CNN’s morning show New Day spent two segments today whining about the anti-Biden “Let’s Go Brandon” joke trend often heard at sports stadiums across the country. Despite delighting in foul outbursts from Democrats about President Trump, CNN pretended to be bothered by expletives, because they were directed at a Democratic president.
During the 6am hour, co-hosts Brianna Keilar and John Berman were joined by Maggie Haberman of the New York Times to meltdown over the phrase craze. South Carolina Congressman Jeff Duncan was photographed wearing a “Let’s go Brandon” mask and the liberal journalists couldn’t handle it.
Co-host Brianna Keilar complained, “You have a member of the House wearing this on the floor!”
Trump-obsessed Maggie Haberman of course blamed the former president for this foul trend. She whined that Republicans were in Congress to “troll” instead of legislate. If Duncan was a Democrat wearing a mask attacking Trump you can bet CNN would be fawning over it:
I think it's a, a natural evolution from where we've been going over most of this past year, which has been basically, you know, whatever committee the Biden folks hoped was going to be there in Congress, you know, hoping that the fever, quote, unquote, as they put it, was going to break after Trump was not going to break. That Trump has these die-hard supporters, and there are people who, frankly, are not in Congress at this point to legislate. They're in Congress to troll. And they're in Congress to get attention, and they're in Congress to, to, you know, basically attack and not to do something that involves working with other lawmakers. And, and that's what you see.
I mean, this is not -- there's nothing serious about this. This is literally done so that he will get attention. And it's working. It's just that it involves being on the House floor, which once upon a time was supposed to be something more of a, a respected space, and a space that was treated differently. And as we saw on January 6th, there are plenty of people who don't see it that way.
Berman and Haberman again emphasized how horrible it was that a “sitting congressman” was wearing such a mask. Haberman concluded by claiming past instances of vulgarity were “different”:
I mean, look, I also don't want to pretend that cursing has never happened before, but it's, but it’s the way in which it's being done. It's the fact that this is being done on the House floor. It's the fact that it's taking place, these chants, at events that Biden isn't even at. They're just kind of popping up.
By “different”, Haberman means they were directed at people the media doesn’t like, so it's okay.
Again during the 8am hour, the co-hosts had a whine-fest over the silly joke.
This time CNN political commentator John Avlon joined in to lecture the trend as unpatriotic. Avlon bragged about how he scolded a man on the beach with a “F-Biden” sign.
This chant is getting mainstreamed. I went to the beach the other day with my kids. There was a guy with his jeep parked on the beach with a flag flying that says 'F Joe Biden.' I walked by and I shook my head. I said 'look there are kids here.' He said ‘what it is man? It’s a free country last time I checked.’ The mainstreaming of chant that is actually about F the president of the United States is not patriotic. It is trollish. There is absolute free speech, folks can do what they want. When members of congress are bringing in that kind of language, you can't then repair and talk about the need for civility and respecting a president when he's from your party.
Mara Schiavocampo blamed the trend on President Trump. "There are so many examples of things that in a pre-Trump world would have outraged anybody," she argued. Keilar ended the discussion complaining that it was "just so gross."
You just have to laugh at CNN’s fake outrage. Where was CNN when a “sitting congress[wo]man” Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat, shouted, “We're gonna impeach the motherf***er!,” in reference to then-President Trump. Oh right, they didn’t care. Actually, CNN tried to dismiss the controversy. In her first TV interview, Erin Burnett asked, “I mean, it's been nearly a week since you made those remarks. Are you surprised it is still being talked about so much?” Burnett even had sympathy, acknowledging the Democrat was “caught up in the moment.”
Here’s another instance of CNN’s hypocrisy. When Democrat Juli Briskman flipped off Trump’s motorcade, CNN was amused by it. Briskman used her five minutes of fame to run for -- and win -- an office in Loudoun County, VA, which CNN hyped too.
More recently, CNN only had admiration for a teenager who flipped off parents protesting mask mandates at her school.
How interesting that CNN only expects “civility” from Republicans.
Amazon sponsors New Day, whom you can contact at the Conservatives Fight Back page linked.
Read the transcripts below:
CNN New Day
10/26/21
6:22:39 AM
BRIANNA KEILAR: Let's check out something that we saw on the House floor, which is a Republican member of Congress wearing a mask that says, "Let's go, Brandon." This is South Carolina Congressman Jeff Duncan. And for the uninitiated, this stems from a crowd at a NASCAR race yelling, "'F' Joe Biden," but it was during the speech of the winner, Brandon Brown. And a commentator thought that the crowd was saying, "Let's go, Brandon." So this is really just a substitute for "'F' Joe Biden." And you have a member of the House wearing this on the floor.
