Following the liberal media outrage after former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was announced as a cast member for season 28 of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, it was bound to resurface once it premiered Monday night.
And right on cue, CNN host Chris “Fredo” Cuomo used his eponymous show Tuesday night to promptly freak out about how “President Trump's former press secretary/propagandist-in-chief-turned-lime limbo wannabe” invoked Christ to lobby for votes.
For those who weren’t sure how Cuomo came down on Spicer’s appearance, Cuomo twice teased his “Closing Argument” (which is frequently used to attack conservatives and instead support Antifa and other leftists). The first time, he warned that he had “some hard truths for our lime lad.”
Cuomo went further in the second tease:
Sean Spicer, he knows how to spin, but it doesn't translate on to the dance floor. He should win a trophy, though, for personally following the foot steps of someone he used to work for. Just drink that in, though, huh? Just the outfit. He should have kept his partner in front of him the whole time. The argument next.
As for the actual segment, Cuomo apparently missed the memo about Dancing with the Stars not being a show with A-list celebrities: “No, usually Dancing with the Stars is about, well, dancing and stars. Sean Spicer tested both aspects. He really isn't a star by any definition, and what he was doing out there was described by a judge as getting attacked by wasps.”
When athletes, celebrities, and journalists ranging from Lance Bass to Terrell Owens to Master P to Sasha Pieterse to Ginger Zee have been on the show, there’s more than enough room for Spicer.
Moving on, Cuomo claimed that he was going to “give Spicey an attaboy for effort and even A+ for creativity for dancing to Spice Up Your Life — that's the song — if it weren't for his final pirouette into absurdity.”
Cuomo then devolved into taking issue with Spicer tweeting that a Christ follower like him wouldn’t get a fair shake on the show. The CNN host said this leading into a clip of Spicer’s infamous January 21 statement on the inauguration (click “expand”):
CUOMO: You see, President Trump's former press secretary/propagandist-in-chief-turned-lime limbo wannabe, then made his mediocrity about the man with all the moves, God. “Clearly the judges aren't going to be with me. Let's send a message to Hollywood that those of us who stand for Christ won't be discounted. May God bless you.” Now, I would not call out asking for Trump folk to vote for him. I'm sure there are plenty watching, and his connection to the man who uses fancy footwork around the truth could be a boost, but really what he was doing here is just a dance of division, and it falls flat on its face when we foxtrot with the facts. First, the idea that being Christian is something that America would vote against flies in the face of the overwhelming majority of this country identifying as Christian. More specifically is lime spice more Christian than any of these folks? They are all plenty churched up and fared plenty well, but, hey, Sean Spicer has never been one to let facts get in the way of a good story.
SPICER [on 01/21/17]: This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period.
CUOMO: Mm-hmm. Odd he didn't find a way to spin his anemic score as he did that crowd size.
After benders about Spicer alluding to voter fraud and the President claiming that he’s routinely audited by the IRS, Fredo ruled that, like Trump, “Sean Spicer is a victim not of his faith but of his feet, but both were right to play to paranoia.”
In other words, he’s claiming that Christians were not only not facing persecution, but their tiny violins should be replaced with righteous anger against the President.
Without being too facetious, one has to wonder whether Cuomo has been conscious for the last few years as less and less are Believers, Christians face a militant secularism on issues of abortion and marriage, and faith groups are railroaded by the Obama administration to name a few examples.
Alas, Cuomo concluded with another ride atop his high horse about unity versus division while this Zucker employee continues his daily attack on those he disagrees with:
Some advice for our frilly friend. The show, like politics, is supposed to be about bringing people together. Dancing, not division. As your former boss is learning, a big tent is about being inclusive, not giving people a reason to feel excluded. Focus more on your feet and your fashion and leave matters of faith to your own prayers that the judges have a soft spot for that toothy grin.
To see the relevant transcript from CNN’s Cuomo PrimeTime on September 17, click “expand.”
CNN’s Cuomo PrimeTime
September 17, 2019
9:01 p.m. Eastern [TEASE]CHRIS CUOMO: And Sean Spicer drawing you a deep stage conspiracy after his Dancing with the Stars debut. We have some hard truths for our lime lad.
