Ahead of Saturday’s anti-gun, liberal media-supported March for Our Lives, Friday afternoon’s CNN Newsroom showed just how far left most of the network lies on the spectrum.
“Fake news hypocrite” host Brooke Baldwin openly tag-teamed with the Michael Bloomberg-funded, pro-gun control Everytown for Gun Safety for over 14 minutes of discussion with families who’ve lost loved ones to gun violence but now demand gun control.
Baldwin told viewers at the top of the first half that she “wanted to hear from Americans who have grieved and survived and are pushing for change here in D.C.” so she met with “11 people, thanks to the help of Everytown for Gun Safety ranging from a woman who lost her father in Columbine, 20 years ago, to two students from Parkland, Florida, who lost friends and teachers just last month.”
“Despite their irreplaceable losses, they have new hope thanks to powerful young voices at Marjory Stoneman High School and here is part one of our conversations,” she added.
All the assembled individuals expressed hope for gun control (despite offering no specifics) and, by design, painting the picture that gun control isn’t a partisan issue but rather something that’s common sense.
Along the way, Baldwin offered little in the way of pushback with one softball question after another, whether it was inviting two Parkland students to comment on how droves of people are praising them to “what does that feel like” when they all get a “breaking news alert on your phone” about a shooting.
Baldwin is the same person who canceled Kyle Kashuv’s Wednesday interview because he retweeted a Daily Wire story about Clay Travis that called her a “fake news hypocrite” over her NSFW Stormy Daniels coverage while booting him off for saying “boobs.”
So, therefore, it’s not surprising that she’s not a serious journalist, as she ended part one and two the interview by encouraging people to “find out, if you are interested in where marches are happening near you” by “[t]ext[ing] ‘March’ to 64433” or “[j]oin CNN tomorrow for complete live coverage of March.”
There was more of the same in the second half as Baldwin allowed one strawman after another as the assembled guests lambasted the idea of teachers having guns (see the transcript for more).
“I just wanted to come to Washington and talk to Americans who have grieved, survived and are pushing for change. And, last night, I listened to 11 people last night, thanks to the help of Everytown for Gun Safety,” she stated at the onset of part two.
To see the relevant transcript from March 23's CNN Newsroom with Brooke Baldwin, click “expand.”
CNN Newsroom with Brooke Baldwin
March 23, 2018
2:42 p.m. [TEASE] Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: “March for Our Lives”; Activists to Demand Gun Safety Measures]
BROOKE BALDWIN: Coming up next here on CNN, ahead of massive marches in cities across the country, I spent my evening with these 11 people, each of whom whose life has been somehow impacted by gun violence. Their powerful stories. Why they say they're hopeful, coming up.
(....)
[“March for Our Lives”; Activists Demand Gun Safety Measures]
BALDWIN: Tomorrow, right here in Washington, D.C., thousands of students from all across the country, including survivors from last month's deadly high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, will March in Washington. The March for Our Lives will demand lawmakers and President Trump do something to stop gun violence and mass shootings on school grounds. Looking ahead to the March, I wanted to hear from Americans who have grieved and survived and are pushing for change here in D.C. Last night, I listened to 11 people, thanks to the help of Everytown for Gun Safety ranging from a woman who lost her father in Columbine, 20 years ago, to two students from Parkland, Florida, who lost friends and teachers just last month. I heard from a high schooler, who lost her father to gun suicide and a librarian who shielded children at Sandy Hook and what I walked away with was this. Despite their irreplaceable losses, they have new hope thanks to powerful young voices at Marjory Stoneman High School and here is part one of our conversations.
CONI SANDERS: My father was killed at Columbine High School in 1999 and for the past 19 years, I've seen a lot of people really working to make change and I believe that Parkland was the tipping point.
BALDWIN: We are sitting amongst people with shootings that span from Columbine, 20 years back, to what happened to you all a couple of weeks ago. And they're saying now, because of what happened at your school, they believe, change is possible. What does that feel like?
NATASHA MARTINEZ: I just think considering our student body and how open they've been of their experience and what they're — how they've been grieving, we've just been very out there and we're kind of like, this is enough.
MAISIE DEVINE: There's so much reason for hope that we're seeing young people whose lives were touched by this tragedy and I think that's why millions of Americans are going to be out on Saturday, marching and demanding change in Washington.
YVONNE CECH: They're just asking for us to help keep them safe. They're not — they are not even, most of them, voting age yet, so they can't politicize this issue.
RICHARD MARTINEZ: This is a generation of young Americans that have grown up with lockdown drills. When they see this happened at Parkland, it's personal to them. Doing nothing doesn't work and I think people are tired of this.
BALDWIN: When you get that breaking news alert on your phone that it has happened again, what does that feel like for you?
