Media Research Center founder and president Brent Bozell made his latest appearance on the Fox Business Network on Tuesday, sounding off on The New York Times kowtowing to their “clearly out of control” far-left base by changing a headline and CNN’s upcoming show trial on gun control.
And for good measure, Bozell schooled a liberal panelist on Bulls and Bears after they insinuated the President was responsible for the El Paso terror attack.
Host David Asman started with The New York Times, explaining that the paper bowed to liberals and 2020 Democrats and changed a headline about President Trump’s response to the El Paso and Dayton attacks from “Trump urges unity versus racism” to “Assailing hate, but not guns.”
Bozell responded by quipping that “you got to laugh” as The Times had to move away from a headline that told “the truth” even though it went “against” their anti-Trump narrative (click “expand”):
The left and the hard left and all of these candidates, everyone you just mentioned have been trying endlessly to try to portray Donald Trump is a racist. They did it after Charlottesville, they did it with El Paso, everything goes back to him being a racist. The problem is, he's not. So it’s damned if you do, damned if you don't. If he doesn't speak out strongly enough against racism, then he's condemned. If he speaks out against racism, then you take away the headline and you put another headline in there. This is the far left — this is the radical left that is clearly out of control.
Panelist Carol Roth wondered why these people “don’t....understand” that “this level of hypocrisy is exactly what got Donald Trump elected President in the first place” and Bozell agreed that the President has long recognized that Americans are “disgusted” and “furious at what they are doing and they're only making it worse.”
He added that the latest example of media lunacy was CNN’s thirst for ratings ahead of their Wednesday night gun control town hall even though “we haven't buried the dead yet.”
Speaking to Steve Forbes, Bozell stated that he’s not sure what exactly will happen to CNN, MSNBC, and the major papers after Trump leaves office because, CNN in particular has “carved out for themselves” a set of “radical” viewers.
Liberal panelist Zachary Karabell then interjected to condemn Bozell’s statements, not only suggesting that most Americans think the opposite but implied that the President was the cause for the El Paso attack. Not surprisingly, Bozell fired back. Here’s their full tussle (click “expand”):
KARABELL: You know, Brent — Brent, you’re making these sweeping generalizations about the country as this and that, all polls combined put Donald trumps approval rating at 43 or 44 percent, which leaves about 56 percent of the country — you can correct my math — who are clearly don't agree with what your sweeping generalization. And in addition, The New York Times and his liberal readers notwithstanding, it was the President saying send them back or they can go back to the countries they were from that was fuel to this fire in the first place and whatever -ist you characterize it as is a major issue for the President to say that about four U.S. Citizens.
BOZELL: So, so, according — and you will agree, that with Mika this morning, who said the President wants, she said — he — she — she said he wants mass murders. You're saying that rhetoric is responsible for people dying, i.e. Donald Trump is responsible for people dying. Are you saying that?
KARABELL: I'm not saying that. I'm saying there are legitimate issues —
BOZELL: You just did.
KARABELL: — about the President’s often stated views. I didn’t say that.
BOZELL: You just did.
KARABELL: You quoted somebody else.
BOZELL: Yes, you did.
KARABELL: She said something else
BOZELL: Yes, you did. You said his rhetoric is —
KARABELL: I didn’t talk about gun violence at all, Brent.
BOZELL: — but to the first part —
KARABELL: Don't put words in my mouth. Just don’t.
BOZELL: — that's exactly what you did. You can't blame rhetoric as if it’s some esoteric term. You're saying it’s the President’s actions that were responsible for this. This is the reality of the situation.
KARABELL: I said no such thing, Brent.
BOZELL: You sound like every —
KARABELL: Brent!
BOZELL: — pundit —
KARABELL: I said no such thing.
BOZELL: — in 2016 who said that Donald Trump could never win. You sound like every pundit in 2016.
After answering a question about The Times headline from FBN’s Jackie DeAngelis (who was also flummoxed by the paper), Bozell concluded by blasting Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s assertion that, through its original headline, The Times was supporting white supremacy: “Look, what's what you say — that’s what you say when either A, you're on mushrooms, or B, you have no idea what you're talking about.”
To see the full transcript of Bozell’s appearance from FBN’s Bulls and Bears on August 6, click “expand”
FBN’s Bulls and Bears
August 6, 2019
5:41 p.m. EasternDAVID ASMAN: The New York Times changing its front-page headline after backlash from Democrats. Here's the original headline: “Trump urges unity versus racism.” Now, 2020 hopefuls including Cory Booker, Bill De Blasio, Beto O’Rourke, blasting The Times for that headline for the characterization of Trump’s speech yesterday and the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton. Even Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez weighed in tweeting this: “Let this front-page serve as a reminder of how white supremacy is aided by - and often relies upon - cowardice of mainstream institutions.” Now, take a look at how the paper reacted or changed its headline for its second edition. “Assailing hate, but not guns.” Here now is Media Research Center founder and president, Brent Bozell. So, Brent, what you make of this?
