Near the end of Wednesday's New Day on CNN, during a segment about the top five stories on social media for 2015, co-host Chris Cuomo oddly declared that, "despite all the stats about Christian terrorists," if a "white kid" had brought a homemade clock to school, unlike a "brown" Muslim kid like Ahmed Mohamed, there would have been no assumption that it was actually a bomb.
The CNN host made no acknowledgement that the dismantled clock that Ahmed brought to school resembles what most people commonly believe a bomb would look like so that concerns about what it really was were not as far-fetched as what the dominant media made it appear.
At 8:52 a.m. ET, after CNN's Brian Stelter recalled the clock story, including President Barack Obama chiming in via Twitter, Cuomo posed the question:
This Ahmed story, do you think that ended up being a metaphor story about cultural feelings about Muslims in general? Do you think that was the breakdown? Because the facts didn't work in favor of going after the kid.
He soon added:
If it had been a white kid who brought in the clock, would you have assumed it was a bomb? The answer is no, right? I mean, you know, despite all the stats of Christian terrorists, nobody expects that. But when it's a brown kid who happens to be Muslim, in the country right now, there is a growing phobia.
Cuomo made no clarification of what "stats" about "Christian terrorists" he was referring to.
Below is a transcript of relevant portions of the Wednesday, December 23, New Day on CNN:
8:51 a.m.
BRIAN STELTER: Now, this is another example of a story that I think that you see it happen on a local level, might not have ever made national or international news before social media, but, as a result, this became internationally known. This student who took a homemade clock to school, then some people at school thought it might be a weapon, it might be a bomb, of course President Obama came out and stood with Ahmed, and the hashtag istandwithahmed became a trend for many days.
Again, this became a big, controversial story, it became politicized, but it's the kind of thing we probably wouldn't have ever heard of if it weren't for the ability of social media to make these stories light up.
(...)CHRIS CUOMO: This Ahmed story, do you think that ended up being a metaphor story about cultural feelings about Muslims in general? Do you think that was the breakdown? Because the facts didn't work in favor of going after the kid.
ALISYN CAMEROTA: Why not?
CUOMO: Because it was a clock.
CAMEROTA: Oh, no, I know that. I thought that the facts didn't work, that worked on the other side because it was a clock, so of course-
CUOMO: If it had been a white kid who brought in the clock, would you have assumed it was a bomb? The answer is no, right? I mean, you know, despite all the stats of Christian terrorists, nobody expects that. But when it's a brown kid who happens to be Muslim, in the country right now, there is a growing phobia. So how big do you think this story winds up being beyond the clicks?
STELTER: Right, I think this is something that we'll now hear about this, you know, this student, years down the road. People will check in and see how he's doing. There 'was talk about him maybe leaving the country, so there will continue to be curiosity about what happens to him. But, for the time being, a highly politicized story that all started in a local community.