SANDERS: So I've been getting that news for almost two decades now and the March on Saturday will mark the 6,913th day I've marched without my dad and every time, there’s this little flash of hope and then nothing. [SCREEN WIPE] When the students from Parkland, when I saw them on TV, I just started like — it's embarrassing. I was jumping around my house, clapping my hands, because people are listening. People are hearing us and we feel like we've been yelling from the bottom of the barrel for almost two decades. [SCREEN WIPE] And you know what? The politicians can March with us or watch us walk away.
BALDWIN: To hear her believe in you all and hope in this plight, 20 years in the making, how does that sit with you?
ALY SHEEHY: I mean, I think a lot of people are confused as to why you're just hearing us now and that's because it took this event to happen at our school for you to hear us. We've talked about it in our school before. We've debated for gun control and what we think would actually make change and now that there's this national presence of media that can get our message out, it's getting out. We're not going to stop.
MARTINEZ: When Columbine happened, social media wasn't around. When Sandy Hook happened, it was elementary can kids. Like, they don't have Instagram, Twitter. I think when they realized it was teenagers and teenagers are on social media all the time, I think it gave us the platform.
REV. SHARON RISHER: When we think about gun violence, I believe it's not until we are able to get into the heart of our legislators and our congressmen, until we're actually able to get into their heart and turn that, will they be able to really understand the plight and the grief and the pain that anybody that has suffered gun violence has to go through? And I miss having my family intact because we're no longer together.
JULIA SPOOR: We really are relying on our adults, we’re relying on on our older generation so that they can vote for lawmakers who support common sense gun laws.
BALDWIN: You have decided to be the change. You are running for Congress in Georgia's 6th district. What pushed you over?
LUCY MCBATH: It's been growing and festering inside of me for a very, very long time. Of course, it started with Jordan and it just came to a culmination with Parkland. There's a shift and a cultural change we've never seen before. These are our babies. If we, as adults, don't even stand up to our own legislators and these children are standing up, I'll do whatever I have to help them thrive and be who they're suppose to be.
SHEEHY: The best way that we’ve thought to describe it is it’s felt like it's been a whole year but also that it’s just been yesterday. A couple of them were in my grades, so I’ve gone to school with them since I’ve been little and kind of losing them has been kind of hard. I know Carmen was in a lot of my classes and she was just so smart and understood everything. Mr. Feis — Coach Feis — he would wave at us every morning when we walked into the school and then Alyssa is my little sister's friend and it's kind of hard talking about it because she was 14 and she had a life ahead of her.
BALDWIN: You will hear much more of our conversation next hour. You can also find out, if you are interested in where marches are happening near you. Text “March” to 64433. Join CNN tomorrow for complete live coverage of March across America. CNN’s coverage begins at 6:00 a.m. Eastern. I'll be hosting special coverage tomorrow from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
(....)
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: “March for Our Lives”; Activists to Demand Gun Safety Measures]
BALDWIN: And later, speaking of this March here in Washington tomorrow, I sat with 11 incredible people, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, all the way from Columbine, Parkland Vegas, their emotional messages and why they feel hopeful actually, coming up.
(....)
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: “March for Our Lives”; Activists to Demand Gun Safety Measures]BALDWIN: We are here today and throughout the weekend because of this March in Washington D.C. The March for Our Lives and I sat down with a group of people. All of whom have survived gun violence, all of whom have grieved. It was an emotional conversation, it was important conversation. Why they're here to March and why they have hope, next.
(....)
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: “March for Our Lives”; Activists to Demand Gun Safety Measures]
BALDWIN: Tomorrow, thousands of people from all across the country, including those students survivors from last month's deadly shooting in Parkland, Florida, will March her on Washington. It's called March for Our Lives and they're demanding lawmakers and President Trump do something to stop gun violence and mass shootings at our nation’s schools and so, I just wanted to come to Washington and talk to Americans who have grieved, survived and are pushing for change. And, last night, I listened to 11 people last night, thanks to the help of Everytown for Gun Safety, ranging from a woman who lost her father in Columbine 20 years ago to two students at Parkland, Florida, who just lost students and friends last month. In addition, I heard from a high schooler who lost her father to gun suicide and a librarian who shielded young children at sandy hook. And what I walked away with was this. Despite their irreplaceable losses, they have new hope, thanks it powerful young voices in parkland, Florida. Here is the second part of our conversation. [TO PANEL] The President has gone back and forth on some of these gun control issues. At times, saying things that could be encouraging to this crowd, at times perhaps not.
MCBATH: The fact that President Trump waffled on what he said he was going to do in support and in terms of gun, soft — stronger gun measures, he waffled within a number of days simply because the NRA gun lobby and the leadership said — I'm believing they said we put you in office, we spent this amount of time, money and resource and we expect you to be beholdened to us.