BRENT BOZELL: You got a laugh. So, what’s happening? What The New York Times headline was the truth. The problem with the truth is that it goes against the narrative. The left and the hard left and all of these candidates, everyone you just mentioned have been trying endlessly to try to portray Donald Trump is a racist. They did it after Charlottesville, they did it with El Paso, everything goes back to him being a racist. The problem is, he's not. So it’s damned if you do, damned if you don't. If he doesn't speak out strongly enough against racism, then he's condemned. If he speaks out against racism, then you take away the headline and you put another headline in there. This is the far left — this is the radical left that is clearly out of control.
CAROL ROTH: Hi, Brent, it’s Carol Roth. You know, The New York Times, while it has some fine reporting, also has had a lot of hot garbage including headlines, including anti-Semitic op-eds. A lot of things for people to be enraged about and this is the thing that all of a sudden, they're outraged about. Don't people understand this level of hypocrisy is exactly what got Donald Trump elected president in the first place?
BOZELL: Yeah. Yeah or Carol — very good point or, you know, return that around, Donald Trump ran in his number one issue has been the fake news media. Why? Because he knows that the country is furious at what they are doing and they're only making it worse. Look at CNN. Tomorrow night they are going to be in El Paso doing a town hall. My God, we haven't buried the dead yet and already, CNN is down there on a ratings plunge. This is for ratings that they’re doing and they’re using this awful event to push for gun control. I mean, this is the kindest stuff that has the public disgusted with the press. Sorry, you folks are the exception, of course.
STEVE FORBES: Brent, take a look at the future, Donald Trump leaves office whether next year or four or five years from now. What happens in The New York Times? Isn't he the best thing that is happened to The Times? The Washington Post? A lot — the detractors flock to it. What happens when he is gone? Did they wither away?
BOZELL: Yeah. I've wondered about that. What happens to CNN and MSNBC? They've made the corporate decision to be anti-Trump networks or they went in the direction of carving that piece of the pie and trying to get that radical audience. Well, they have succeeded even though in the case of CNN and means 571,000 people prime time at night, which by the way, is two-tenths of one percent of the Americana people, but that's what they carved out for themselves. But that happens when they lose that? You know, Steve, I don't know what's going to happen to a lot of these news outlets.
JACKIE DEANGELIS: I’m wondering what you think about —
ZACHARY KARABELL: You know, Brent — Brent, you’re making these sweeping generalizations about the country as this and that, all polls combined put Donald trumps approval rating at 43 or 44 percent, which leaves about 56 percent of the country — you can correct my math — who are clearly don't agree with what your sweeping generalization. And in addition, The New York Times and his liberal readers notwithstanding, it was the President saying send them back or they can go back to the countries they were from that was fuel to this fire in the first place and whatever -ist you characterize it as is a major issue for the President to say that about four U.S. Citizens.
BOZELL: So, so, according — and you will agree, that with Mika this morning, who said the President wants, she said — he — she — she said he wants mass murders. You're saying that rhetoric is responsible for people dying, i.e. Donald Trump is responsible for people dying. Are you saying that?
KARABELL: I'm not saying that. I'm saying there are legitimate issues —
BOZELL: You just did.
KARABELL: — about the President’s often stated views. I didn’t say that.
BOZELL: You just did.
KARABELL: You quoted somebody else.
BOZELL: Yes, you did.
KARABELL: She said something else
BOZELL: Yes, you did. You said his rhetoric is —
KARABELL: I didn’t talk about gun violence at all, Brent.
BOZELL: — but to the first part —
KARABELL: Don't put words in my mouth. Just don’t.
BOZELL: — that's exactly what you did. You can't blame rhetoric as if it’s some esoteric term. You're saying it’s the president’s actions that were responsible for this. This is the reality of the situation.
KARABELL: I said no such thing, Brent.
BOZELL: You sound like every —
KARABELL: Brent!
BOZELL: — pundit —
KARABELL: I said no such thing.
BOZELL: — in 2016 who said that Donald Trump could never win. You sound like every pundit in 2016.
DEANGELIS: I'm wondering if the actual changing of the headline, as a journalist myself, it’s really, I mean, I’m just floored by it. If it doesn't really speak to the issue that Donald Trump has been bringing up all along and calling certain new sources fake news, when you take a headline you originally put out there and you actually bowed to pressure and you change it, is that not fake news?
BOZELL: Well, it is especially when — what The New York Times put in there was factual objective truth. It is what Donald Trump did and what that tells me is the left has so much power that they can change truth in a newspaper like The New York Times, that’s it for the idea of The New York Times being a believable newspaper.
ASMAN: Well, and to have a Ocasio-Cortez claim that The New York Times itself is an aid of white supremacy was a pretty remarkable statement. But they bowed to that political intimidation.
BOZELL: Look, what's what you say — that’s what you say when either A, you're on mushrooms, or B, you have no idea what you're talking about.
ASMAN: Alright. Well, We’ll leave the viewer to guess what he means by the mushrooms. Brent, great to see you. Thank you very much.
