Longtime CBS reporter and chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford went viral on Sunday and Monday on social media following comments, meant to air on Sunday’s Face the Nation, that slammed our elected officials and public health experts for “the crushing impact that our COVID policies have had on young kids and children” and the subsequent mental health crisis. However, CBS News kept her comments out of the actual show.
Instead, CBS relegated Crawford’s stinging rebuke — which took place during the show’s year-end reporters roundtable — to Face the Nation’s Facebook and Twitter pages, a CBSNews.com transcript, and a YouTube video of the full roundtable.
In the full video, Brennan pivoted away from hopes of congressional Democrats advancing their agenda to asking: “Well, I want to get to underreported stories as well, Jan?”
Crawford responded without hesitation that it was something “my kids hear me rant about...every day, so I might as well tell you guys.”
“It's the crushing impact that our COVID policies have had on young kids and children. By far the least serious risk for serious illness,” she began, adding that “a healthy teenager has a one in a million chance of getting, and dying from COVID, which is way lower than, you know, dying in a car wreck on a road trip.”
For the ideology that claims to represent the little guy and stand up for marginalized communities, what Crawford had to say was a direct repudiation:
But they have suffered and sacrificed the most, especially kids and underrepresented at risk communities. And now we have the Surgeon General saying there's a mental health crisis among our kids. The risk of suicide girl suicide attempts among girls now up 51 percent this year, black kids nearly twice as likely as white kids to die by suicide. I mean, school closures, lockdowns, cancellation of sports.
Crawford focused on the D.C. area, saying “[y]ou couldn't even go on a playground in the D.C. area without cops scurrying — getting — shooing the kids off. Tremendous negative impact on kids, and it's been an afterthought.”
She wrapped by going big picture with the reality that, along with their “mental health” having taken a turn for the worse with repercussions lasting for “the rest of their lives” if future decisions aren’t “measured and sensible,” the damage could worsen on top of the “dreams” crushed, “future learning” stunted, and “risk of abuse” incurred.
Before going to longtime Pentagon correspondent David Martin for his pick, Brennan voiced agreement: “Well said and frightening.”
Worse yet, CBS axed Crawford’s comments seconds before they would have aired. As you can see in the transcript and video of how the show aired (links above), White House correspondent Weijia Jiang said “we’ll see” about what happens with Congress in 2022 and Crawford was then set to follow, but Brennan instead went to a commercial break.
Following the break, the CBS tape skipped ahead to each reporter’s 2022 prediction.
To see the relevant CBS transcript from December 26, click “expand.”
CBS’s Face the Nation
December 26, 2021MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, I want to get to underreported stories as well, Jan?
JAN CRAWFORD: Oh, I — just for me, I mean, my kids hear me rant about this every day, so I might as well tell you guys it's- it's the crushing impact that our COVID policies have had on young kids and children. By far the least serious risk for serious illness. But I mean, even teenagers, you know, a healthy teenager has a one in a million chance of getting, and dying from COVID, which is way lower than, you know, dying in a car wreck on a road trip. But they have suffered and sacrificed the most, especially kids and underrepresented at risk communities. And now we have the Surgeon General saying there's a mental health crisis among our kids. The risk of suicide girl suicide attempts among girls now up 51 percent this year, black kids nearly twice as likely as white kids to die by suicide. I mean, school closures, lockdowns, cancellation of sports. You couldn't even go on a playground in the D.C. area without cops scurrying — getting — shooing the kids off. Tremendous negative impact on kids, and it's been an afterthought. You know, it's it's it's hurt their dreams, their future learning, loss, risk of abuse, their mental health. And now, with our knowledge, our vaccines. If our policies don't reflect a more measured and reasonable approach for our children, they will be paying for our generation's decisions, the rest of their lives. And that, to me, is the greatest underreported story of the past year.
BRENNAN: Well said and frightening, David.
CRAWFORD: Sorry, David, I didn't mean to take your role.
MARTIN: Mine is going to seem awfully paltry compared to that.
