By: Sarah Cowgill
It is anyone’s guess why CNN is still on air. According to the people at Trump rallies, it sucks, and likewise the Nielsen ratings nearly scream it sucks but in fancier, statistician words. Is it the partisan environment? No, Fox is as conservative as CNN is radical left. On-air talent? Well that, my friends, may be the ticket.
CNN has been on a losing streak for some time. From Jim Acosta being divested of his White House press credentials, Don Lemon insulting “boomer rubes,” and Anderson Cooper displaying a weird man-crush on creepy porn lawyer Michael Avenatti, it’s a wonder the cable news station hasn’t shuttered the shades altogether. Apparently, now is the time for Jake Tapper to steal the show and shine.
Oh, AOC. Heavy Sigh
That socialist darling, the winsome lass who rocketed from bartender to congresswoman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), should come with a warning label: “I may say some wacky, totally made-up stuff on your show.” And she did exactly that, claiming President Trump and his administration called the Coronavirus a “hoax.” It must’ve sounded smart in her head as she went all in, reminding viewers of an event that hadn’t occurred: that the White House officially labeled the disease “a hoax.”
Her musings were nothing but a false narrative to cast additional loathing on Trump, but Tapper did not ask any clarifying follow-up questions of a guest not known for her public honesty or for that matter her intellect. The girl is afraid of her own garbage disposal, but let’s put her on prime-time news to talk about a virulent contagion.
The Tapper Bob And Weave
The glare of the hot spotlight had Twitter users lambasting dapper Tapper on why he didn’t do his fellow Journalism 101 students proud and root out the truth. Probably because he has never had a class in journalism. He has a degree in history and dabbled in cinematic arts. Who would have thunk it?
But Tapper has the anti-Trump rhetoric down pat and responded to critics via Twitter:
“I thought about [fact-checking], because the president did not call the virus a hoax. But I didn’t because he *did* call a hoax the concerns of those saying that the response from the president was insufficient and that he was downplaying the gravity of the crisis.”
Great piece of writing right there, Mr. Tapper, an admission of not bothering to correct your guest and a defense of not telling the truth. How does this network stay on the air? Apparently, he had the virtual shovel in hand and thumb-pecked another gem of an excuse:
“I guess that’s the problem with a politician who lies so often; while I agree that Democrats are mischaracterizing what he said, what he did say was also false so it’s tough to justify taking the time for a fact check when it’s not taking a stand defining the truth.”
The president, of course, is hellbent on discrediting CNN and any media outlet that runs with anonymous sources and outright mendacities. Trump recently snapped at NBC News journalist Peter Alexander for riding the wave of “sensationalism” when the public tunes in for facts and realities. As we have all heard, “If it bleeds it leads.” Sensationalism is good for ratings.
But just not for CNN. The “most trusted news” source has been hemorrhaging viewers since 2016 and is firmly anchored in the 14th spot in the Nielsens for cable television. By comparison, Fox News continues to climb and hold steady at number one with a million and half more viewers.
Perhaps it’s time to shake up the news desk at CNN, or just let them fade into oblivion. Do your job, talking heads. Tell the truth. Trump would enjoy that victory, and his deplorable rally crowds might possibly be silenced.
This was originally published on Liberty Nation.
The president described the disease as the “Democrats’ new hoax” at a political rally on Feb. 28 in South Carolina. If you want to quibble semantically, he didn’t call the virus a hoax directly but it’s pretty much the same thing.