As documented on NewsBusters, CNN has a porn problem and bizarre obsession with describing the sexual escapades of porn actress Stormy Daniels and seeking sultry details of an alleged affair with President Trump. Tuesday’s The Situation Room showed this infatuation as the panel circled the wagons after a tweet by Daniels about her “NOT going anywhere.”
“Alright, there’s lots of breaking news coming in including a tweet that just came in from Stormy Daniels, the former porn star....[L]et me read to you this tweet from Stormy Daniels. She's not going away by any means. We’ll put it up on the screen right now,” host Wolf Blitzer breathlessly hyped before reading it aloud.
For those interested in the tweet, you can check it out here, though her profile is NSFW. Chief political analyst Gloria Borger swooned in response, exclaiming that “I think the President has met his match in Stormy Daniels” as “[t]hey’re pretty similar” in fearlessly “know[ing] how to use the media.”
“She’s got a new lawyer who is all about the publicity, getting on television. They're promoting this interview that she's doing on 60 Minutes and they are — they’re trying to coax the President out on this....And, so, you know, I know we've talking been Russia and everything else, but this is a story that has been sort of bubbling up,” Borger added.
The Guardian’s Sabrina Siddiqui reiterated Borger’s exasperation that this story has gained traction (again, without mentioning the liberal media’s role in this):
I think that this is one of the few stories in the Trump era that has actually stuck for several weeks now and, in part, because I think Stormy Daniels and her lawyer have been very savvy in the way they've kept it alive by offering these little bread crumbs but not giving away too much detail.....[I]t’s hard to imagine that President won’t be forced to address this directly...So far, he’s been surprisingly restrained.
Blitzer then proclaimed to CNN political analyst Mark Preston that this porn story has become “a political nightmare” for Trump. Preston similarly took zero responsibility for the CNN and the rest of the media’s salacious pursuit of NSFW descriptions of a possible Daniels/Trump relationship.
Instead, he insisted that “we should just stop for a second and think about what we’re talking about,” which is “hush money paid to a pornographic actress” and “intimidation to try prevent a pornographic actress from going out and talking about her relationship with the President.”
Preston expressed baffling cluelessness by proclaiming that “[i]f this were any other President, they would be gone” and “thrown out of White House.” Um, excuse me, did he forget the women linked to Bill Clinton and the rape allegations he faced? He certainly wasn't pushed out of office.
Shifting back to 2018, Preston self-sanctimoniously concluded:
My question is, right now is what are the American people thinking? An I understand there's a fire hose out of Washington right now with Russia news, with President Trump tweeting, with the Stormy Daniels stuff, with the fact government could shut down in a couple days. What are they thinking?
Law enforcement analyst Phil Mudd later denounced those joking about this, but not before he did so himself: “Well, first of all, I'm glad you referred to Stormy Daniels as a porn actress and not a porn star. I want to know what awards she’s won that determine whether she’s a porn star.”
To see the relevant transcript from CNN’s The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer on March 20, click “expand.”
CNN’s The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer
March 20, 2018
5:30 p.m. Eastern
WOLF BLITZER: Alright, there’s lots of breaking news coming in including a tweet that just came in from Stormy Daniels, the former porn star. Let’s bring in our experts and discuss and, Gloria, let me read to you this tweet from Stormy Daniels. She's not going away by any means. We’ll put it up on the screen right now: “Technically I didn't sleep with the POTUS 12 years ago. There was no sleeping (hehe) and he was just a goofy reality TV star. But I digress...People DO care that he lied about it, had me bullied, broke laws to cover it up, etc. And PS...I am NOT going anywhere. xoxoxo.” She isn’t going anywhere and two other women are legally challenging the President right now as well.
GLORIA BORGER: So I think the President has met his match in Stormy Daniels. They're pretty similar. They know how to use the media. They're not afraid to do it. She's got a — she’s got a new lawyer who is all about the publicity, getting on television. They're promoting this interview that she's doing on 60 Minutes and they are — they’re trying to coax the President out on this and giving the other women that you’re talking about now — Karen McDougal, etc., they're giving them some running room here, some oxygen. And, so, you know, I know we've talking been Russia and everything else, but this is a story that has been sort of bubbling up and I think it’s going to continue to place the President in a situation where he’s going to have to address it. Not just in court.
BLITZER: Yeah, the three women now with legal challenges subpoenaing now to the President.
BORGER: Yes.
BLITZER: Stormy Daniels, the former porn star, Karen McDougal, the former Playboy model, Summer Zervos, a reality star from The Apprentice, all of them are making major legal challenges to the President. You see their pictures on the screen right now.
BORGER: Zervos just won in court today, yeah.
SABRINA SIDDIQUI: Absolutely and I think that this is one of the few stories in the Trump era that has actually stuck for several weeks now and, in part, because I think Stormy Daniels and her lawyer have been very savvy in the way they've kept it alive by offering these little bread crumbs but not giving away too much detail. And you have two parallel issues here. You have someone like Stormy Daniels who was paid this hush money by Michael Cohen, the story hasn’t added up. He said he paid that out of his own pocket but there are links to the Trump Organization in the correspondence there and then you have some other women who have — who have come forward with allegations of sexual assault against the President. I think as these continue to mount, as you have more and more women coming forward, especially with these lawsuit, it’s hard to imagine that President won’t be forced to address this directly. The White House has tried to ignore it, but you could see at least, potentially, Trump tweeting about it. So far, he’s been surprisingly restrained.
BLITZER: It’s a — it’s a political nightmare right now for the President potentially. Isn’t it?
MARK PRESTON: It absolutely is and we should just stop for a second and think about what we’re talking about. We're talking about hush money paid to a pornographic actress. We're talking about intimidation to try prevent a pornographic actress from going out and talking about her relationship with the president. We're talking about other women who are saying actions were taken to prevent them from telling their relationship with the President. If this were any other President, they would be gone. They would be thrown out of White House. My question is, right now is what are the American people thinking? An I understand there's a fire hose out of Washington right now with Russia news, with President Trump tweeting, with the Stormy Daniels stuff, with the fact government could shut down in a couple days. What are they thinking?
BLITZER: Well, let's ask Phil Mudd what he's thinking.
PRESTON: Right.
BORGER: Go ahead, Phil.
PRESTON: Come on, Phil.
BORGER: What are you thinking?
PRESTON: Speak for America.
PHIL MUDD: Well, first of all, I'm glad you referred to Stormy Daniels as a porn actress and not a porn star. I want to know what awards she’s won that determine whether she’s a porn star. But seriously, this story is transitioning and I think we need to focus on that transition. A few weeks ago, a month ago, I would have said, look, this is a problem for Melania. Somebody wants to sleep with people who are porn stars, it’s an issue in the marriage bedroom. That’s transitioned recently, so let’s be clear about why. We have judge just in the past day or two who has agreed that a suit should go forward. That suit includes allegations of assault by the President, so we're transitioning from a vaguely humorous story about what the President did ten years ago to an ongoing lawsuit, includes allegations of illegal activitiy, assault against a woman. I think we need to focus on that transition. That’s the story. Porn star or porn actress was funny a month ago. It's not funny anymore.
BLITZER: Yeah.
