CNN media reporter and TV host Brian Stelter’s hatred for President Trump and Fox News was on full display during Sunday’s “Reliable Sources”. He spent most of the show decrying the President and Fox News while relegating the disturbing and horrific revelations in the sexual misconduct allegations against former CBS executive Les Moonves to a segment during the latter half of the program.
In the first segment of the show, Stelter was speaking with CNN political analyst and former Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein about the similarities between the scandals for former President Richard Nixon and President Donald Trump. “After you and Woodward exposed Watergate you said Nixon was a criminal president and it was a criminal presidency. Is the Trump presidency a criminal presidency,” he wondered.
Bernstein wasn’t ready to go that far just yet, but he was willing to slap the Trump administration with his assumptions:
I think it's very obvious that there has been a criminal conspiracy led by the President of the United States to obstruct justice. It's hard to see otherwise in the filings that have been made public thus far. But on top of that, we also know that there is criminal behavior by Donald Trump in the Southern District of New York case in terms of ordering the payment or approving the payment of hush money to Stormy Daniels and another woman that Michael Cohen testified about.
“But the connect-the-dots aspect of this, this massive obstruction. What is this obstruction about? It is about Russia and all things Russian and that is what Mueller has been charged with,” Bernstein rambled on. “And the individual who the White House was aware of who came back saying they know everything ability Russia, this is about Russia in terms of what Mueller was charged with investigating.”
Some 23 minutes later, Stelter was venting his disgust with Trump’s nomination of State Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert to be U.S. ambassador to the U.N. because she worked at Fox News. “What do we do,” he exclaimed in what seemed like panic. “I mean, Max, this is – this is – she is not qualified for this job. She’s qualified for a lot of other jobs. She’s not qualified to be U.N. ambassador.”
“Well, this is the Fox-Trump nexus and it's hard to know where the Fox network ends and the Trump administration begins,” former Republican Max Boot droned on in a totally unoriginal snipe at the more highly rated news organization. “Fox helps him to live in this kind of alternative reality bubble…” Boot huffed before warning of “further disasters (…) for the American if he continues to believe this nonsense Fox News pumps out.”
Stelter was up in arms because six people had shifted from working at Fox News to the Trump administration and vice-versa (including National Security Adviser John Bolton who had a history in government). “This merger, it is effectively a merger, may be good for Trump but not America,” he spat.
It’s the continuation of a lie CNN has been telling their viewers for well over a year now. The network insists it’s unusual and unprecedented that an administration would hire so many people from a friendly media outlet. But back in reality, President Obama had hired 30 journalists to fill out his administration. CNN decried the revolving door but they had a number of their personnel make that journey through it.
Stelter also was upset with Nauert’s supposed lack of qualifications for the job. That snipe came from the guy who was given a TV program just six years out of college. That could explain why the program is conducted like one expects a college paper to be. CNN tries to make the U.N. seem like a serious organization, but just last week they failed to condemn the Hamas terrorist group for launching rockets at Israeli civilians. This is CNN.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CNN’s Reliable Sources
December 9, 2018
11:09:54 a.m. Eastern(…)
BRIAN STELTER: After you and Woodward exposed Watergate you said Nixon was a criminal president and it was a criminal presidency. Is the Trump presidency a criminal presidency?
CARL BERNSTEIN: I don't think we know completely yet. I think it's very obvious that there has been a criminal conspiracy led by the President of the United States to obstruct justice. It's hard to see otherwise in the filings that have been made public thus far. But on top of that, we also know that there is criminal behavior by Donald Trump in the Southern District of New York case in terms of ordering the payment or approving the payment of hush money to Stormy Daniels and another woman that Michael Cohen testified about.
The purpose of paying that hush money was to defraud voters, to make voters unaware that this crucial matter of character that Trump had paid these women for their silence would never be revealed while their campaign was on. So in that sense, there also is the prima facie evidence of a criminal president.
But the connect-the-dots aspect of this, this massive obstruction. What is this obstruction about? It is about Russia and all things Russian and that is what Mueller has been charged with. And the individual who the White House was aware of who came back saying they know everything ability Russia, this is about Russia in terms of what Mueller was charged with investigating.
(…)
11:32:27 a.m. Eastern
STELTER: Moving to Fox News and Heather Nauert, of course, the longtime Fox host and commentator who joined the State Department as a spokeswoman a year and a half ago she is now being nominated to be U.S. ambassador to the U.N. What do we do?! I mean, Max, this is – this is – she is not qualified for this job. She’s qualified for a lot of other jobs. She’s not qualified to be U.N. ambassador. What's your read on this?
MAX BOOT: Well, this is the Fox-Trump nexus and it's hard to know where the Fox network ends and the Trump administration begins.
STELTER: Let's put our graphic on the screen showing some of the folks that have gone from Fox News to the White House and vice versa. This merger, it is effectively a merger, may be good for Trump but not America.
BOOT: It’s not even good for Trump I don’t think. Fox helps him to live in this kind of alternative reality bubble where they put up these alternative facts and he actually believes them. It's hard to know how much of this is the cynical and lying and how much of this being credulous. But it's quite possible Trump believed there would be a red wave before the November election. And it’s quite possible he believed the caravan really was this huge threat to America. And based on those assumptions he led the Republican Party in disaster in November and I think there will be further disasters for the Republican Party, for Trump, and for the American if he continues to believe this nonsense Fox News pumps out.
(…)