MAGGIE HABERMAN: I think it's a, a natural evolution from where we've been going over most of this past year, which has been basically, you know, whatever comittee the Biden folks hoped was going to be there in Congress, you know, hoping that the fever, quote, unquote, as they put it, was going to break after Trump was not going to break. That Trump has these die-hard supporters, and there are people who, frankly, are not in Congress at this point to legislate. They're in Congress to troll. And they're in Congress to get attention, and they're in Congress to, to, you know, basically attack and not to do something that involves working with other lawmakers. And, and that's what you see.
I mean, this is not -- there's nothing serious about this. This is literally done so that he will get attention. And it's working. It's just that it involves being on the House floor, which once upon a time was supposed to be something more of a, a respected space, and a space that was treated differently. And as we saw on January 6th, there are plenty of people who don't see it that way.
JOHN BERMAN: This is a single entendre, by the way. You explained it very well, what "Let's go, Brandon" means, but it's just a mask that says, "'F' Joe Biden." That's what it's doing. And that's from a U.S. congressman on the House floor.
HABERMAN: Yes. I – look - this is, this is - it's a huge breach of, of a norm that you would -- I don't even, I don’t know how to describe this as a norm, because this is just something that I never would have even imagined somebody was going to be doing, was wearing a mask with that message. But again, the goal is all about agitating. The goal is all about getting people upset. That's the point. I think there's that, that Adam Serwer column about the cruelty is the point. You know, the trolling is the point, too. And that's where we're at now. But again, as you say, we're talking about a sitting congressman.
KEILAR: And before times, during the State of the Union, a South Carolina congressman yelled at Obama, and I ended up going down to South Carolina to cover it. And I just -- it strikes me, that would never happen today.
BERMAN: No.
KEILAR: There is, there -- how many South Carolinas, how many moments could you go to? It would be a huge thing back then. It just isn't anymore.
HABERMAN: No. I mean, this has been – These, these, these changes don't take place overnight. And the eroding of what is considered to be appropriate behavior, and the eroding of norms took place over four years of a presidency and is now continuing out of office. And it's just an important -- what I see -- when I look at that mask, in addition to the trolling, what I see is a – cause, I mean, look, I also don't want to pretend that cursing has never happened before, but it's, but it’s the way in which it's being done. It's the fact that this is being done on the House floor. It's the fact that it's taking place, these chants, at events that Biden isn't even at. They're just kind of popping up. That is the big difference. And for people who thought that was going to end after January 6th, they were very mistaken.
KEILAR: Maggie, great to see you this morning.
HABERMAN: Thank you.
KEILAR: Thank you so much.
…
8:00am hour
KEILAR: I want to see what you guys think about the mask that we have seen on the house floor. I think you have seen this. It is a South Carolina congressman Jeff Duncan and it says let's go Brandon. So if you have a friend named Brandon, maybe you think this is funny. [laughter] But What is actually going on here is that at a NASCAR race, a guy who won, the driver who won, Brandon brown, there was a cheer coming from the crowd and the commentator thought it was let's go Brandon. It was actually F Joe Biden. So really that mask says --
JOHN BERMAN: F Joe Biden. It says one thing, it says F Joe Biden.
MARA SCHIAVOCAMPO: It is one of these funny political moments, like “cofefe” coverage, remember the cofefe coverage? So its kind’ve become a joke. I think they're having fun politically...
JOHN AVLON: So, look, I think it is pretty different than the cofefe kerfuffle. Because what this code is for says F Joe Biden. This chant is getting mainstreamed. I went to the beach the other day with my kids. There was a guy with his jeep parked on the beach with a flag flying that says F Joe Biden. I walked by and I shook my head.I said look there are kids here. He said ‘what it is man? It’s a free country last time I checked.’ The mainstreaming of chant that is actually about F the president of the United States is not patriotic. It is trollish. There is absolute free speech, folks can do what they want. When members of congress are bringing in that kind of language, you can't then repair and talk about the need for civility and respecting a president when he's from your party.
BERMAN: Look It is on the house floor. The guy is wearing a F Joe Biden mask on the house floor, it is just, you know --
SCHIAVOCAMPO: I think we're so far past the point of what has been normal in the past. There are so many examples of things that in a pre-Trump world would have outraged anybody. People would have lost their positions, they would have faced all kinds of consequences. That ship has sailed. We're in a post Trump world and we are seeing the rules actively be redefined.
KEILAR: It is not surprising perhaps.
SCHIAVOCAMPO: It is not surprising.
KEILAR: Just so gross, I guess. John Avlon, Maria, thank you so much to both of you.
