CNN self-parodied itself on Tuesday as it tried to discern higher meanings behind Special Counsel Jack Smith’s lunchtime trip to Subway on the same day it was revealed he issued a target letter to former President Donald Trump as part of his January 6 investigation.
Inside Politics host Dana Bash got the TMZ-like coverage started towards the end of the 12:00 Eastern hour, “Turns out even Jack Smith can't resist a $5 footlong. That's according to what we see right there. New and exclusive CNN video of the special counsel at Subway declining, though, to respond to reporters' questions about today's big news, a target letter sent to the former president of the United States.
Bash then introduced senior justice correspondent Evan Perez led him with more of a statement than an actual question, “I won't ask you all of the less important things about what he got and how he paid and all that, but what is important is the imagery here. They clearly wanted us to see him and that image to be very different from what we saw in the former president's post, which is that he's a deranged individual.”
Despite Bash’s insistence that he not talk about “the less important things,” Perez began by fawning over Smith’s alleged man-of-the-people-like journey, “Yeah. I mean, look, you can, I can count probably five or six sandwich shops between his office and that location that he was at earlier today. He was—he stood in line like everybody else, and I couldn't tell whether it was a footlong or is it a -- or was it a six-inch sub, but look, I mean, we now are on watch for when this potential indictment is coming.”
It would get worse from there. The next hour on CNN News Central, senior crime and justice reporter Katelyn Polantz also got in on the paparazzi reporting, “Jack Smith is tight lipped. He was spotted today by CNN going to Subway for lunch, picking up a sandwich, leaving and not saying a word. So, no comment from the special counsel's office on whether they plan to indict Donald Trump and when that is potentially going to happen for the second time for a federal case.”
A few minutes later, chief national correspondent John King recalled “And just one last point, Jack Smith, remember when the classified documents target letter, when Trump announced that, there’s a lot of commentary, you know, “Is Jack Smith making a mistake here, is he leaving this all to Donald Trump” and then they released the indictment and we all said ‘Wow! Wow!’”
King then tried to concoct some theory of higher meaning behind Smith decision to go out for lunch, “We read it, we saw the documentation, we saw the level of detail. Jack Smith going to Subway today is a message to Donald Trump. Donald Trump tries to intimidate people, he bullies people, he tries to scare you away. That was Jack Smith with no words and a simple $5 sub in his hand saying ‘I'm not going anywhere.’”
Bash then chimed in “Yeah, the imagery was intentional and spoke volume.”
Much like Subway’s $5 footlong, CNN’s credibility no longer exists.
Inside Politics was sponsored by LeafFilter and CNN News Central was sponsored by Colonial Penn.
Here are transcripts for the July 18 shows:
CNN Inside Politics with Dana Bash
7/18/2023
12:53 PM ET
DANA BASH: Turns out even Jack Smith can't resist a $5 footlong. That's according to what we see right there. New and exclusive CNN video of the special counsel at Subway declining, though, to respond to reporters' questions about today's big news, a target letter sent to the former president of the United States.
CNN's Evan Perez was there trying to track down the special counsel. I won't ask you all of the less important things about what he got—
EVAN PEREZ: Yeah.
BASH: --and how he paid and all that, but what is important is the imagery here. They clearly wanted us to see him and that image to be very different from what we saw in the former president's post, which is that he's a deranged individual.
PEREZ: Yeah. I mean, look, you can, I can count probably five or six sandwich shops between his office and that location that he was at earlier today. He was—he stood in line like everybody else, and I couldn't tell whether it was a footlong or is it a -- or was it a six-inch sub, but look, I mean, we now are on watch for when this potential indictment is coming.
***
CNN News Central
7/18/2023
1:02 PM ET
KATELYN POLANTZ: Of course on the special counsel side, that's the Justice Department, and its appointee Jack Smith. Jack Smith is tight lipped. He was spotted today by CNN going to Subway for lunch, picking up a sandwich, leaving and not saying a word. So, no comment from the special counsel's office on whether they plan to indict Donald Trump and when that is potentially going to happen for the second time for a federal case.
…
JOHN KING: And just one last point, Jack Smith, remember when the classified documents target letter, when Trump announced that, there’s a lot of commentary, you know, “Is Jack Smith making a mistake here, is he leaving this all to Donald Trump” and then they released the indictment and we all said “Wow! Wow!”
We read it, we saw the documentation, we saw the level of detail. Jack Smith going to Subway today is a message to Donald Trump. Donald Trump tries to intimidate people, he bullies people, he tries to scare you away. That was Jack Smith with no words and a simple $5 sub in his hand saying “I'm not going anywhere.”
DANA BASH: Yeah, the imagery was intentional and spoke volume.
