In the past month liberal journalists have blamed “domestic terrorist” enabling Republicans for the Parkland, Florida school shooting tragedy, depicted Donald Trump as an “ethnic cleansing” “dictator” and decried Fox News as a “racist outfit” that is a “noxious stain on American society.”
On the other hand, the media fell in love with North Korea’s “first sister” of Kim Jong-un as they contrasted the Winter Olympics appearance of the “prim” “political princess” against “bullying” Mike Pence. And speaking of hero worship, MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell prodded former Vice President Joe Biden to run in 2020 as she wondered if he was inspired by Philadelphia Eagle quarterback Nick Foles’s Super Bowl-winning run.
Meanwhile, Hollywood celebrities took their egregious shots at conservatives as well with ABC talk show host Jimmy Kimmel faulting the “allegedly Christian men and women” for school shootings and comedian Joy Behar disgustingly disparaging Pence’s faith as a “mental illness.”
The following is a collection of the most heinous outbursts from liberal journalists and celebrities over the past month:
Raging Against Responsible Gun Owners, Not the Killer
“The president does nothing. Washington does nothing to protect our children from this continued madness....We know there are deranged killers right now planning a mass shooting and they’re planning it right now....I just wonder, though, today, who will be those domestic terrorist enablers? Who are going to be the useful idiots in the media, on web sites and on Capitol Hill that will make excuses for the gun lobby?”
— Host Joe Scarborough on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, February 15.
“The Bible warns us not to worship false gods. And yet, it does seem as though much of America is indeed worshiping at the altar of the gun gods. We watch aghast from abroad, knowing that there are solutions.”
— February 15 tweet by CNN host Christiane Amanpour.
“Enough is enough. I will never again vote for someone who sides with the @NRA We must have leaders who are willing to do something to stop the spread of guns.”
— February 14 tweet by ABC News political analyst Matthew Dowd.
“Maybe you can use NRA campaign cash doled out to Florida politicians to pay those expenses. Set up a memorial fund while you’re at it with the NRA millions that allow the slaughter of our children to continue year after year.”
— February 15 tweet by MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, in response to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi saying the state of Florida will pay funeral and counseling services in wake of Parkland school shooting.
CNNers Frightened That Trump Will Kill Democracy
Senior political analyst David Gergen: “What if the Democrats, you know, take the House back?...Is that all going to be blamed on fake news? What if they fall short? Are Democrats going to think, you know, it was all that meddling, and they have won a few seats that they wouldn’t have otherwise won?...It’s the beginning of an authoritarian rule, and that’s the larger threat hanging over us now.”
Host Brian Stelter: “That’s a pretty frightening picture you just painted. Are you personally afraid of that, David?”...
Gergen: “The threat is growing.”
— CNN’s Reliable Sources, February 18.
Democracy “Crumbling” as Trump Follows “Dictator’s Playbook”
Co-host Stephanie Ruhle: “If darkness is where democracy dies, and that’s where we are, are we not on the brink of our democracy possibly crumbling?”
Co-host Ali Velshi: “Recently I have been re-reading a lot of history from sort of the 1920s through to the 1950s....just to remind myself of the scourge on the Earth and danger of dictatorial regimes who often get there initially by undermining the press, undermining the judiciary, and undermining the apparatus of government....This is a tried and true way of, you know, making people really doubt their institutions and their government and their courts.”...
MSNBC terrorism analyst Malcolm Nance: “For those of us who are skilled in this area, especially in intelligence, we recognize this. This comes from the dictator’s playbook.”
— MSNBC Live, February 5.
Donald Trump is the Embodiment of Joe McCarthy
“This is a moment we, including in the press, Fox News, we need to look at history. We need to look at the last great authoritarian demagogue in this country, who was Joe McCarthy, and see if indeed I am right and this is true, that Donald Trump mimics, re-embodies to a large extent the tactics, techniques and methodology of Joe McCarthy. The constant smearing of immigrants, of Mexicans, of those he opposes, the belittling of them, little this, little him.”
