Exactly twenty-four hours after CNN’s town hall with former President Donald Trump Wednesday night, CNN host Anderson Cooper responded to the unhinged leftist outrage that immediately spread on Twitter in the immediate aftermath of the town hall. Instead of trying to calm his left-wing audience down, Cooper poured gasoline on the fire during Thursday's AC360 by telling them they'd be right if they wanted to ditch CNN for good.
“Many of you have expressed deep anger and disappointment. Many of you are upset that someone who attempted to destroy our democracy was invited to sit on a stage in front of a crowd of Republican voters to answer questions, and predictably, continued to spew lie after lie after lie,” Cooper opened his show.
Adding: “I get it. It was disturbing. It was disturbing to see and hear that person refer to a black law enforcement officer as a thug, an adjective he used many times to describe black men and called Kaitlan Collins, the moderator nasty, which is what he calls any woman who stands up to him."
Cooper then explained that despite how much they hate Trump, it was necessary to hear what he had to say because he “is the front-runner for the Republican nomination for president. And according to polling, no other Republican is even close.”
Affirming the white-hot rage of his viewers, Cooper announced that they “have every right to be outraged today, and angry, and never watch this network again.”
He ended his opening statement by egging viewers on and proclaiming Trump’s lies can't go unchecked: “If you're angry or upset, I understand, but you have the power to do something about it. You can actually get involved. You can make a difference, whatever side of the aisle you're on. After last night, none of us can say I didn't know what's out there. I didn't know what's coming.”
Cooper's rant showed that CNN boss Chris Licht had a major problem on his hands as the on-air talent was seemingly attempting something of a mutiny. The Hill's media and politics columnist, Joe Concha urged for heads to roll at CNN once again, and not just Cooper's.
If I'm Licht, I fire Anderson Cooper tomorrow. And Tapper. And everyone else who is attempting to drive a mutiny. CNN will never move remotely to the middle until getting rid of the current talent who clearly has zero motivation to avoid being activists for the Democratic Party. https://t.co/TrTCztUoMA
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) May 12, 2023
CNN’s Anderson Cooper essentially calling for a mutiny was made possible by Downy. Their information is linked.
To read the transcript click “expand”:
CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360
5/11/2023
8:00:32 p.m. EasternANDERSON COOPER: Good evening. Before we begin with tonight's broadcast, I want to say something about what we witnessed at last night's town hall. Many of you have expressed deep anger and disappointment. Many of you are upset that someone who attempted to destroy our democracy was invited to sit on a stage in front of a crowd of Republican voters to answer questions, and predictably, continued to spew lie after lie after lie. And I get it. It was disturbing. It was disturbing to see and hear that person refer to a black law enforcement officer as a thug, an adjective he used many times to describe black men and called Kaitlan Collins, the moderator nasty, which is what he calls any woman who stands up to him. It was disturbing to hear him speak so highly of Qanon conspirators and insurrectionists who assaulted police officers and our democracy on January 6. And it was awful to hear him spread ridiculous lies about the election. And it was certainly disturbing to hear that audience young and old, our fellow citizens, people who love their kids and go to church, laugh and applaud his lies and his continued defamation of a woman who according to a jury of his peers, he sexually abused and defamed.
As good a job as Kaitlan Collins did trying to fact-check him, it is impossible to fact-check fully because he lies so shamelessly. Now many of you think CNN shouldn't have given him any platform to speak. And I understand the anger about that, giving him the audience, the time. I get that. But this is what also get. The man you were so disturbed to see and hear from last night, that man is the front-runner for the Republican nomination for president. And according to polling, no other Republican is even close. That man you were so upset to hear from last night, he may be President of the United States in less than two years. And that audience that upset you, that's a sampling of about half the country. They are your family members, your neighbors, and they are voting. And many said they're voting for him. Now maybe you haven't been paying attention to him since he left office. Maybe you've been enjoying not hearing from him thinking it can't happen again. Some investigation is going to stop him. Well, it hasn't so far.
So if last night showed anything, it showed it can happen again. It is happening again. He hasn't changed, and he is running hard. You have every right to be outraged today and angry and never watch this network again. But do you think staying in your silo and only listening to people you agree with is going to make that person go away? If we all only listen to those we agree with, it may actually do the opposite. If lies are allowed to go unchecked as imperfect as our ability to check them is on a stage in real-time, those lies continue, and those lies spread. If you're angry or upset, I understand, but you have the power to do something about it. You can actually get involved. You can make a difference, whatever side of the aisle you're on. After last night, none of us can say I didn't know what's out there. I didn't know what's coming.
