On Thursday's New Day on CNN, before a debate with Tim Schmidt of the Concealed Carry Association over whether the Second Amendment is in danger, host Chris Cuomo tried to bolster Second Amendment critic and liberal former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens by claiming that he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan when, in reality, he was appointed by President Gerald Ford -- a Republican President known for being less than conservative and actually a primary opponent to the more conservative Reagan.
This bit of misinformation by Cuomo came on the heels of the CNN host the previous day wrongly claiming that former Justice Stevens had not called for a repeal of the Second Amendment -- which Cuomo had to correct later.
And, as is typically the case on CNN's New Day, gun rights supporter Schmidt was subjected to an actual debate whereas gun control supporters usually find their views received sympathetically by CNN hosts.
As Cuomo set up the segment, he recalled the views of some conservatives who fear that talk of gun control by liberals "is really about getting rid of the Second Amendment altogether," and read a tweet by President Donald Trump, before tying in Reagan to bolster Justice Stevens by adding:
The President is responding to someone who isn't a Democrat -- former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, who was actually appointed by a Republican President, Reagan, but he put out an op-ed saying that he thinks that repealing the Second Amendment will be the fastest way to legal change. And other people have echoed this sentiment as well, but is it real? Or it is a distraction to bringing people together to answer the fundamental question of: How do we stop these shootings?
In being dismissive of concerns that Second Amendment rights are endangered, Cuomo ignored the fact that Supreme Court cases like the Heller decision can be decided by a 5-4 margin illustrates that a liberal majority on the Court could indeed weaken Second Amendment rights.
After he brought aboard Schmidt, at one point the CNN host fretted over the treatment of some of the more outspoken liberal student activists as he pressed his guest on whether he supported the liberal teens being "demonized." Cuomo: "I've never seen people demonize kids like this who just lived through this. Do you endorse what they've been doing to these kids?"
A bit later, Cuomo pushed for several gun control items and complained about resistance from gun rights groups:
Waiting periods might make a difference. Universal background checks might make a difference because people find easier routes of access when they can. But we can't even get universal background checks done, and I don't understand that. Why?
He soon complained: "But you guys resist it, Tim, on your side of the ball. You say, 'Leave the gun shows out of it.'"