— CNN political analyst and former Washington Post editor Carl Bernstein on CNN’s New Day, February 7.
Trump and GOP Engaging in “Ethnic Cleansing” to “Make America White Again”
CNBC contributor Ron Insana: “There’s a strange twinge. I hesitate to use this expression, Stephanie, but it almost feels like a little ethnic cleansing is going on in the United States right now insofar as people of color are in danger here. And this is something that disturbs me greatly.”
Host Stephanie Ruhle: “Doesn’t that blow your mind that we’re even saying that?”
— Discussion of immigration bill debate on MSNBC Live, February 2.
“The fact is that Republicans with this negotiation, they want to change the essence, I think, of the United States. I mean, do they really want to make America white again?...Is that the deal?”
— Univision anchor Jorge Ramos, discussing immigration legislation, on CNN’s AC360, February 12.
End the “Noxious Stain” and “Racist Outfit” That Is Fox News
“She [Fox News host Laura Ingraham] specifically took him [Lebron James] on over his intellect, and that is the most racist slur that a black man is somehow stupid or less educated than a white man....It’s time for the shareholders for the advertisers on Fox to take a good look and to say, ‘Do we want our companies... do we want our money to be associated with not only a racist outfit, but one which is really destroying civil dialogue in a democracy?’...People have to begin to withdraw themselves – withdraw their money – withdraw their support – withdraw their product endorsements, because this is a noxious stain on American society.”
— Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin on MSNBC’s AM Joy, February 18.
Democratic Victories Are America’s Only “Hope for the Future”
Co-host Joe Scarborough: “Black turnout [was] higher in [Alabama Democratic Senator] Doug Jones’s off-year special election race than it was for Barack Obama. That remains the most remarkable statistic of this year and the reason why Republicans should be shaking in their boots right now.”
Co-host Mika Brzezinski: “It also remains our hope for the future of this country.”
— MSNBC’s Morning Joe, February 16.
To Work in Trump White House You Must “Degrade Your Humanity”
Political analyst Matthew Dowd: “Anybody who goes into that White House – there’s already, in my mind, a question about their moral center. But being in that White House reveals fundamentally who these people are.”...
Bloomberg News Editor Megan Murphy: “You actually want to say to these people: ‘Is this what you’re willing to do? Are you willing to degrade your humanity, your integrity, your very being, and what you want to leave as a legacy to this country?...And if that’s what [chief economic adviser] Gary Cohn or somebody else that goes in that job, you are leaving your humanity, your integrity, and your dignity at the door!”
— ABC’s This Week, February 11.
American Journalists or North Korean Propaganda? Hard to Tell The Difference
“We spent a week inside North Korea and gained rare access to the people there....First impressions: Clean, organized, and a lot of people in uniform. A tour of weapons captured from American forces in the Korean War counts as a school outing here. What are you learning here? ‘We are learning about the great fighting spirit of our war heros,’ this child tells me. ‘America gave unfathomable pain to our people,’ he says. Here, an amusement park in the capital, bumper cars. They are ruthless, these guys.”
— Correspondent Keir Simmons on NBC’s Today, February 7.
“If ‘diplomatic dance’ were an event at the Winter Olympics, Kim Jong-un’s younger sister would be favored to win gold....With a smile, a handshake and a warm message in South Korea’s presidential guest book, Kim Yo-jong has struck a chord with the public just one day into the Pyeongchang Games....Seen by some as her brother’s answer to American first daughter Ivanka Trump, Kim, 30, is not only a powerful member of Kim Jong-un’s kitchen cabinet but also a foil to the perception of North Korea as antiquated and militaristic...It also is a signal that North Korea is not this crazy, weird former Cold War state but it too has young women that are capable and are the future leadership.”
— Joe Sterling, Sheena McKenzie and Brian Todd in February 10 CNN.com article headlined “Kim Jong-un’s sister is stealing the show at the Winter Olympics.”
“A prim, young woman [Kim Yo-jong] with a high forehead and hair half swept back quietly gazes at the throngs of people pushing for a glimpse of her, a faint smile on her lips and eyelids low as four bodyguards jostle around her....Crowds applauded as she stood for the South Korean anthem during the opening ceremony for the start of the Winter Olympic Games, while her big smiles and relaxed manner left a largely positive impression on the South Korean public.”
