On CNN’s New Day this morning, the hosts instituted a double standard when it came to political statements at the State of the Union. As the guests on the show previewed President Trump’s first State of the Union address since taking office, co-host Alisyn Camerota said that his choice to bring victims of crimes committed at the hands of illegal immigrants as guests to the State of the Union tonight does not convey a unifying message.
Less than a half hour later, co-host Chris Cuomo brought on Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), along with her guest for the State of the Union, a woman whose husband was deported. Dingell hoped that the woman’s presence at the State of the Union would encourage Congress to move forward on changing the nation’s immigration laws. Based on CNN’s own standards, bringing up the topic of immigration at the State of the Union was supposed to be divisive and off-limits. Check out the transcripts and compare the coverage.
CUOMO: A big part of the message tonight, we’re told, I could be wrong, is a unifying message. Who is going to believe that somebody who has succeeded through division all of a sudden wants to be a unifier when he just refused to sanction Russia and this memo’s
CAMEROTA: Not only that, you have to look at the stage craft of who they’re bringing as guests. And you know, when you’re bringing sort of victims of illegal immigrants to sit in, you know with you, that’s not a unifying message necessarily.
Here is Cuomo less than thirty minutes later:
Tonight, some Democratic lawmakers plan to bring guests to the State of the Union, whose lives have been unduly impacted by President Trump’s policies. Joining us now, Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell and her guest for tonight, Cindy Garcia. Now, we told you this story about her husband Jorge, deported to Mexico earlier this month after living in the U.S. for 30 years. Cindy and her husband were recently on New Day. And it is good to have you both. There’s a lot of news to talk about and you know what, I don’t care. How is your husband doing?
Political showboating has become quite commonplace at State of the Union addresses. President Obama repeatedly used his State of the Union addresses to raise awareness for gun control and brought victims of gun crimes as guests. During his final State of the Union address, Obama set aside an empty chair to highlight those who have lost their lives as a result of gun violence. Plenty of Democratic lawmakers plan to bring illegal immigrants to Tuesday's State of the Union.
If Democrats have the right to highlight those whose lives have been unduly impacted by President Trump’s policies, shouldn’t Republicans have the right to bring guests whose lives have been unduly impacted by illegal immigration? Based on their show this morning, the hosts of CNN’s New Day would respond to that question with a firm and unequivocal “no.”
It might be a good idea to watch the State of the Union live, before the corrupt and biased media have a chance to turn on the spin cycle.
