As Trump made his way out of Walter Reed Medical Center Monday evening, CNN media correspondent Brian Stelter spoke on The Situation Room and disgustingly compared his release from the hospital to the showmanship of “Dear Leader” autocrats like Kim Jong-un. He also blasted Trump’s return as “cynical,” “performative,” and “dangerous.”
After being introduced by host Wolf Blitzer, Stelter immediately commended the sophomoric antics of Yahoo! reporter Hunter Walker, who shouted at Trump and accused him of being a “super spreader” of the virus.
“That question was ignored,” Stelter chided, acting dumb to the fact the media would have attacked the President for spraying the virus all over the press if he had stopped to take questions. This was on display later in the evening when Trump took his mask off at the White House for a photo-op with no one anywhere close to him; the media still lost their minds.
Moaning about how Trump had given a thumbs up and wave to the camera, Stelter went on an unhinged rant about how Trump supposedly only thinks a day at a time as he produces his “television show” of a presidency:
You know Wolf, I think, all of it makes sense when you view it through the prism of the following idea. The President views every day as a television show. He produces the show, he wants to be the star of the show. He’s not thinking two days ahead or two weeks ahead, he not thinking about how he’s going to be feeling at the White House next week. He’s just trying to win today, and make today's TV show the best he can, where he wins, he is the star of the show. I think that's what we're seeing on our screens right now.
“It’s cynical, it is performative, and it’s dangerous given his own health and his own condition that he is off producing this show on his own,” Stelter screeched. “I think that's the logical – not logical, but that's the illogical strategy to all of this when we see it on live television.”
After Blitzer narrated Trump giving another thumbs up as he boarded Marine One, Stelter decried it as “not a real show of strength but it’s a performative show of strength, this is what strong men do in autocratic regimes.”
Showing what he thought of the intelligence of the average CNN viewer, Stelter reminded them that “thankfully we're in a democracy.” But he warned that “this is the kind of thing you see from strongmen who want to appear to be leading. It’s a ‘Dear Leader’ sort of approach. I think that is what we're seeing on the television screens.”
Ever pushing conspiracy theories, Stelter then accused the doctors following HIPPA laws of being part of some sort of villainous “cover-up” of the President’s real condition:
Meanwhile, there are big questions about the cover-up. Why won't they tell about his testing history, when he was tested? We’ve moved from possibly being a cover-up to actually being a cover-up. And whether the President is at Walter Reed or back at the White House, reporters will keep demanding answers to those questions.
Stelter would later go in to proclaim that Trump’s flight back to the White House was a literal “power trip” for him, and that he wasn’t in control “but it is the virus that is in charge.”
Seething hatred for Trump in all moments. This is CNN.
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The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CNN’s The Situation Room
October 5, 2020
6:41:38 p.m. Eastern(…)
WOLF BLITZER: Brian, what did you think of that little photo-op, the President walking out of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center without saying anything, just basically thank you, ignored reporters' questions, gave a thumbs up and then got into the SUV.
BRIAN STELTER: Right. One reporter asked if he believes Trump – if the President believes he could be a super spreader himself. That question was ignored.
You know Wolf, I think, all of it makes sense when you view it through the prism of the following idea. The President views every day as a television show. He produces the show, he wants to be the star of the show. He’s not thinking two days ahead or two weeks ahead, he not thinking about how he’s going to be feeling at the White House next week. He’s just trying to win today, and make today's TV show the best he can, where he wins, he is the star of the show. I think that's what we're seeing on our screens right now.
It’s cynical, it is performative, and it’s dangerous given his own health and his own condition that he is off producing this show on his own. I think that's the logical – not logical, but that's the illogical strategy to all of this when we see it on live television. He knows the nightly newscasts are on right now. He knows all the cable channels are watching.
BLITZER: There he is, there's the president, Brian. He's obviously stopping again, giving another thumbs up. He’s going to get aboard Marine One, make that brief flight to the south lawn of the White House. Try to watch as much of this as we can. Brian, go ahead.
STELTER: It’s not a real show of strength but it’s a performative show of strength, this is what strong men do in autocratic regimes. Of course, thankfully we're in a democracy, but this is the kind of thing you see from strong men who want to appear to be leading. It’s a “Dear Leader” sort of approach. I think that is what we're seeing on the television screens.
Meanwhile, there are big questions about the cover-up. Why won't they tell about his testing history, when he was tested? We’ve moved from possibly being a cover-up to actually being a cover-up. And whether the President is at Walter Reed or back at the White House, reporters will keep demanding answers to those questions.
BLITZER: Yeah.
(…)
