Posted on 07 July 2020
Mark this one down as a new low in CNN’s abominable race to the bottom in contemptuousness and repulsiveness. Minutes after political commentator Angela Rye dismissed Thomas Jefferson as no different than rapper R. Kelly, far-left hosts Chris “Fredo” Cuomo and Don Lemon dismissed, giggled about, and mocked the idea that there’s rising crime in major cities, including outbreaks of gun violence.
In other words, Cuomo and Lemon chose to cast as fake news the deadly gun violence that’s lead to the recent deaths of young African-Americans like Horace Lorenzo Anderson Jr., Davon McNeal, and Secoriea Turner in Seattle, Washington D.C., and Atlanta, respectively.
During the hand-off to Lemon’s CNN Tonight, the two were discussing hate charges being filed against a California man and woman for trying to paint over a Black Lives Matter street mural when Cuomo began making a broader point lumping together anyone and everyone who’s not fully invested with the BLM movement.
“[I]t all fits together, D. The lies about the pandemic. The lies about, you know, what this President will make happen the lies of those around him echo of support. Lies about what Black Lives Matter is about. It's all about creating division. And making, you know, in a country that is well over 70 percent white, if this happens, it is bad for you,” Cuomo opined, which served as an apt summary for CNN’s churlishness and juvenile operation.
Cuomo then invoked the Fox News Channel with the tiresome label of “State TV” and argued that FNC “literally say[s]” the things quoted above.
Lemon gleefully jumped in to condemn “the right-wing machine” and “media” as “kick[ing]” into action whenever there are negative polls released about President Trump.
After Cuomo added the President’s tweets about the Confederate flag, both Cuomo and Lemon lowered their voices as if to mockingly dismiss hypothetical statements made on FNC that, yes, included gun violence in major cities:
LEMON: “Democratic cities are in chaos right now. Is this what you want from Joe Biden? And they’re gonna take your country away. And they’re taking down the statues.”
CUOMO: “Crime is rising!”
LEMON: “Crime is rising!”
CUOMO: “Defund police.”
LEMON: “Oh my gosh! It’s so bad and they get defunding the police.” And it’s like --- [ROLLS EYES] And the people who you saw there for the most part --- not --- not them specifically. I’m talking about as a whole. Fall for it. They fall for it and that's why they do things like what they did. They want to paint over signs and think “it's our country.”
Huh. Let that serve as a reminder (alongside Lemon’s verbal tussle with Terry Crews on Monday night) that some crimes are less important than others to far too many of CNN personalities. If the death of a cherished child of God and hope of America can help Zuckerville promote its divisive ideology dividing the American people, so be it. If not, why not unleash a few chuckles?
With an assist from our friend Reagan Battalion (who tweeted those from KCBS, the New York Daily News, the first New York Times link, and WCBS), here are a few headlines from establishment media outlets about the rising gun violence to fact-check Chris and Don (click “expand”):
WTTW (PBS Chicago), June 8: Police: Total Crime Down in May, but Homicides, Shootings on the Rise in 2020
KCBS (CBS 2, Los Angeles), June 9: LAPD: Homicides Up 250% in First Week of June
New York Daily News, June 15: Murders continue to surge in NYC with 38 killings in the last four weeks
WVUE (Fox 8, New Orleans), June 16: New Orleans homicides increase this year compared to last despite quarantine
WCBS (CBS 2, New York), June 18: Latest NYPD Crime Statistics Show Increase in Murders, Shootings, Burglaries
New York Times, June 23: Gun Violence Spikes in N.Y.C., Intensifying Debate Over Policing
Seattle Business magazine, June issue: Downtown Seattle’s Rising Crime Rate Stings City’s Hospitality Sector
WREG-TV (CBS 3, Memphis), June 25: Memphis police director sounds alarm on rising crime numbers
Washington Post, June 26: Violence rises in Minneapolis, as debate over role of police rages
New York Post, July 2: Seattle sees 525 percent spike in crime thanks to CHOP: Mayor Durkan
New York Times, July 6: It’s Been ‘Such a Weird Year.’ That’s Also Reflected in Crime Statistics.
Washington Post, July 6: Major U.S. cities, gripped with crisis, now face spike in deadly shootings, including of children
WBBM (CBS 2, Chicago), July 6: Nearly 80 People Shot in Chicago, 15 of Them Killed, in July 4th Weekend Violence Since Late Friday
WCAU (NBC 10), July 6: At Least 7 Dead, 21 Hurt in 17 Separate Shootings During Violent Weekend in Philly
WLS-TV (ABC 7, Chicago), July 7: 19 shot, 4 fatally Monday in Chicago following violent July 4th weekend
Normally, we’d end with a quip about CNN’s inability to deal in reality, the facts above and ghoulishness from those two speak for themselves.
The following advertisers were but a sampling of those who provided financial support to Tuesday’s show that mocked deadly gun violence in our major cities: Amazon Prime, Clear Choice, Consumer Cellular, and Progressive. Follow the hyperlinks for contact information to inform these advertisers of what their money gave support to.
To see the relevant transcript from July 7’s CNN Tonight, click “expand.”
CNN Tonight with Don Lemon
July 7, 2020
10:01 p.m. Eastern
CHRIS CUOMO: And it all fits together, D. The lies about the pandemic. The lies about, you know, what this President will make happen the lies of those around him echo of support. Lies about what Black Lives Matter is about. It's all about creating division.
DON LEMON: Yeah.
CUOMO: And making, you know, in a country that is well over 70 percent white, if this happens, it is bad for you. They literally say it on State TV. It's coming for you next.
LEMON: Oh, yeah. Well, you --- you see the right-wing machine kick in --- media kick in and see Trump's poll numbers go south. They kick in with --- with --- uh ---
CUOMO: No position on the Confederate flag.
LEMON: --- yeah. [IMPERSONATING FOX NEWS HEADLINES] “Democratic cities are in chaos right now. Is this what you want from Joe Biden? And they’re gonna take your country away. And they’re taking down the statues.”
CUOMO: “Crime is rising!”
LEMON: “Crime is rising!”
CUOMO: “Defund police.”
LEMON: “Oh my gosh! It’s so bad and they get defunding the police.” And it’s like --- [ROLLS EYES] And the people who you saw there for the most part --- not --- not them specifically. I’m talking about as a whole. Fall for it. They fall for it and that's why they do things like what they did. They want to paint over signs and think it's our country. This is the country that we built even though a rich diversity of people helped build the country and many of us, meaning our ancestors, for free, did not get paid for it, couldn't get an education, could not build wealth, are not on statues --- Confederate or otherwise. They’re not on Mount Rushmore.