After not caring about President Obama’s golf habit for eight years, CNN suddenly finds it imperative for a functioning democracy for them to document every stroke of President Trump’s outings at his courses. During CNN Newsroom on Wednesday, fill-in host Don Lemon and reporter Dan Merica were losing their minds over someone parking a box truck to block a gap in some hedges CNN was using to peep on the President.
The network’s mouth foaming outrage began on Tuesday when political reporter Manu Raju gloated on Twitter that part of Trump’s round of golf was “captured by CNN cameras.” Raju’s description of his colleagues “capturing” video of Trump sounded more like they were trying to film a nature documentary or hunting Bigfoot rather than doing serious reporting. CNN’s escapades in the bushes marked them for widespread ridicule on social media.
Come Wednesday, someone who CNN couldn’t identify parked a white box truck in front of the “breach” in the shrubs, and for CNN the world looked bleak. “So Dan, you’re in West Palm Beach [, Florida], you’re traveling with the President, understand he played another round of golf today. CNN got video of the President playing golf for the last few days. But I understand something different happened today. What was it,” Lemon asked Merica is a hushed and serious tone.
After explaining how CNN’s job was to document the President’s daily activates and complaining about how the White House doesn’t always tell them what he’s doing, Merica whined about the box truck and claimed it was a part of some “larger” issue:
Today, a big white box truck parked in front trying to obscure our shot of President Trump golfing. Now it may seem trivial, but it is important to give video as the President does these things on a daily basis. And goes to something that is larger, the President and the White House have tried to obscure the fact that President Trump golfs on a regular basis.
Merica droned on about how Trump had golfed 87 times since taking office despite criticizing President Obama for golfing a lot. He also reported how CNN pestered “the White House, to the Secret Service, and to the sheriff’s office down here to confirm was this their truck…”
“I believe the word is hypocrisy, Dan, hypocrisy because he criticized the former president so much,” Lemon pompously declared before getting combative with the network’s critics. “And for those who may be criticizing CNN, we have video of every president playing golf, President Bush video of him, President Obama playing golf…”
But Lemon was right, the word was hypocrisy, or more specifically CNN’s hypocrisy. When Obama was gallivanting around to go golfing, CNN didn’t find it noteworthy at all. Even when Obama rushed off to play golf after ISIS released video of journalist James Foley being beheaded, the network wasn’t really aghast. On CNN New Day, Bloomberg reporter and CNN commentator Margaret Talev huffed at criticism saying: “The man wants to go out for a few hours and be left alone.”
Transcript below:
CNN Newsroom
December 27, 2017
2:29:46 PM EasternDON LEMON: So Dan, you’re in West Palm Beach [, Florida], you’re traveling with the President, understand he played another round of golf today. CNN got video of the President playing golf for the last few days. But I understand something different happened today. What was it?
DAN MERICA: You know, our job down here is to cover the President to tell our viewers what is he doing on daily basis. Over the last few days, we've gotten video of the President golfing at his nearby golf club here in West Palm Beach. There is a break in the hedges really. The President doesn't really and his staff doesn't tell us when he is golfing. And we have taken to going outside the golf course and filming him as he golfs through the break in hedges near the club.
Today, a big white box truck parked in front trying to obscure our shot of President Trump golfing. Now it may seem trivial, but it is important to give video as the President does these things on a daily basis. And goes to something that is larger, the President and the White House have tried to obscure the fact that President Trump golfs on a regular basis.
According to our count, he has visited one of his golf courses 87 times as President. This is a man who ran for president, who criticized Barack Obama regularly golfing during his presidency. But that criticism hasn't continued into the Trump presidency. President Trump has regularly visited these golf courses that he owns. And White House aides have been hesitant to ever confirm that he is golfing. And this box truck and the video that we have is another example of the White House trying to obscure. We ‘ve reached out to the White House, to the Secret Service, and to the sheriff’s office down here to confirm was this their truck we haven't gotten many responses back so far, Don.
LEMON: I believe the word is hypocrisy, Dan, hypocrisy because he criticized the former president so much. And for those who may be criticizing CNN, we have video of every president playing golf, President Bush video of him, President Obama playing golf, as Dan Merica said that's what we do, we are there to report and show the American people what the president does every day.
Oh look, there is President Obama playing golf. There is no difference. Imagine that. We got video of President Obama playing golf. And it's not just President Trump. Hmm. It's not a conspiracy Dan, I thought it was.
(…)
