Far-left The Nation editor Katrina Vanden Heuvel was still exhibiting signs of Bush Derangement Syndrome on Sunday's Reliable Sources as she appeared on the CNN show to discuss Donald Trump's claims of seeing thousands of Muslims in New Jersey cheering on the 9/11 attacks.
Vanden Heuvel not only used the controversy to rehash the war in Iraq as she complained that the media before the Iraq War did not press former President George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney for alleged "lies," but she even accidentally called Trump "Bush" twice, without even catching her flub the first time.
The liberal The Nation editor began her analysis:
This country, this nation has survived demagogues and bullies before, but we are living in a moment when we have a candidate who has made lies a foundation of his campaign.
She added:
I think lies calculated -- not random lies -- lies calculated to exploit people's fear and hatred and prejudice. That said, though, I think the media needs to call a lie a "lie."
Vanden Heuvel then went back to the Bush years:
There is too much politeness. This is a moment of wrenching economic social change. This is a moment when the media should learn the nation understands we're not living in a post-truth environment for the first time. Trump didn't start it.
Let's go back just 10 years perhaps to the run-up to the Iraq War when the media suspended scrutiny and skepticism and was too polite to call out a Dick Cheney who went on Meet the Press as Donald Trump went on Meet the Press this morning and lied about how many Syrian refugees this administration wants to bring to this country, and the consequences of that were war. I don't know what the consequences of Donald Trump's continual lying will be.
Moments later, Vanden Heuvel showed that she still had the word "Bush" lodged in her mind as she went after Trump again:
I think if you're the host of a morning show or a Sunday show -- look at George Stephanopoulos. I've been on his show before, and I think he tried to hold Bush accountable for inaccuracies, lies about millions or thousands cheering on 9/11. But what should George have done?
I would have argued he should have just continued to really hold Bush -- Bush -- Trump accountable, hold him accountable, say that you're lying because -- by the way, that might lead to good ratings -- but as you well know, Trump might not come back to ABC, so that hurts the ratings.
Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Sunday, November 29, Reliable Sources on CNN:
11:22 a.m.
KATRINA VANDEN HEUVEL, THE NATION: This country, this nation has survived demagogues and bullies before, but we are living in a moment when we have a candidate who has made lies a foundation of his campaign.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN HOST: You really think he's made lies the foundation?
VANDEN HEUVEL: I do. I think lies calculated -- not random lies -- lies calculated to exploit people's fear and hatred and prejudice.
STELTER: But the word "lies"-
VANDEN HEUVEL: That said, though, I think the media needs to call a lie a "lie."
STELTER: I was going to ask you about that.
VANDEN HEUVEL: There is too much politeness. This is a moment of wrenching economic social change. This is a moment when the media should learn the nation understands we're not living in a post-truth environment for the first time. Trump didn't start it.
Let's go back just 10 years perhaps to the run-up to the Iraq War when the media suspended scrutiny and skepticism and was too polite to call out a Dick Cheney who went on Meet the Press as Donald Trump went on Meet the Press this morning and lied about how many Syrian refugees this administration wants to bring to this country, and the consequences of that were war. I don't know what the consequences of Donald Trump's continual lying will be.
STELTER: See, I'm wary of the word "lying"-
VANDEN HEUVEL: Why?
STELTER: -because I don't know what's in his mind. I don't know what's in any candidate's mind when they say something that's not true.
(...)
11:24 a.m.
VANDEN HEUVEL: I think if you're the host of a morning show or a Sunday show -- look at George Stephanopoulos. I've been on his show before, and I think he tried to hold Bush accountable for inaccuracies, lies about millions or thousands cheering on 9/11. But what should George have done?
I would have argued he should have just continued to really hold Bush -- Bush -- Trump accountable, hold him accountable, say that you're lying because -- by the way, that might lead to good ratings -- but as you well know, Trump might not come back to ABC, so that hurts the ratings.
But, you know, we're sitting at CNN, it's part of a huge corporation, Time-Warner. Time-Warner, Comcast, they have business in Washington. So I think often that the system itself leads to a politeness that I don't think in these times we can afford.
