On Tuesday's New Day, CNN host Alisyn Camerota not only did her part to spread misinformation about how easy it is to purchase an AR-15, but she also defended liberal activist Cameron Kasky's decision to demonize the NRA as a "terrorist organization," suggesting that "calling out the NRA" in such a way "might be effective."
She also got into an unusually heated debate with conservative CNN contributor Jack Kingston as she badgered and repeatedly showed derision toward the former Republican congressman's conservative views on guns.
Early during the 7:00 a.m. hour of the show, Camerota enthusiastically talked up gun control legislation being introduced in the Florida legislature, including a provision to raise the minimum legal age for purchasing a rifle from licensed dealers from 18 to 21, and then, picking up on some of the rhetoric of gun control activists, misleadingly asked: "Why is it harder for teenagers to buy a pack of cigarettes than it is for them to buy an AR-15?" even though teens do not have to get a criminal background check to purchase cigarettes.
A bit later, she made the debunked claim that President Donald Trump "rolled back some of the protections so that it was going to be easier for people with mental health issues to get access to guns."
And, after CNN analyst David Gregory suggested that it was a mistake for the student activist to call the NRA a "terrorist organization," Camerota disagreed: "And I think they're allowed to use those kinds of extreme --"
Even her liberal co-host Chris Cuomo thought the hyperbole was a bad idea as he jumped in, but Camerota persisted by declaring that "I think it actually might be effective," and added: "I think that calling out the NRA -- which is what these kids are doing -- might be effective."
Earlier in the show, she had suggested that NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre might change his mind about gun control if he had toured the school shooting site in Parkland, Florida.
Later on, as she and liberal Republican former Rep. Dave Jolly ganged up on former Rep. Kingston, the CNN host also made a point of responding, "Thank you," when Kingston briefly defended the student's right to call the NRA a "terrorist" group on the grounds that he was a teen who had gone through a traumatic experience, whereas it would be worse for an adult to use such incendiary language.
Otherwise, during the debate, Camerota repeatedly interrupted and sneered at Kingston, and, at one point, when the Republican former congressman noted that he is not an NRA member, she cracked: "Why not if you like it so much?"
The CNN host repeatedly was visibly annoyed during the debate, at one point condescending: "People are talking about common sense reforms. Nobody is talking about banning guns as of today, Jack. Sorry, your slippery slope argument is not going to work today."
