Leading into President Trump’s first State of the Union address on Tuesday, CNN continued its pathetic role as hacks for Adam Schiff and other liberals, expressing a Chicken Little-like fear that Trump is on the verge of firing Robert Mueller while putting the speech on the back burner.
CNN senior political analyst Mark Preston did his part, foolishly discarding the importance of discussing the strong economy under Trump because everyone is too busy being “consumed with” the Trump-Russian collusion probe.
Preston claimed that he would “be the uniter here” among the anti-Trump and pro-Trump panelists. He admitted that “the economy is doing very well and that is a big story,” but then paused and almost comically declaring that we must “move it out of the way” because Russia is a bigger deal.
“Let us acknowledge this Russian investigation, we already have two people who are already cooperating right now, you know, and two other people are under indictment and then, of course, you have this black cloud over the Trump presidency right now,” Preston argued
While the Russia probe is an undisputably serious matter, the difference is the liberal media have an almost erotic obsession with defending Robert Mueller and finding collusion.
As my colleagues Rich Noyes and Mike Ciandella explained, the major broadcast network evening newscasts wasted 1,234 minutes in 2017 on the Russia investigation, which “account[ed] for one-fifth of all Trump coverage.”
Calling out former Republican Congressman Jack Kingston (Ga.) for claiming that ordinary Americans care more about the economy than Russia, a hysterical Preston opined [emphasis mine]:
Jack, I have to disagree with you, people are consumed with it, not just in the media, but they’re consumed with it in the White House, they’re consumed with it in Congress. You talk to members of Congress. We all talk to members of Congress and they will all tell you, you need to get this over with, whatever the results are.
How utterly laughable and what a piece of fake news. Let’s go to the polls, shall we? According to Gallup’s January 2018 poll of “[w]hat do you think is the most important problem facing the country today,” the Russia probe didn’t even register one percent. Instead, dissatisfaction with the federal government was at 25 percent, “economic problems” at 20 percent, and solving illegal immigration at eight percent.
Over in a Kaiser Family Foundation poll conducted from January 16-21, Russia wasn’t even in the top seven issues of what voters want 2018 election candidates to talk about. Here they are in descending order: Health care, “the economy and jobs,” immigration, North Korea, taxes, the deficit, and climate change.
So, Mark, is it still worth saying that everyone has been “consumed” by Russia?
Here’s the relevant transcript from CNN’s The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer on January 30:
CNN’s The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer
January 30, 2018
6:28 p.m. Eastern
MARK PRESTON: But just to try to bring everyone together, let me be the uniter here, right? [PANEL LAUGHS] Because I can do that. I feel like I can do that just a few hours beforehand. Let us acknowledge that the economy is doing very well and that is a big story. Okay, let's move it out of the way.
JACK KINGSTON: Say it loud.
PRESTON: Let us acknowledge —
VOICE OF PANELIST: I’m with you.
PRESTON: — that this Russian investigation, we already have two people who are already cooperating right now, you know, and two other people are under indictment and then, of course, you have this black cloud over the Trump presidency right now which, Jack, I have to disagree with you, people are consumed with it, not just in the media, but they’re consumed with it in the White House, they’re consumed with it in Congress. You talk to members of Congress. We all talk to members of Congress and they will all tell you, you need to get this over with, whatever the results are.
DAVID CHALIAN: But, I'm sure we all agree that talking about the economy is the approach the President should take tonight.
APRIL RYAN: Yes.
PRESTON: Sure.
CHALIAN: It is what he gets his best marks on.
RYAN: Yes.
[CROSS-TALK]
CHALIAN: It is actually Americans who are right, Jack, are saying that they do feel better than they felt a year ago. [SHOUTING] They are more optimistic about the future right now and he’ll talk about that all night long as any strategist would tell him to do.
