CNN reporter Donie O'Sullivan went to the Trump rally over the weekend to interview and spotlight the people who think Trump didn't lose. But on Tuesday's New Day, they isolated one man who claimed that President Trump would "come back before the middle of August." Asked by O'Sullivan "what if it doesn't happen?", the man responded: "we're going to be in a civil war, because the militia will be taking over."
That sent the CNN panel—composed of substitute host Erica Hill, law enforcement correspondent Whitney Wild, and CNN anchor Laura Jarrett [daughter of Valerie]—into a tizzy. One man's opinion represented an entire movement. Hill said "These comments are so serious." Wild warned: "The threat is everywhere."
Then Jarrett said "how do you counteract something like that? If someone truly believes that, and let’s take him at his word that he truly believes that, what number of fact checks is going to help something like that?" Wild said: "None!"
Hill bemoaned the fact that it is hard to counteract such views because "fact checks are coming from places that they're not listening to."
If a conservative journalist found this kind of isolated threat-mongering from a Black Lives Matter or Antifa activist, CNN would surely dismiss it as an unrepresentative lone-wolf opinion. CNN reporters tout "mostly peaceful" race protests standing in front of fires. CNN isn't scared of Antifa violence. CNN reporters have excused Antifa violence -- even when they're the targets.
CNN's Wild said that the Trump supporter's comment should be taken more seriously because it was on "national television." That's because CNN chose to put it on national television! Repeatedly. This wasn't someone seeking the limelight. He was buttonholed by a CNN reporter.
CNN cherry-picking a comment by one person at a Trump rally to trumpet the threat of a "civil war" and "militia taking over" was sponsored in part by Trivago, Google, and Priceline.
Here's the transcript.
CNN
New Day
6/29/21
6:16 am EDTERICA HILL: I mean, we can't ignore, it shouldn’t all be about the former president, but he still has this hold over his party, and I think it’s illustrated by what we saw at his rally in Ohio over the weekend. Our good friend, Donie O’Sullivan, was there talking to some folks. And this is still out there. I just want to play a moment.
DONIE O'SULLIVAN: That he could come back as soon as —
TRUMP RALLY ATTENDER: Before the middle of August.
O'SULLIVAN: What if that doesn’t happen?
RALLY ATTENDER: Huh?
O'SULLIVAN: What if that doesn’t happen?
RALLY ATTENDER: We’re going to be in a Civil War, because the militia will be taking over.
HILL: The militia will be taking over. I mean, these comments are so serious, because A, that person, that man was saying it very seriously, but B, we are still trying to figure out exactly what happened on January 6th.
WHITNEY WILD: And where the threat lies. I mean, that's the question. When you see somebody say something like that on social media, it might fall flat, an analyst might say, well, that’s just somebody sounding off on social media. But now, you see somebody like that saying it on now on national television and the question is, well, where is this real, and who’s going to perpetuate it?. What does he know about potential violence. It opens up a list of questions, I think, that law enforcement hadn’t seriously considered before, but now they have to. Because so much was missed leading up to January 6th. I mean, now it’s like the threat is everywhere, and they’re just trying to get a handle on what is real because it seems like, you know, things can just pop up in an instant.
LAURA JARRETT: It also makes you wonder, how do you counteract something like that? If someone truly believes that, and let’s take him at his word that he truly believes that, what number of fact checks is going to help something like that?
WILD: None! I mean none!
HILL: That’s just it. And also the fact checks are coming from places that likely --
JARRETT: Right! That they're not listening to!
HILL: -- That likely they’re not listening to. They’re certainly not going to seek them out.
