Posted on 31 August 2020
On Monday afternoon’s CNN Newsroom, host Brianna Keilar colluded with senior political reporter Nia-Malika Henderson, security correspondent Josh Campbell, and political director David Chalian to hype Joe Biden’s speech on violent protests and to lie about President Trump. Keiler called labeling Biden a socialist “a hard sell” and Campbell attacked Trump with the “fine people on both sides” lie.
Henderson began the Democratic campaigning by gushing that Biden was “fact-checking” Trump in his speech:
Yeah, you know, I -- I think in many ways this was a fact-checking from Joe Biden for many of the things that we have heard Donald Trump say over these last couple years. He talked, for instance, about fracking, and Joe Biden not being against fracking in the way that Donald Trump has said he is. He also, I thought, expanded the topic beyond criminal justice and beyond what we're seeing in places like Kenosha, places like Portland as well. He basically talked about the ACA, American -- the -- the Affordable Care Act, he talked about Social Security, he also talked about crime.
She then praised Biden for lying about his platform:
Another key thing he said in this, which was you know me, you know my heart. Do I look like someone who is going to be captive of radical socialists? Do I look like somebody who's going to back up looters? So I thought that was an important phrase as well[.]
Never mind that Biden failed to condemn violence committed by Black Lives Matter and Antifa.
Keilar added to the falsehoods about Biden’s policy intentions by claiming that labeling Biden a socialist “is a hard sell.”
It’s not “a hard sell” when one examines Biden’s platform. Biden created his policy platform with the help of far-left, communism-loving Bernie Sanders. Sanders even said that Biden might be the “most progressive president since FDR.”
Among many radical proposals, Biden plans to spend $2 trillion on fighting climate change, transition all Americans to electric cars by 2035, and to raise taxes by $4 trillion. Biden also said that the police have “become the enemy.” He endorses a $15 minimum wage, studying reparations for slavery, providing two years of free college, ending offshore drilling, a buyback program for assault weapons, a national firearm registry, and expanding ObamaCare.
Keilar then bashed Trump with CNN security correspondent, former Jim Comey aide and Andrew McCabe stooge Josh Campbell:
KEILAR: And that's really a contrast that we're seeing, Josh, and one that the former vice president is trying to draw, right? Is he is condemning violence, saying rioting is not protesting, looting is not protesting, going on to say it's lawlessness plain and simple but when it comes to armed militias, you see the White House sidestepping any sort of condemnation.
CAMPBELL: That's right. And often times, what is left unsaid is just as important as what is said. And you know, we've seen this President, there's a pattern of failing to come out and publicly condemn certain elements that, you know, political experts, law enforcement experts tell us make up a part of his base. And that includes white supremacists, we haven't heard the President come out and forcefully condemn white supremacy. We haven't heard the White House come out and publicly condemn this fringe anti-Semitic, just really disgusting group QAnon, which believes a lot of really terrible things
Campbell also attacked Trump with the Charlottesville “fine people" lie:
Obviously, we know about the events in Charlottesville there, with this -- you know, the white supremacists that were involved in violence and you know, the death of a protestor, the President's, you know famous comments now, talking about very fine people on both sides. So this has been the pattern.
Never mind that Trump explicitly condemned the white supremacists in Charlottesville.
Chalian joined the hackery by claiming that Trump has refused to denounce extremism for political purposes:
You know, this has been a question, I think, about Donald Trump not just in -- in the recent days, Brianna, but throughout the course of -- of his presidency at times. And there is no real good answer except that he must think that condemning some of these people and actions somehow will hurt his standing in the polls, or his popularity. That somehow he would be turning people off who would be otherwise, you know, aligned with him.
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Read the full August 31st transcript here:
CNN Newsroom
08/31/20
2:07 p.m.
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON (CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER): Yeah, you know, I -- I think in many ways this was a fact-checking from Joe Biden for many of the things that we have heard Donald Trump say over these last couple years. He talked, for instance, about fracking, and Joe Biden not being against fracking in the way that Donald Trump has said he is. He also, I thought, expanded the topic beyond criminal justice and beyond what we're seeing in places like Kenosha, places like Portland as well. He basically talked about the ACA, American -- the -- the Affordable Care Act, he talked about Social Security, he also talked about crime. He also talked about soldiers not necessarily feeling like they're safe either in -- in the theaters of war. So -- so I thought in that way, he -- he really expanded it and said none of this will be safe, the economy's not safe in Joe Biden’s -- in -- in Donald Trump's America. Your Social Security isn't going to be safe in Donald Trump's America. You could also tell that he was specifically at one point in his speech reaching out to Catholic voters, citing John -- Pope John Paul II who's one of, I think, probably the most beloved Pope, particularly among older Catholics because you saw in -- in last week, you saw Donald Trump use Lou Holtz to go after Joe Biden's Catholic faith. So I think in -- in that way, you see in these Midwestern states particularly, there are older, white Catholics who might find some affinity for Joe Biden because he's a Catholic as well, so I thought that was really telling. And -- and also, I think we know that Joe Biden thinks he had to make this speech because of where Donald Trump has been over these last couple of days with that convention, not necessarily changing minds but certainly setting this frame. Another key thing he said in this, which was you know me, you know my heart. Do I look like someone who is going to be captive of radical socialists? Do I look like somebody who's going to back up looters? So I thought that was an important phrase as well for -- for this candidate, who at -- at this point seems to be leading in the polls but we know they're going to tighten, and you know he's got to get out there and put his messaging out there, reminding American voters this is Donald Trump's America, do you feel safe right now?
