Most readers of NewsBusters and consumers of cable news are used to liberal media meltdowns since November 8. However, that’s not to say they’re any less enjoyable. Saturday night featured another temper tantrum by CNN with anchors and guests labeling Trump’s 100 Days rally in Pennsylvania a “deeply disturbing” and “stunning” speech by a “moral midget.”
Moments before the Trump-free White House Correspondents’ Dinner (WHCD) began, the most asinine of all the comments on CNN were those of senior political commentator David Gergen. The same guy who either willingly or purposely forgot that William Henry Harrison and Abraham Lincoln had far worse first 100 days than Trump uncorked another set of loony comments.
“[Y]ou know, to bring your campaign speech into the presidency is something Presidents rarely do. This was — this was the most divisive speech I've ever heard from a sitting American president. Others may disagree about that,” Gergen complained.
Clearly forgetting a Kansas speech by Barack Obama or the actions of the Wilson administration during World War I, Gergen continued his ride aboard the crazy train with Brian Stelter, ruling Trump’s remarks were “disturbing”:
He played to his base and he treated his other listeners — the rest of the people who have been disturbed about him or oppose him, he treated them basically as I don't care — I don’t give a damn what you think because you're frankly like the enemy. You’re like the enemy with the press. I thought it was a deeply disturbing speech in that regard.
Coming a close second was former Clinton administration official and CNN political commentator Paul Begala, who derided Trump as “a moral midget” seeking “affirmation from his base because...he is a deeply insecure person.”
Begala continued:
He's haunted by the fact that the vast majority of Americans — 54 percent voted against him. He lost to Hillary Clinton in the popular vote by 2.8 million. He’s haunted by that. He sort of needs that. He's a needy little baby. What he needs as a president is to unify the country. He needs it as a politician it to expand his base. If you want to be small minded he needs to expand his base but as a president he needs to expand. The moment that — when we were watching this — John, you pointed out when he hollered at that protester, that is not how a president behaves[.]
Begala went onto recall a moment from the 2016 campaign in which then-President Barack Obama treated a protester at a Hillary Clinton rally differently than Trump to make a point about class before going back into the gutter, again calling Trump a “moral midget.”
Rewinding back a few minutes, weekday morning CNN Newsroom co-anchors John Berman and Poppy Harlow were in Washington for the WHCD, with Berman first fretting that Trump’s “speech began with a ten-minute attack on the media and then what followed was a several minute attack on the Obama administration before laying out some of the things that his administration has done and then going back to some of his campaign themes.”
Harlow replied in agreement, hilariously commenting how “stunning” it was that the President spent so much time attacking the media.
Senior White House correspondent Jeff Zeleny must have drawn the short straw as he was in Harrisburg and not at the WHCD, complaining that it was “a campaign rerun.”
“He rarely talked about anything different, and it was, you know, filled with attacks on the media, like you said, filled with one grievance after, another almost like a therapy session there. And also filled with some protests,” Zeleny added.
Here’s the relevant portions of the transcript from CNN’s meltdown on April 29:
CNN Newsroom with John Berman and Poppy Harlow
April 29, 2017
8:48 p.m. Eastern
JOHN BERMAN: President Trump finishing up a 58-minute speech in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, marking his 100th day in this office. The speech began with a ten-minute attack on the media and then what followed was a several minute attack on the Obama administration before laying out some of the things that his administration has done and then going back to some of his campaign themes from the last year.
POPPY HARLOW: That's right. It was 12 minutes into this big rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, that the President really got to jobs and to the people of Pennsylvania. The first ten minutes plus spent attacking the media, actually saying what grade — what rate should the media get in its first 100 days. It was — it was stunning.
(....)
8:49 p.m. Eastern
JEFF ZELENY: The only way to describe this speech, I believe, is to call it a campaign rerun. It was exactly a vintage Donald Trump speech from the campaign from one of these rallies that brought him to the White House. I mean, if you thought back, you might be thinking we were living in 2016. He rarely talked about anything different, and it was, you know, filled with attacks on the media, like you said, filled with one grievance after, another almost like a therapy session there. And also filled with some protests. There were several protesters throughout the evening, so many at one point, the police seemed to be having a little bit of a hard time keeping up.
(....)
8:53 p.m. Eastern
DAVID GERGEN: Well, you have to say, To follow up, I think did move his base the he has solidified his hold with his base, he played to their fears and to their concerns and I think they have very legitimate concerns and I think he's been consistent about that. At the same time, you know, to bring your campaign speech into the presidency is something Presidents rarely do. This was — this was the most divisive speech I've ever heard from a sitting American president. Others may disagree about that. He played to his base and he treated his other listeners — the rest of the people who have been disturbed about him or oppose him, he treated them basically as I don't care — I don’t give a damn what you think because you're frankly like the enemy. You’re like the enemy with the press. I thought it was a deeply disturbing speech in that regard.
(....)
8:57 p.m. Eastern
PAUL BEGALA: He needs this affirmation from his base because he's a moral midget and he is a deeply insecure person. He's haunted by the fact that the vast majority of Americans — 54 percent voted against him. He lost to Hillary Clinton in the popular vote by 2.8 million. He’s haunted by that. He sort of needs that. He's a needy little baby. What he needs as a president is to unify the country. He needs it as a politician it to expand his base. If you want to be small minded he needs to expand his base but as a president he needs to expand. The moment that — when we were watching this — John, you pointed out when he hollered at that protester, that is not how a president behaves and I went back and looked, during this campaign — the one we just finished – P,resident Obama was speaking in North Carolina and a protester stood up and interrupted his speech for minutes on end, much longer than Trump and the President of the United States told the crowd, which was rabid pro-Obama of course, stop, look at this man. He said first of all, he's older and he is entitled to our respect. Second, we believe in free speech in this country, it's an American value. Third, he had a shirt or hat that looked like he was a veteran. He said we owe him thanks for his service. He called that crowd to a higher, better place. Trump is incapable of doing that and if we're going to wait 1,361 days and he's still going to be the moral midget you saw on that stand in Harrisburg tonight.
