CNN anchor Chris Cuomo talks tough, but is very sensitive to criticism, fighting with critics on Twitter and elsewhere. In an interview with Rep. Mike Rogers from the scene of the wreckage in the Ukraine, Cuomo asked if Rogers could “shoot down” the notion that Ukrainian forces had shot down the Malaysian airliner. Even though Cuomo said “excuse the pun,” Jon Stewart of the “Daily Show” mocked it Monday night as a “Moment of Zen.”
It was only about ten seconds of video as the credits rolled -- no real comedic commentary -- but when Washington Post media blogger Erik Wemple asked Cuomo about it, he unleashed on snarky Stewart (video below):
“I made a mistake,” says Cuomo. “In terms of who reacted to it and how, it’s strictly a case of consider the source.” Stewart is a comedian who indulges in takedowns of the mainstream media, and bloggers “are what they are — they traffic in snark and negativity,” says Cuomo. Later in the chat, Cuomo circled back to that comedian: “If it seems like I’m being disrespectful of Jon Stewart, it’s only because I am. He’s funny, but he doesn’t do the job we do and he shouldn’t pretend he does.”