BRIANNA KEILAR: Yeah, it seemed like he was checking some very important boxes, right? Very vociferous in condemning violence, insisting that he's not a socialist, which that's not really considering his record a hard sell, but certainly it's a label that President Trump has tried to put on him and he's very concerned obviously that that might stick or be concerning to some voters. And then asking people essentially, do they really feel less afraid with President Trump in power when they look at how, for instance, American troops with bounties on their head, with the Taliban by Russia and the President has not condemned that. In fact, the White House has largely not really dealt with that. I do want to bring in Josh Campbell, who is in Portland. And, Josh, let's listen. Just moments ago at the White House, where they're refusing to condemn armed militias.
(Cuts to video)
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Why hasn't the President just said Americans shouldn't be taking their own weapons to try to protect buildings and condemning the idea of people kind of deputizing themselves? Or maybe does the White House believe that citizens should stop showing up to cities, especially the ones they don’t live in, to have guns to protect buildings?
MCENANY: This White House believes our police should be fully funded. We should have more police rather than less. We shouldn’t criticize our police because it is our police officers ---
[INAUDIBLE ALCINDOR]
MCENANY: --- who are responsible for taking to the streets and protecting us. And when they’re called cancers by Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, when they’re compared to the KKK by a current sitting vice presidential candidate, it's appalling, it's despicable, we need to protect our police officers because they should be the ones out there patrolling the streets.
(Cuts to live)
KEILAR: And that's really a contrast that we're seeing, Josh, and one that the former vice president is trying to draw, right? Is he is condemning violence, saying rioting is not protesting, looting is not protesting, going on to say it's lawlessness plain and simple but when it comes to armed militias, you see the White House sidestepping any sort of condemnation.
JOSH CAMPBELL (CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT): That's right. And often times, what is left unsaid is just as important as what is said. And you know, we've seen this President, there's a pattern of failing to come out and publicly condemn certain elements that, you know, political experts, law enforcement experts tell us make up a part of his base. And that includes white supremacists, we haven't heard the President come out and forcefully condemn white supremacy. We haven't heard the White House come out and publicly condemn this fringe anti-Semitic, just really disgusting group QAnon, which believes a lot of really terrible things. But yet you see the President come out, time again, and what does he condemn? He condemns cities like Portland, Oregon that are run largely by Democrats. And so you know, I think what the -- what the point that former Vice President Joe Biden was trying to make there is that, you know, the President is a president of all the people, and I think that would include public safety threats throughout the nation. You can't have a president that's picking and choosing threats that he or she want to condemn. And the failure to actually come out and say as much, I think, can often be telling. But yet that is a pattern that we've seen. I'll note that this goes back even before President Trump actually took office. Obviously, we know about the events in Charlottesville there, with this -- you know, the white supremacists that were involved in violence and you know, the death of a protestor, the President's, you know famous comments now, talking about very fine people on both sides. So this has been the pattern and I think that, you know, you talk to public safety experts, a lot of these groups now feel emboldened because when you have the most powerful person in the world who's failing to come out and slam them and to push them back into those dark places, they now feel like they can come out in the light of day and spread a lot of this vitriol. And you know, whether the President believes what they're saying or not, that's separate. But he's not using the power of his office to really come out and forcibly condemn a lot of these groups.
KEILAR: I want to ask David Chalian about that. I mean, David, why are we in this place where President Trump will not condemn armed extremists and I mean, you hear Joe Biden coming out and he is condemning the violence and there seems to be, from the Trump camp, this -- they're trying to create this idea that actually Joe Biden sanctions the violence. He's trying to make it very clear that he does not. Why can President Trump not condemn this extremism?
DAVID CHALIAN (CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR): You know, this has been a question, I think, about Donald Trump not just in -- in the recent days, Brianna, but throughout the course of -- of his presidency at times. And there is no real good answer except that he must think that condemning some of these people and actions somehow will hurt his standing in the polls, or his popularity. That somehow he would be turning people off who would be otherwise, you know, aligned with him. Because we've seen everything that the President does is sort of in that context. And we have seen when he wants to go and condemn something, he has no problem doing it. But he doesn't -- I mean, even -- don't even -- go away from violence for a second. Take a look at his recent question about QAnon, these conspiracy theorists. And -- and -- and he was asked about it and he said, well, you know, I hear that they like me. And is that a bad thing? I -- he -- he doesn't want -- no matter from where they come, if somebody is aligning themselves with him or supporting him in some way, he really is reluctant to say anything that might turn them off.