Introducing CNN This Morning's segment today on the 10th anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing, co-host Poppy Harlow said: "This is a day to not forget. To never forget what happened." Except that CNN did "forget" to mention a central fact about "what happened" that day!
The attack, which resulted in the deaths of five people and injured hundreds, was perpetrated by two Chechen jihadi terrorist brothers, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Their family entered the United States on a tourist visa, was eventually granted asylum and received welfare benefits for many years.
Ilhan Omar infamously described 9/11 as "some people did something." CNN's stamping out of inconvenient history was even more atrocious. During the segment, not a word was uttered, or even a vague reference made, about the Muslim terrorists who committed the atrocity.
Instead, the segment focused on the feel-good aspects of the anniversary, mentioning that it was "celebratory" in part, and underlining the resilience of survivors and families, and the support that has been shown for them.
That's fine. But how can CNN justify not saying anything about the murderous Muslim brother who carried out the attack? Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a shootout on the day of the bombing. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was convicted of murder, and his death sentence, overturned at one point, was reinstated by the Supreme Court, though his lawyers are appealing it. They even forgot Dzhokar was a cover boy for Rolling Stone.
This is journalistic malpractice by omission. If the perpetrators had been two white-nationalist fanatics, think CNN might have mentioned their identity? Rhetorical question.
On the 10th anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing, CNN This Morning failing to mention that the attack was perpetrated by two jihadi terrorists was sponsored in part by Subway and Cadillac.
Here's the transcript.
CNN This Morning
4/17/23
6:11 am EDTPOPPY HARLOW: In just a few hours, about 30,000 runners will line up at the start of the 127th Boston Marathon. This race comes 10 years after the finish-line bombing that killed three people and hurt hundreds of others.
Boston marketed that fateful--marked I should say-- that fateful day this weekend with reminders set up across the city. It's known as One Boston Day. A wreath laid at a memorial for the three spectators who also were killed in that attack.
Polo Sandoval is live in Boston this morning. We, Don and I, were both there a long time covering this and, uh, and I'm still in touch with some of the victims who were injured, who lost limbs as a result. Families who lost their loved ones.
This is a day to not forget. To never forget what happened.
POLO SANDOVAL And I was here, Poppy, a year after, for the first running of the marathon after the attack. Here we are now, a decade later, and I can tell you here in Boston, the mood is still both somber and celebratory on this day. So it's definitely going to be a mix of both. You mentioned over the weekend, a long list of tributes on Saturday, which was the actual anniversary, with the families of those three spectators, certainly on hand for a private ceremony as well as, of course, the officers that subsequently lost their lives as well.
So that is really renewing the focus today. And then today, the actual running. There will no doubt be yet another wave of tributes. In fact, there will be a flyover at the eight o'clock hour. A squad of F-15s will fly those 26.2 miles.
And then the runners, they're going to be hitting the pavement. This is actually going to be one of the streets that's going to be closed off to traffic here very soon, before things get underway. The runners some, as you mentioned earlier, some 30,000 of them will then turn at this intersection. And then from here, it's close to a straight shot, another four miles before they reach that iconic Boylston Street finish line.
So again, a little bit of both. Yes, there will certainly bes plenty of emotion today, Poppy. But it's also a time to celebrate --
HARLOW: It is.
SANDOVAL: -- a reminder of the resilience of the city. And of course, so many people coming together, supporting those people who were lost and injured on that horrible day.
HARLOW: And it's been amazing to see what people who lost loved ones and were injured and lost limbs have done since then. And sort of, in terms of starting huge foundations to raise awareness to help others. That has been just, I think, a reminder of the resilience for sure.
DON LEMON: They say they want to move on with their lives.
HARLOW:Yes!
LEMON: Some of them don't even like marking the anniversary.
HARLOW: That's a very good point.
LEMON: They juust don't talk about it and they just move on.
HARLOW: Yeah. Polo, we're glad you're there. Thank you.
SANDOVAL: Thank you.
