On Tuesday, talk-radio star Rush Limbaugh dove into the media freakout over President Trump's fast-food banquet for the national college football champions, the Clemson Tigers. He singled out CNN's Erin Burnett for crying sexism. "The president said something so offensive that upon hearing it a cable news infobabe nearly lost her cookies. Do you remember the sound bite? It was only a few seconds. Do you know what he might have said that just sent somebody into orbit?...Right! That the first lady would be making salads!"
During Monday’s edition of Erin Burnett OutFront, the eponymous host and one of her guests, Joan Walsh, freaked out over light-hearted comments made by President Trump at the event, where he asked “do we have no food for you because we have a shutdown, or do we give you some quick little salads that the First Lady will make...along with the Second Lady, they’ll make some salads?”
Joan Walsh described President Trump’s salad comments as “appalling,” adding “It seems to me like the President will not be happy until there is not one single female Republican voter in the country. It’s incredibly sexist.” Walsh accused President Trump of demeaning the First Lady, saying that women “aren’t all here to make salads for men. It’s disgusting.”
Burnett insisted "This is one of those things where sometimes what people say when they’re being funny exposes who they are and what they think. Not that there was any question.”
CNN commentator Scott Jennings disagreed, causing a flabbergasted Burnett to ask “how in the world can you not perceive that as sexist, to say the assumption that his wife is going to go make salads for a bunch of football players? What is she, like, the cook?” Jennings told Burnett, “I think you might be over-reading this one."
Burnett added: "I’m not over-reading it. He made a joke that was sexist about women. I guess what, I guess maybe what we’re disagreeing with is whether it’s funny and whether humor is something that’s serious....I feel pretty strongly it’s a sexist thing to say."
After making the “salad” remark, President Trump asked “do I go out and send out for about 1,000 hamburgers?” He answered his question by pointing out that “we actually did,” mentioning that he bought Big Macs for the football players. This upset former Obama Adviser and Pod Save America co-host Dan Pfeiffer, who took to Twitter and accused the President of “paying for the cheapest food available for the Clemson Football team” in addition to adding that his purchase of the Big Macs proves that “Trump is a racist, angry version of Michael Scott.” Pfeiffer did not explain how President Trump’s decision to buy Big Macs for the Tigers led him to brand President Trump as racist; apparently forgetting that nearly everyone in America enjoys fast food, regardless of race or gender.
A transcript of the relevant portion of Monday’s edition of Erin Burnett OutFront is below. Click “expand” to read more.
Erin Burnett OutFront
01/14/19
07:34 PM
ERIN BURNETT: I’ve got to play something that just happened, though, about the shutdown for both of you. This is the President…he did go ahead with some meetings today despite the shutdown, including one with the Clemson Tigers, right, for their championship meeting and here’s what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT TRUMP: So I had a choice. Do we have no food for you because we have a shutdown, or do we give you some little quick salads that the First Lady will make, along with…along with the Second Lady, they’ll make some salads? And I said, you guys aren’t into salads, or do I go out, Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott, do I go out and send out for about 1,000 hamburgers? Big Macs. So we actually did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOAN WALSH: That’s appalling. It seems to me like the President will not be happy until there is not one single female Republican voter in the country. It’s incredibly sexist. It also…I mean, I don’t know why I’m stuck on this, but Ivana, Ivana, Ivanka is not the Second Lady. She is actually…I don’t think she deserves this position. She’s actually a Senior Adviser to the President. So, the idea that he would demean her specifically in that way, he shouldn’t talk about the First Lady that way. We aren’t all here to make salads for men. It’s disgusting.
BURNETT: I mean, I’m presuming he was talking about Karen Pence when he said “second lady.”
WALSH: Oh, God, I’m sorry. But she shouldn’t be doing it either.
BURNETT: But I mean, I mean, I mean, Scott, look…
WALSH: That’s crazier.
BURNETT: …this is one of those things where sometimes what people say when they’re being funny exposes exactly who they are and what they think. Not that there was any question, but this is pretty clear.
SCOTT JENNINGS: I certainly didn’t take his comments to be sexist. I think that if somebody took them that way, you know, that’s fine…
WALSH: So then Mike Pence maybe could have made the salads…
BURNETT: Scott, can I just ask you, how in the world can you not perceive that as sexist, to say the assumption that his wife is going to go make salads for a bunch of football players? What is she, like, the cook?
JENNINGS: Well I didn’t, I didn’t hear it that way…
WALSH: She’s Donna Reed.
JENNINGS: I make salad almost every night for dinner, I mean, we make a lot of salads in the Jennings household.
WALSH: Oh, come on, Scott.
JENNINGS: I make some and my wife makes some.
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: Do you expect your wife to make them all for you? I mean, maybe she does! Fine.
JENNINGS: No, I make some, she makes some.
BURNETT: Okay, but that’s not what he said!
JENNINGS: I didn’t…I didn’t take it that way, if somebody took it that way, that’s fine. I didn’t, it didn’t strike me that way. I think he was trying to make a joke about feeding hamburgers to football players. I think you might be over-reading this one.
BURNETT: I’m not over-reading it. He made a joke that was sexist about women. I guess what, I guess maybe what we’re disagreeing with is whether it’s funny and whether humor is something that’s serious.
WALSH: I think Scott’s disagreeing that it’s sexist, which he’s entitled to his opinion. It’s not going to be a popular one, but…
JENNINGS: I didn’t…it didn’t strike, it didn’t strike me that way. And I’m not…I…I’m surprised, I’m surprised that you all are taking it that way, but that’s fine.
WALSH: Wow. Okay.
BURNETT: I’m going to leave it there. Yeah, no, I have to say, I’m open about when I have an opinion on things, I feel pretty strongly it’s a sexist thing to say. All right, thank you both.