— Reuters correspondent Christine Kim in February 12 article headlined “Head Held High, Kim’s Sister Returns to North Korea”
“The fact that he [Vice President Mike Pence] and Mrs. Pence didn’t stand when the unified [North and South Korean] team came in was a new low in a bullying type of American diplomacy.”
— Motoko Rich and Choe Sang-Hu in February 11 New York Times article: “Kim Jong-un’s Sister Turns on the Charm, Taking Pence’s Spotlight.”
“Here she was, a political princess, but the North Korean ‘first sister’ had none of the hallmarks of power and wealth that Koreans south of the divide have come to expect. In looks-obsessed South Korea, many 20-something women list plastic surgery and brand-name bags as life goals.”
— Anna Fifield in February 10 Washington Post article: “The ‘Ivanka Trump of North Korea’ captivates people in the South at the Olympics.”
When Hannity Wins, America Loses
“Let’s be honest. This week, Sean Hannity won. And the rest of America lost. The pro-Trump media led by Hannity has circled the wagons around President Trump. They’ve distracted people about the truth involving Trump’s Russia ties and they’ve done everything possible to destroy faith in Robert Mueller’s probe. And look, Hannity won, it worked.”
— Host Brian Stelter on CNN’s Reliable Sources, February 4.
“When I saw the senator from Wisconsin talking about secret societies and I hear them talking about the rot and the stench, the words used on Fox for within the government, you tell me how this is different from Joe McCarthy, the Wisconsin senator in 1954. I think we are in an incredibly dangerous place right now. And the outcome is not predetermined. You are right in the sense that Hannity and those guys won with this. I think they’ve made – they’ve dug that narrative deeper into the American brain, that there’s corruption at these – you know, look at McCarthy. The State Department, it’s riddled with communists. Now, they’re riddled with dishonorable, politically motivated FBI people.”
— Baltimore Sun writer David Zurawick on CNN’s Reliable Sources, February 4.
Hard For Us “Stick to the Facts” Reporters to Beat Out Fox’s “Dishonest Narrative”
“On one side, we have a very politically motivated media, Fox, Breitbart, Infowars, et cetera, that are pushing a dishonest narrative, frankly, that is politically motivated. And on the other side, we’re trying to be like, well, we’re not on any side, here are the details. And I think people’s eyes glaze over....That’s part of the problem, is that one side is very politically motivated. And the other side, you and myself included, are trying to stick to the facts. And the facts get more and more conflicted as – you know, with every day.”
— The Atlantic’s Julia Ioffe, discussing coverage of Russian “collusion” story on CNN’s Reliable Sources, February 4.
Andrea All But Cues Up Rocky Theme Music to Get Joe to Run
“[Philadelphia Eagles quarterback] Nick Foles said the other day, ‘Don’t be afraid to fail, failure is part of life. It’s part of building character. Without failure, who would we be?’ Does that inspire you when you think about – you’ve run for president twice – when you think about the future?...So is there some part of Joe Biden who’s identifying with Nick Foles and the team as they climb the steps of the art museum today? Is there a part of you that thinks about Rocky Balboa?”
— Host Andrea Mitchell’s questions to former Vice President Joe Biden on MSNBC Live, February 8.
Trump Keeps Surprising Us With His “Acts of Madness” in the “Exact Style of Kim Jong-un”
Estrella TV anchor Adriana Yañez: “And Donald Trump doesn’t stop surprising Americans with his acts of madness. Now, he’s asked for a military parade to intimidate his enemies. Oscar Sosa has more.”
Estrella TV reporter Oscar Sosa: “In the exact style of Kim Jong-un or Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump has asked for a military parade to show off American power and emphasize his role as the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.”
— February 7, 2018 edition of Noticiero Estrella TV, February 7. (As translated from the original Spanish language feed).
