings and money.

[64mustanggirl]

Maybe they should have reran Octomom....now thats news according to Fox.

[ImissBush]

gibbs would b good on
so u think u

can dance

[jennylynn]

Presently, he thinks he can speak. UH, UH, UH...

[ThePantaloon]

Fox is NOT a news channel, so why would they follow the President's speech. We do object to what they aired, however; they should have run WHEN ANIMALS ATTACK #6:

http://www.thepantaloon.com/

[tierone]

Because that's what networks do. Broadcast live presidential addresses.

good grief! DUH!

[ThePantaloon]

Tierone, we didn't make our sarcasm clear enough: Fox NEWS is not a real news channel...

[thedaggerknows]

or, "So You Think You Can Pay For Health Insurance?"

[liberalOrgonian]

Fox fake news talking heads have become a Homeland Security RISK for this country.
Fox promotes hatred, distorts facts (lies), makes outrageous things up and invokes fear. The fox fake news encourage screamers to get out there and act crazy. They promote racism and encourage the death of our President. They seem hell bent to prove President Obama can't bring this county together.

We are not accustom ( during the bush/cheney years) hearing the truth from our President.

[Garybot]

Yeah - I'm sure you'll hear some, someday. Not from this admin, tho.

[berrycooda]

The speech was on c-span as well as most other programs.
If anyone really wanted to hear the speech, they could have taped it and still not missed the programs they want to watch.

I also taped it and watched it later..I slept thru most of it.
Didn't hear much new tho.

They will still be bickering over the content.
We still didn't hear any real details.
Why is Gibbs so upset that everything wasn't preempted for this speech. ?
Maybe everybody wasn't as interested as he thought they should be.

[jsgaetano]

Maybe it's an amusing contrast to the last eight years, where Fox preempted everything for every random collection of what passed for thought Bush had to inflict on the nation.

Ah, I still remember the day Bush used his position as president to make an attack ad "speech" against John Kerry, and forced it on all the networks. So "fair and balanced".

[Piatt]

Think part of our problem is that a lot of Americans confuse reality television with reality.

[thedaggerknows]

Most Fox viewers though would confuse television with reality.

[RODERICK098]

Fox should lose its broadcast licenece. Every other network carried this wonderful speech. Again is no one in the US upset that a right wing Australian is allowed to pervert the truth and try and influence American politics. How does Murdoch get away with it

[Noland]

You are not alone in your sentiment. I despise that man and what he has done to this country with that joke of a network and the maroons that work for him. He should be deported for crimes aginst our country.

[Servility]

Fox is not licensed by the FCC.

[JustMyWords]

Guess again. Fox News is not, but the Fox Network most certainly is.

[Dahun]

Fox has a business to run. they resposibly carried the speech on Fox News. Based on the fact that the most talked about part of the speech was a two word outburst from a congressman they made the right choice. Obama said nothing new. In my opinion he wasted a lot of capital with nothing to say.

[jsgaetano]

And Bush had something important to say... um... when?

[tierone]

REally? I'm guessing then that you didn't watch it. Shame.

[hanker1]

It is extremely difficult to have complete trust in Obama considering the controversy surrounding some of his comments/decisions. When he says he thinks wounded veterans should pay for medical care, when he rams through congress a health care reform bill ( 1000 plus pages) around midnight and expects congress to vote a 9:00 AM the next morning. When he decides that there will be no increases in SS income for the next 3 years and then increases the cost of Medicare. Taking away even more of a retired persons income. What is he, a profit? Why doesn't he and congress treat us fairly when it comes to SS and Medicare. I pay, against SS income, 6.7% tax on my monthly/yearly income. The working person pays 1.45%. Can we afford it more? I don't think so! So far I haven't heard one sound determination of how this is all going to be paid for. Will his work force (congress and the senate) take cuts, pay more or anything for health insurance and will they have their income frozen for the next 3 years? It's relatively easy for these kinds of people to dictate what the rest of us incur financially or the impact of bill they pass. They don't have to live with the results.

[47songs]

"he thinks wounded veterans should pay for medical care, when he rams through congress a health care reform bill ( 1000 plus pages) around midnight and expects congress to vote a 9:00 AM the next morning. "

You are obviously from the same planet that a woman in MA who started babbling about Obama's Hitlerish health care proposals is from. Please, come down to earth before you speak? No one can seriously debate factless retoric.

[Noland]

Booyah!

[tierone]

Hey, Dining Room Table, that bogus email has already been debunked.

Try another one.

[DevonTexas]

Hey Faux Channel knows it's viewers.

They would spend the whole speech waiting for the President to dance!

It would be too confusing to them.

[myworld]

lmfao!!!

[whosyourdaddy]

Most people could care less about watching some politician giving a speech about anything.
The president like every other bureaucrat will say one thing and then do as he pleases.

[toocoldout]

Not true. This president has integrity.

[EndangeredJackalope]

It's crazy that intelligent people in public service, have to talk to asinine dolts like these guys.