U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) and U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) talk ahead of a Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing for Jay Clayton, U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee to be Director of National Intelligence, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 15, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) criticized CBS News anchor Tony Dokoupil on-air after the network carried President Donald Trump's controversial speech, which NBC and ABC declined to broadcast.
Dokoupil was named the evening news anchor by MAGA-friendly CBS News head Bari Weiss.
When asked if anything Trump said was new, Warner instead criticized CBS for presenting the address as news rather than "a rehash of falsehoods."
Warner said, "As an American, not as an elected official, I was embarrassed that the president of the United States went before our whole country, and networks like yours carried this as news."
He emphasized that journalists must push back on falsehoods to protect democratic institutions.
Dokoupil defended CBS, "You are on the show right now giving it, and acting as though it’s not happening... we’ve been trying to buttress and fact-check and give context and analysis… throughout."
“Where would you like me to start on the level of falsehoods, you know, just incredible lies?” Warner responded.
Watch the video below.