SANDERS: I think that he said those things and meant them in the moment but then when the politicians get a hold of him, he goes their direction. He's going whatever direction they pull him and, you know, in that moment we all felt a sense of hope and a little bit of shock and awe at the same time.
BALDWIN: Did you feel hope when he said maybe raising the age limit.
MCBATH: I was like — [WAGS FINGER NO]
MARTINEZ: It sounded like he meant it.
BALDWIN: It sounded like he meant it.
[PANEL GROANS]
SANDERS: He likes people to like what he's saying but we need to like what he’s doing.
DIANA PERRI HANESKI: I was very excited. I thought he's going to do something. He is going to make a change and there’s plenty of people who doubt he's going to be able to do something like that and I was very hopeful. I was like, here's his chance and then I guess the NRA got to him.
SHEEHY: My classmates and I have been speaking out. A lot of people are taking it as: Well, you didn’t — where were you when Obama was in office? Where were you when this was happening in the past? I was 10, 11. I'm sorry [PANE LAUGHS] And then it’s also he’s President now. He holds the power now. He holds the power to change our future now and he's not doing anything.
BALDWIN: How many of you think that the country should consider arming teachers? Arming teachers.
[NO ONE RAISES HAND]
RISHER: That's the craziest thing.
[PANEL LAUGHS]
RISHER: It's crazy. I mean, think about, you have to give your focus on teaching and forming these young minds. Where are you going to try on get your brains to function if something happens in your class? Are you going to have your gun on your hip? Is the gun going to be locked up in a closet? So the whole picture of that just seems ludicrous to me.
HANESKI: On the day of the shooting at Sandy Hook school, it would be completely normal for a kindergartner to climb up and try on sit in my lap. If I have a gun on my him, I'm assuming that’s how that would work. [RISHER LAUGHS] And I have a kindergartner climbing my lap while I'm reading a story, I — I can't imagine, first of all, that would be the safest situation and in order for it to be an effective weapon, I'll imagining it has to be loaded and so I have a loaded weapon on my hip and I’ve got kindergartners sitting around me.
JULVONNIA MCDOWELL: As a parent how lost her 14-year-old the a preventable gun incident, I think for the most part, you have — if you arm teachers, then you run the risk of where are they going to store that gun? If it gets in the hands of the wrong person, maybe it’s a student that’s having a bad day that’s getting — something is going on and they find the gun. They stumble across it some kind of way. You're making and you’re creating an environment that is truly unsafe. More guns is definitely not the solution.
BALDWIN: What is the solution? Arming school resource officers? Having more around, not just one, I mean —
SANDERS: In some of the rural areas there is some concern. I was a first responder convention and they were talking about the rural areas where, if they call police, it will be 20 minutes before somebody can respond and so they talked about, who would be the most appropriate person on campus? But they're not talking about arming the librarians.
BALDWIN: You guys are in high school. Jump in. What are you thinking?
SHEEHY: I’ve had a teacher that didn't even know how to turn on the computer. Just the idea of how they’ve all of a sudden have this idea that they're going to be able to arm so many teachers in every single school and they’ve gotten money for this. Schools have been underfunded for way too long.
RISHER: Yes.
SHEEHY: Teachers are underpaid, overworked. Someone saying that arming my teacher is going to me feel safe, they're not asking us.
HANESKI: It’s very upsetting, though that that can get passed, that you can have someone on campus with a gun. When all these other issues that make so much more sense have not been passed in legislation. I don't understand. I'm — I’m sad that they can say, oh, yes, we'll solve that with more guns. Like, how can that happen in the United States of America?
DEVINE: When we were hiding behind the trailer during the shooting in Las Vegas, there were people around me saying, you know, I wish I had my gun and they had been drinking all day. He wasn’t in the festival so these people would have had guns on them while also having been drinking and going into the crowd with no information about where the shooter was.
CECH: It was an incredible response from first responders to Sandy Hook school and it still took them hours to exactly figure out how many shooters were there, was there still someone that they were looking for. So, if you imagine that situation and you imagine a teacher running down the hall with a gun, my guess is, the teacher would be shot by the law enforcement because they wouldn't have any way to know that was a good guy with a gun.
MCDOWELL: You never know how you're going to react when you're in a situation and you're scared. When fear takes over, you don't know what your response would be. We can be trained all day long, but that doesn't mean things doesn't happen or doesn’t go another way. And who’s going to be there to guide that way when something goes wrong?
BALDWIN: Who thinks there's a chance, though, that the President may jump in and do something in your favor? [NO ONE RAISES HAND] Wow. No one. Although they emphasized they do feel very hopeful and they are marching this weekend and if you want to March, you go find out where marches are happening near you. Text March 64433 and please come back tomorrow. CNN will be live much of the day for this March for Our Lives. We'll be hosting here from Washington tomorrow from 2 to 4 Eastern.
