How harsh on President Trump does someone have to be to satisfy CNN? On the floor of the Senate, for gosh sakes, Sen. Lindsey Graham called President Trump's decision to withdraw from Syria "a stain on the honor of the United States." It doesn't get much more critical than that.
Incredibly, Senator Graham's stinging rebuke of the President was insufficient for Alisyn Camerota. On CNN's New Day this morning, Camerota was offended that Graham had gone on to call Trump's declaration of victory over ISIS "fake news."
Carped Camerota:
"No, Senator, no, it's not fake news. The president is not a newscaster. If you don't like what the president's decision is, just tell him that. Sorry, not everything can be the media's fault."
Touchy, touchy, Alisyn! Graham was in no way suggesting that Trump's declaration of victory over ISIS was "the media's fault." Any reasonably astute observer would have understood that Graham was simply turning one of Trump's favorite phrases against the President himself. He was accusing Trump, not the media, of "fake news."
But being "reasonably astute" is apparently a bridge too far for the likes of CNN and Camerota.
Note: John Avlon subbed for John Berman this morning. Check Avlon at 1:04 into the clip. With an emphatic head move, he is seen agreeing with Camerota's criticism of Graham's use of "fake news." Guess that's what a guy's got to do to stay in good stead at CNN.
Ironically, Team Trump's victories over ISIS barely make the news, as CNN and the others obsess over Russia and porn stars. Camerota's absurd outburst shows how reluctant CNN is to give Republicans credit for anything. A partial transcript is below:
New Day
12/20/18
6:05 am ET
ALISYN CAMEROTA: Let's hear from Senator Lindsey Graham, how strongly he felt about this yesterday.
LINDSEY GRAHAM: They did the honorable thing, to come to our aid to help destroy a common enemy of mankind, ISIS. We have been dishonorable. This is a stain on the honor of the United States. I hope and pray the President will reconsider this. To those who say we have defeated ISIS in Syria, that is that an inaccurate statement. They have been hurt. They have been degraded, and I give the President all the credit in the world for changing our policies regarding the fight against ISIS, but I will not buy into the narrative that they have been defeated. To say they're defeated is an overstatement and is fake news.
ALISYN CAMEROTA: No, Senator, no. It's not fake news. The President's not a newscaster. If you don't like what the President's decision is, just tell him that. Just say that. Sorry, not everything can be the media's fault.
