Appearing on last Thursday's The Situation Room on CNN, New York Times columnist Tom Friedman freaked out over Republicans supporting election-related legal challenges by President Donald Trump's campaign, even though nearly all have so far been dismissed, with the liberal columnist and frequent CNN guest excoriating the GOP as a "cancer" that is "at war with democracy."
At 6:26 p.m .Eastern, Friedman tore into Republicans: "They aren't just cowering from Trump. They are becoming Trump. It means they are putting party before country, and going to war against our democracy -- against the core of our democracy, free and fair elections."
The Times columnist likened Republicans to political leaders in a "banana republic," and, calling the party a "cancer," cheered for Republicans to lose control of the Senate:
And what it tells you is this party is simply not fit to rule -- is not fit to govern. It makes the outcome in Georgia so much more important -- makes it so much more important that they lose control of the Senate -- that they lose control of the White House. And if this were kindergarten, they'd have a timeout. This party needs to go sit in the corner and reflect on who they are and what they've become because they've become a cancer on our democracy.
CNN host Wolf Blitzer's immediate response was, "Yeah, it's so, so true," before recalling President-elect Joe Biden's significant margin of victory.
After taking a moment to rejoice in the fact that nearly all judges have been siding against the Trump campaign's lawsuits, Friedman went back into freakout made and painted a picture of the Statue of Liberty almost getting run over by a bus driven by Trump:
But what if they had been really close? What if it had been closer and they pulled this off and they succeeded? Wolf, we'd be -- we'd be in a civil war right now. People would be taking to the streets because a party would be denying millions and millions of legally-cast votes. We have come so close. I mean, lady liberty. Wolf, she was just crossing the intersection, and this bus, driven by this crazy man with all these people in the back applauding him, just missed her. We are so lucky. But we have to remember, these people, this party, the people doing this, they are not fit to govern.
Blitzer again agreeably followed up:
It's hard to believe what's going on. And, you know, Tom, the House Majority Whip, James Clyburn, joined me here in The Situation Room earlier this week. I asked him about these Republican efforts to deny the results of the election. He said, and I'm quoting here: "This kind of a threat could very well," in his words, "destroy the fabric that has been holding this country together for so many years."
This hyperbolic episode of CNN's The Situation Room was sponsored in part by Norton Antivirus. Their contact information is linked.
Transcript follows. Click "expand" to read more.
CNN
The Situation Room
December 10, 2020
TOM FRIEDMAN, NEW YORK TIMES COLUMNIST: They aren't just cowering from Trump. They are becoming Trump. It means they are putting party before country, and going to war against our democracy -- against the core of our democracy, free and fair elections. You know, Wolf, you and I both worked overseas, and in the worst banana republic, I'm not sure they'd try this.
If this were going on in any other democracy around the world -- India or Poland or, you know, Indonesia -- this would be, like, front-page news. We'd be saying, "Can you believe this?" But this is going on here. And what it tells you is this party is simply not fit to rule -- is not fit to govern. It makes the outcome in Georgia so much more important -- makes it so much more important that they lose control of the Senate -- that they lose control of the White House. And if this were kindergarten, they'd have a timeout. This party needs to go sit in the corner and reflect on who they are and what they've become because they've become a cancer on our democracy.
WOLF BLITZER: Yeah, it's so, so true because all 50 states, Tom, have now officially certified the results from their states. Those results show, in the national popular vote, Biden won by more than 7 million votes. And as far as the all-important Electoral College is concerned, 306 electoral votes for Biden. 232 for Trump. You need 270. A clearcut, clearcut, very decisive win. Yet, the President of the United States, these Republican attorneys general, these Republican members of the House, they want to throw that away.
FRIEDMAN: Yeah. I mean, we've really, you know, the divide isn't left/right, anymore. It's -- it's fact-based and science-fiction-based, in the country, basically. There's not much we can do about that, except maybe celebrate a little bit, tonight, Wolf. Let's talk about the part of the glass that's half full. The fact that all 50 states, red and blue, as it were, conducted free and fair elections -- and some had Republican secretary of states and some had Democratic ones. The fact that judges, I think, the score is something like 68-1, you know, ruled against Trump in all these bogus lawsuits across the country, Trump-appointed judges.
So the federal judiciary really held, and, of course, the Supreme Court with a pro-Trump-seeming majority swatted the whole thing away. So the good news is that, in this case, Wolf, the system held. But what if they had been really close? What if it had been closer and they pulled this off and they succeeded? Wolf, we'd be -- we'd be in a civil war right now. People would be taking to the streets because a party would be denying millions and millions of legally-cast votes. We have come so close. I mean, lady liberty. Wolf, she was just crossing the intersection, and this bus, driven by this crazy man with all these people in the back applauding him, just missed her. We are so lucky. But we have to remember, these people, this party, the people doing this, they are not fit to govern.
BLITZER: It's hard to believe what's going on. And, you know, Tom, the House Majority Whip, James Clyburn, joined me here in The Situation Room earlier this week. I asked him about these Republican efforts to deny the results of the election. He said, and I'm quoting here: "This kind of a threat could very well," in his words, "destroy the fabric that has been holding this country together for so many years."