Parade to Honor the Troops is “Un-American”
“We’re getting more North Korean every day in this country. You know, yesterday the President says people who don’t cheer are un-American and treasonous. And today, we’re going to start having big parades with tanks and missiles....But the idea in peacetime, simply having tanks roll through the streets of Washington that’s – to use a phrase the President likes to use – in my experience that’s un-American.”
— CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin on CNN’s The Situation Room, February 6.
Trump’s Defenders = “Cockroaches”
“This continual assault on the things that protect us – our intelligence community, the media, the judicial system. I want to hear from Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan. What do they say about this? It’s time for these cockroaches to come out from under their rocks and respond. What do you say gentlemen?”
— Political analyst Donny Deutsch on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, January 26.
GOP “Living in Tiny Intellectual Space,” “Incapable of Caring About” Kids
“Republicans never know more than one sentence. Their lives are simple because their talking points are literally one sentence, and they never have to learn anything beyond that. And they actually revel in kind of living in that tiny intellectual space....They [Republicans] do not want it. [SCHIP] It does not interest them. They do not care about those children. They are incapable of caring about them.”
— MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC’s AM Joy, January 27.
Pence = “Dangerous” Christian With “Mental Illness”
Co-host Sunny Hostin: “When you have a Mike Pence who now puts this religious veneer on things and who calls people values voters, I think we’re this a dangerous situation. Look I’m Catholic. I’m a faithful person, but I don’t know that I want my vice president speaking in tongues and having Jesus speak to him.”
Co-host Joy Behar: “Like I said before, it’s one thing to talk to Jesus. It’s another thing when Jesus talks to you.”
Hostin: “Exactly. That’s different.”
Behar: “That’s called mental illness, if I’m not correct. Hearing voices.”
— ABC’s The View, February 13.
“Allegedly Christian Men and Women” and “Mentally Ill” Trump At Fault for School Shootings
“Tell your buddies in Congress, tell Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell and Marco Rubio, all the family men who care so much about their communities, that what we need are laws, real laws, that do everything possible to keep assault rifles out of the hands of people who are going to shoot our kids...Force these allegedly Christian men and women who stuff their pockets with money from the NRA – year after year, after year – to do something now....So I agree this is a mental illness issue, because if you don’t think we need to do something about it, you’re obviously mentally ill!”
— Host Jimmy Kimmel on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, February 15.
Genius Jimmy Is Too Smart For You Dumb Conservatives
“Pretty much every late night talk show is a liberal. And that’s because it requires a measure of intelligence.”
— ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! host Jimmy Kimmel on “Pod Save America” podcast February 4.
King’s Bad “Karma” Curse on Republicans
“A trainload of Republicans on their way to a pricey retreat hit a garbage truck. My friend Russ calls that karma.”
— February 1 tweet by author Stephen King.
Some of Obama’s Opponents “Never Got Over” that “Slavery Was Abolished”
Host David Axelrod: “How much of that opposition [to Barack Obama] was rooted in race, in your view?”
Whoopi Goldberg: “I think a lot of it was based in race....When Obama won and you had some of those talk radio people asking questions. Like ‘Doesn’t he remind you of Curious George?’ You know all of those little things that I remember hearing, reminded me that – you know – that group that never got over the fact that slavery was abolished is still out there. It’s still out there.”
— CNN’s The Axe Files, February 3.
Risking Their Lives, Only To Be Ridiculed
“I agree about ICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents], you know, I mean, Trump may not be Hitler, but ICE is the Gestapo.”
— Host Bill Maher on HBO’s Real Time, January 26.
Laughing at Lefty Signs That Urge First Lady to Kill President
“Melania, ho to ho: Kill that John in his sleep.”
— Host Bill Maher reciting a made-up sign from women’s march as aired on HBO’s Real Time, January 26.
Understated Critique From Cusack
“I hope every one rembers [sic] right now – only issues that matter are defeating GOP death cult at ballots – & removing a treasonous – criminaly [sic] deranged serial sexual assaulting Nazi pimp nra blood whore from office before he can do more damage – everything else is just noise.”
— February 19 tweet by actor John Cusack.
