Minutes after President Donald Trump took the oath of office Friday afternoon, criticism poured in from CNN. Chief political analyst Gloria Border demonstrated why the outlet has the moniker “Clinton News Network” when she ridiculously whined that, “I was also surprised that in some way he did not pay some tribute to Hillary Clinton… He did not do it.”
According to Borger, it would have been seen as Trump trying to unify, but the citing of George W. Bush’s 2001 speech makes it sound as if she may have been expecting an apology for another outcome liberals hated.
She also complained about Trump being brutally blunt with former President Barack Obama’s record. “I couldn't help but thinking about the president sitting there when he talked about the American carnage that they had presided over,” she huffed, “I'm not quite sure that that would have gone over well with them.”
Former Obama advisor turned CNN commentator, David Axelrod skewered Trump for daring to talk about Americans showing patriotism. “We salute the same flag but not everybody in the country feels like they have an equal share of freedom, which is a big concern of many,” he scolded. He discredited Trump’s speech as just a “full-throated” “populist manifesto.”
Radio host Michael Smerconish griped that the speech sounded too much like the president was on the campaign trail. He argued that “it's a speech that could have been delivered in Michigan, Wisconsin, or Pennsylvania on November 7th.”
He agreed with Borger that Trump should have ‘paid tribute’ to Clinton, but extended it to all the partisan Democrats boycotting the inauguration:
I kept waiting for that paragraph, that beyond just extending an olive branch given that 60 democratic House members saw fit not to be here. To Gloria's point to acknowledge Bill Clinton and not to-- in the same breath-- to say and of course secretary of state was really surprising to me.
Clinton News Network indeed.
Transcript below:
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CNN
2017 Presidential Inauguration
January 20, 2017
12:31:58 PM EasternANDERSON COOPER: We'll continue to watch for the departure of former President Obama and Mrs. Obama from executive one, that helicopter which is waiting to take them off. Let's get some quick thoughts from Gloria Borger.
GLORIA BORGER: I think this was an unusual inaugural speech. It was a continuation of the campaign very much. I think it was kind of a fist bump of a speech. This is what I'm going to do. This is what I campaigned on. And then he gave the kind of literal fist bump when it was over. I think that -- I couldn't help but thinking about the president sitting there when he talked about the American carnage that they had presided over. I'm not quite sure that that would have gone over well with them. And I was also surprised that in some way he did not pay some tribute to Hillary Clinton. I expected as George W. Bush did to Al Gore when they had a hard fought fight. I thought that would have been a unifying moment for him. He did not do it. But to me this was Donald Trump that we saw during the campaign and saying I didn't win. You, the American public, did win.
COOPER: David Axelrod, in terms of unity he said, “In our loyalty to country we'll rediscover our loyalty to each other when you open your heart to patriotism, there's no room for prejudice.”
DAVID AXELROD: Yeah I mean, I think there were words that were aimed at trying to unify the country. But then there were statements like “we all enjoy the same glorious freedoms and we all salute the great American flag.” We salute the same flag but not everybody in the country feels like they have an equal share of freedom, which is a big concern of many.
But look, this was a full throated as has been said populist manifesto and he lit this town on fire. He made very clear that he believes it's America first. We're going to protect our borders. We're going to protect our jobs. We're going to essentially draw a line around this country and fight that fight and he laid down the gauntlet. But he also said one thing that I think will be remembered by others, which is “We'll no longer accept politicians who are all talk and no action constantly complaining but never doing anything about it” and said “We're going to change everything from the better.”
And he took it on his shoulders to say he's going to do this. He will be held accountable for that in years to come.
…
MICHAEL SMERCONISH: If you took this transcript and you removed the pomp and circumstance, you take away reference to the chief justice of the Supreme Court, it's a speech that could have been delivered in Michigan, Wisconsin, or Pennsylvania on November 7th. I kept waiting for that paragraph, that beyond just extending an olive branch given that 60 democratic House members saw fit not to be here. To Gloria's point to acknowledge Bill Clinton and not to-- in the same breath-- to say and of course secretary of state was really surprising to me.
