It became quite apparent Tuesday night that CNN was very much against President Trump’s request to the Pentagon for a military parade through Washington, DC. First, they claimed that if you backed the idea you were in support of a dictatorship, then CNN Tonight host Don Lemon wanted to know if Trump was thinking of having nuclear weapons in the procession down Pennsylvania Avenue and in front of the Trump International Hotel, which was on the proposed route.
Lemon kicked off the first hour of the show with his denouement of the parade and seemed almost bewildered by the idea. “That is a directive from the commander-in-chief to the Pentagon, which confirms in the planning stages to do that just now. The route being considered heading down Pennsylvania Avenue then passed, what else, the Trump International hotel,” he chided.
The CNN host acted as though the parade needed to go down some random side street in order to pass in front of the hotel when it was actually situated on Penn. Ave. Clearly, an attempt to trick those who didn’t know the layout of DC.
In the midst of the panel discussion, Lemon asked retired General James “Spider” Marks what could the President possibly want in the parade. That was when he threw out the ridiculous suggestion that Trump wanted to have trucks roll through the streets with nuclear weapons: “Talking about the cost of this parade and where -- there would be tanks, right? Would there be nuclear weapons, like some countries? I mean, would it simply be whatever President Trump wants it to be?”
General Marks didn’t seem to know what to make of Lemon’s off-the-wall speculation, but was luckily let off the hook when Lemon admitted that “it felt silly asking you.” But the General did conclude that “it wouldn't look like a parade we see in Pyongyang, certainly. It wouldn't look like a parade we used to see when the Soviet Union would roll their massive military across Red Square.” Yet according to Marks, the soldiers marching would be “embarrassed” to be taking part in such an event.
Obama-era State Department Spokesperson Rear Admiral John Kirby (Ret.) was also on the panel and he had a lot to say when it came to ripping into the idea of a military parade. He claimed such a show of America’s military force was beneath the country and mocked Trump for acting like the North Korean dictator. “For a few reasons. One, I can’t get past the fact, Don, this is probably more about his ego more than anything else. I mean, who’s the rocket man now,” he spat.
Admiral Kirby ranted about how a real show of support for the troops would be to make sure that they actually had a budget, but he failed to mention that the reason they didn’t have one because of the Democratic Party obstruction in the Senate over DACA. But he sounded hopeful that the plan would fall through:
It would be really interesting to see how the military handles this tasking now, Don, and whether they can walk any of this back. I mean, we're talking like they're already looking at dates. I think they're actually much earlier in this process. And they hopefully will be able to either not do it or do it in a way that's a lot more tasteful than what I think the President has in mind.
The anti-Trump commentary got particularly out of hand when presidential historian Douglas Brinkley claimed that President Trump didn’t want to be around the troops in anyway:
You know, the part that bothers me, Don, is Donald Trump is yet to visit our 15,000 troops in Afghanistan. We have 6,000 troops in Syria and Iraq. He's never gone to even see them. You know, Barack Obama was president three months and he went to Iraq. George W. Bush went four times to Iraq and twice to Afghanistan. The big gap here is a president that doesn't want to go meet our troops. He goes to Mar-a-Lago instead.
This is the same guy that appeared on MSNBC in March of 2017 and accused the President of treason, something the liberal media was up-in-arms over Trump mocking the Democrats with.
Between the hyperbolic rhetoric of wondering if nukes would be present and asserting that those who wanted the parade wanted a dictatorship too, CNN appeared to be doing everything it could to damage their busted credibility even further and alienate themselves from average Americans.
The relevant portion of the transcript is below, click expand to read:
CNN Tonight
February 6, 2018
10:03:39 PM EasternDON LEMON: And we're going to start tonight with some breaking news: A military parade. That is a directive from the commander-in-chief to the Pentagon, which confirms in the planning stages to do that just now. The route being considered heading down Pennsylvania Avenue then passed, what else, the Trump International Hotel. President Trump thrilled with last summer's Bastille Day parade, military parade in Paris.
(…)
10:07:35 PM Eastern
LEMON: Admiral Kirby, you first. You're strongly against this idea. Why is that?
JOHN KIRBY: For a few reasons. One, I can’t get past the fact, Don, this is probably more about his ego more than anything else. I mean, who’s the rocket man now? And number two, the United States military does not need to show off its hardware to show its strength. This is not the way a superpower behaves. I think it's frankly a little bit beneath us. And if you want to show support for the troops or showcase our important our military is, then get them a budget. Do what Secretary Mattis did today when he was on Capitol Hill, arguing strenuously to get a budget.
(…)
LEMON: So Douglas, presidents don't normally do this, which I guess shouldn't surprise us. What's your perspective?
DOUGLAS BRINKLEY: That Donald Trump is a showman. You know, he likes the kind of bling and blang, casino kind of bells ringing, thinks this parade will be a great idea. You know, the part that bothers me, Don, is Donald Trump is yet to visit our 15,000 troops in Afghanistan. We have 6,000 troops in Syria and Iraq. He's never gone to even see them.
You know, Barack Obama was president three months and he went to Iraq. George W. Bush went four times to Iraq and twice to Afghanistan. The big gap here is a president that doesn't want to go meet our troops. He goes to Mar-a-Lago instead. This parade is not a good idea. All Americans love the troops. I agree with General Marks and Admiral Kirby completely. We have Veteran’s Day, we have Memorial Day, we do have it will the 4th of July, but we don't need to be rumbling tanks down Pennsylvania Avenue to honor America's Independence Day.
(…)
10:12:22 PM Eastern
LEMON: Talking about the cost of this parade and where -- there would be tanks, right? Would there be nuclear weapons, like some countries? I mean, would it simply be whatever President Trump wants it to be?
JAMES MARKS: No, I -- I find it a bit difficult to even talk about the details of what this parade would look like, because I –
LEMON: It felt silly asking you.
[Crosstalk]
MARKS: It wouldn't look like a parade we see in Pyongyang, certainly. It wouldn't look like a parade we used to see when the Soviet Union would roll their massive military across Red Square. It would look like a bunch of great Americans who were probably feeling a bit embarrassed that they were required to do this, marching down Pennsylvania Avenue.
(…)
KIRBY: It would be really interesting to see how the military handles this tasking now, Don, and whether they can walk any of this back. I mean, we're talking like they're already looking at dates. I think they're actually much earlier in this process. And they hopefully will be able to either not do it or do it in a way that's a lot more tasteful than what I think the President has in mind.
(…)
