The Democrats’ star witness for President Trump’s first impeachment trial was back on television this morning to provide CNN more deranged commentary on the former president. New Day co-host Brianna Keilar helped Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman go off on Trump, blaming him for 600,000 dead Americans, left-wing riots, and America’s “slide toward authoritarianism."
These ravings were all part of CNN’s effort to sell Vindman’s new memoir about being an impeachment witness for House Democrats in November of 2019. Keilar started off the interview reading from Vindman’s book. The journalist was enthralled by Vindman calling the president his “adversary” and predicting he would be impeached:
Thinking of the president as an adversary, that's something. You consulted with your brother who is also on the national security council. You describe a situation where you told him that if this were to be public, it's something the president would be impeached for. Was that going through your mind at the moment you were listening to the call?
Showcasing how radically left CNN is, Keilar helped Vindman blame Republicans and President Trump for 600,000 Americans dying from coronavirus, and....left-wing riots?
KEILAR: He was acquitted. He goes on to promote the big lie, January 6th, based on the big lie happens. Do you think that that acquittal emboldened him to proceed as he did?
ALEXANDER VINDMAN: I do. I think he's an individual that tests -- that automatically tests boundaries and pushes as far as he can go. And the signals he received from his acquittal emboldened him going into management of the pandemic. I said it before, the president was -- believed he could about with impunity, he believed he could disregard all of the warning signs about an unfolding pandemic and his mismanagement resulted in needless deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. Certainly we could still have people dying because of pandemic, but it was the president's mismanagement. If he had been removed, if he had been censured, if he was on his back heels we would not have those kinds of casualties and wouldn't have had a second impeachment and wouldn't have riots in the streets that the president himself inflamed, we wouldn't have an insurrection. That's not just the failure of the president, that's a failure of the people that enabled the president.
CNN clearly knew this statement was coming. They immediately put up the crazy chyron, “VINDMAN: 600,000 WOULD STILL BE ALIVE IF SENATE CONVICTED TRUMP.”
He smeared Trump with this unknowable allegation on MSNBC yesterday as well. No pushback from Keilar, of course, for this completely off-the-rails accusation.
In fact, Vindman’s nutty statements were celebrated by CNN. Keilar fawned over his predictions Trump was a dictator leading the country into an authoritarian regime:
KEILAR: I was speaking with someone recently who has experience with the regimes that you have experience with, right, in your area of expertise with eastern Europe and with Russia. Authoritarian governments. And that person said that, you know, most Americans haven't seen those up close. So they don't necessarily recognize the hallmarks of them, in the Trump administration or they aren't alarmed by them, but that Americans don't see a slide toward it when it's happening. Do you think that there is a slide toward authoritarianism happening in the U.S.?
VINDMAN: Well without any doubt I can say a second Trump term would have put us on that trajectory, clearly on that trajectory...
Does CNN realize Trump isn’t president anymore? The cherry on top was Keilar’s final question to the partisan actor: “[Y]our future obviously has taken a very different course than you expected, but I wonder what it holds for you. Are you--would you consider running for office?
The buttered-up Vindman boasted how he’s been asked this before, and how he’s not “discounting that possibility” to do “some good.” Well CNN does have an embarrassing track record of propping up foes of the former president for political office.
CNN's neurotic obsession with blaming Trump for everything was paid for by advertisers Energizer and Liberty Mutual. Contact them at the Conservatives Fight Back page here.
Read the relevant transcript portion below:
CNN
New Day
8/4/21
BRIANNA KEILAR: You, looking here at the last two years, of course, you testified the president was impeached. He was acquitted. He goes on to promote the big lie, January 6th, based on the big lie happens. Do you think that that acquittal emboldened him to proceed as he did?
ALEXANDER VINDMAN: I do. I think he's an individual that tests -- that automatically tests boundaries and pushes as far as he can go. And the signals he received from his acquittal emboldened him going into management of the pandemic. I said it before, the president was -- believed he could about with impunity, he believed he could disregard all of the warning signs about an unfolding pandemic and his mismanagement resulted in needless deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. Certainly we could still have people dying because of pandemic, but it was the president's mismanagement. If he had been removed, if he had been censured, if he was on his back heels we would not have those kinds of casualties and wouldn't have had a second impeachment and wouldn't have riots in the streets that the president himself inflamed, we wouldn't have an insurrection. That's not just the failure of the president, that's a failure of the people that enabled the president.
[CNN graphic appears on screen: VINDMAN: 600,000 WOULD STILL BE ALIVE IF SENATE CONVICTED TRUMP]
KEILAR: I was speaking with someone recently who has experience with the regimes that you have experience with, right, in your area of expertise with eastern Europe and with Russia. Authoritarian governments. And that person said that, you know, most Americans haven't seen those up close. So they don't necessarily recognize the hallmarks of them, in the Trump administration or they aren't alarmed by them, but that Americans don't see a slide toward it when it's happening. Do you think that there is a slide toward authoritarianism happening in the U.S.?
VINDMAN: Well without any doubt I can say a second Trump term would have put us on that trajectory, clearly on that trajectory. Absent accountability for the misdeeds of the last administration, so that's the onus on the Biden administration to pursue accountability, we could be in the same weakened position moving forward into a different administration in the future, one that we might not be able to cope with. If Trump was ham handed and ineffective, the next wannabe tyrant, next wannabe authoritarian can be a lot more effective in undermining, in further undermining the good governance and we could find ourselves in a completely different country. Unfortunately, kind of country that I’ve had a lot of experience operating in and trying to help this country manage, that includes Russia.
KEILAR: Finally before I let you go, your future obviously has taken a very different course than you expected, but I wonder what it holds for you. Are you--would you consider running for office?
...