(....)
9:45 p.m. [TEASE]
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Sean Spicer’s Fancy Footwork]
CUOMO: Sean Spicer, he knows how to spin, but it doesn't translate on to the dance floor. He should win a trophy, though, for personally following the foot steps of someone he used to work for. Just drink that in, though, huh? Just the outfit. He should have kept his partner in front of him the whole time. The argument next.
(....)
9:49 p.m. Eastern
[CLIP OF SEAN SPICER ON DANCING WITH THE STARS]
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Closing Argument; Spicer Salsas, Then Invokes Chris for Votes]
CUOMO: He's good only the bongos, I'll give him that. No, usually Dancing with the Stars is about, well, dancing and stars. Sean Spicer tested both aspects. He really isn't a star by any definition, and what he was doing out there was described by a judge as getting attacked by wasps. Now, I would likely give Spicey an attaboy for effort and even A+ for creativity for dancing to Spice Up Your Life — that's the song — if it weren't for his final pirouette into absurdity. You see, President Trump's former press secretary/propagandist-in-chief-turned-lime limbo wannabe, then made his mediocrity about the man with all the moves, God. “Clearly the judges aren't going to be with me. Let's send a message to Hollywood that those of us who stand for Christ won't be discounted. May God bless you.” Now, I would not call out asking for Trump folk to vote for him. I'm sure there are plenty watching, and his connection to the man who uses fancy footwork around the truth could be a boost, but really what he was doing here is just a dance of division, and it falls flat on its face when we foxtrot with the facts. First, the idea that being Christian is something that America would vote against flies in the face of the overwhelming majority of this country identifying as Christian. More specifically is lime spice more Christian than any of these folks? They are all plenty churched up and fared plenty well, but, hey, Sean Spicer has never been one to let facts get in the way of a good story.
SEAN SPICER [on 01/21/17]: This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period.
CUOMO: Mm-hmm. Odd he didn't find a way to spin his anemic score as he did that crowd size. Certainly he could have found something other than the Almighty to explain his expected shortfall like he did with the president's ridiculous claim about voter fraud.
SPICER [on 01/24/17]: I think there's been studies. There was one that came out of Pew in 2008 that showed 14 percent of people who have voted were non-citizens.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Closing Argument; Spicer Learned His Dance of Division from Trump]
CUOMO: You remember this when he was trying to bolster this President's arguments about a brown menace overrunning America? It was just plain wrong. He was probably talking about a study from 2012 that looked at outdated voter rolls, not illegal votes. In other words, it was a study about poor record-keeping. It made no mention of undocumented people voting or trying to register to vote. Like his salsa last night, the statement lacked originality. He was once again following in the dance steps of the master, explaining his own failings with faith. Remember this?
DONALD TRUMP [on 02/26/16]: I'm always audited by the IRS, which I think is very unfair. I don't know. Maybe because of religion, maybe because of something else, maybe because I'm doing this, although this is just recently.
CUOMO [on 02/26/16]: What do you mean religion?
TRUMP [on 02/26/16]: Maybe because of the fact I'm a strong Christian and I feel strongly about it.
CUOMO [on 02/26/16]: You think you'd be audited for being a strong Christian?
TRUMP [on 02/26/16]: You see what's happened. You have many religious groups complaining about that. They've been complaining about it for a long time.
CUOMO: We don't even know if this President is being audited, but we know he doesn't want to own what is in his taxes and we know the interest in those taxes has nothing to do with his faith but with our own, our abiding faith that transparency and the facts matter. Similarly, Sean Spicer is a victim not of his faith but of his feet, but both were right to play to paranoia. 70 percent of Republicans have said they think Christians suffer prejudice, but while that may explain Spicer and his former dance partner’s play, another explains why it should not be believed. Only 34 percent of Americans think Trump is honest and trustworthy. That means two out of three of you don't. Some advice for our frilly friend. The show, like politics, is supposed to be about bringing people together. Dancing, not division. As your former boss is learning, a big tent is about being inclusive, not giving people a reason to feel excluded. Focus more on your feet and your fashion and leave matters of faith to your own prayers that the judges have a soft spot for that toothy grin.
