Something must be in the air at CNN. Both today and yesterday, they abandoned their usual sucking-up to the Biden administration to give more accurate, brutal assessments. On Christmas Eve, Chris Cillizza did a segment on New Day where he gave “coal” to both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and gave a candy cane to the media-maligned….Ron DeSantis?!
Cillizza’s lighthearted segment started off with the politicians on the naughty list, starting with the President and Vice President. He admitted Biden had a “tough year” though he omitted detailing most of his failures like Afghanistan:
First, Joe Biden. Joe Biden starts 2021 in the high 50s in approval rating, looks like he's getting the coronavirus back under control, the economy is starting to recover. He ends the year with Omicron raging, with his approval rating in the low 40s. With some good signs in the economy. But overall, a very tough year for the president. So coal.
He also gave Kamala, “coal” for “struggling to adapt” to the Vice President role. That’s the understatement of the year. In the segment prior to this one with New York Times’ Zolan Kanno-Youngs, New Day had spent more time on Harris’s struggles but blamed sexism and racism at one point too. Pretty soft criticism but hey it’s CNN. At least they acknowledged it’s not been a good year for the new administration.
What was more remarkable was that he gave media targets, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, candy canes.
Unapologetically noting how Democrats "hate" DeSantis and he would get blowback on Twitter from angry liberals for this, Cillizza noted matter-of-factly that DeSantis was very popular on the national stage with Republicans and was competing with Trump for a frontrunner position in 2024:
On the other side, Ron DeSantis I think gets a candy cane. Again, Before I can already feel my Twitter feed blowing up because people hate Ron Desantis particularly Democrats. Here’s what I’ll say. I'm talking about what Ron DeSantis’s goals were at the start of the year and what the end of the year looks like. He wants to run for president. He has had a very good year in engendering support and loyalty within the Republican party, so much so that Donald Trump is taking notice and trying to throw a few punches back at DeSantis to say, hey, if I'm running, he better not be running.
But of course his assessment of Manchin was also a criticism from the far left that he holds too much power:
Whether you agree or disagree with Joe Manchin, it is impossible to debate that he is the single most powerful United States senator. As some people would argue, has as much power as the President of the United States in terms of getting the legislative agenda done. Joe Manchin didn't want the Build Back Better Act. We don't have the Build Back Better Act. If there is going to be a social safety spending bill, it is going to go through Joe Manchin. So he is as powerful now as he has ever been.
Now before you assume Cillizza had a bit too much to imbibe at the office Christmas party, he did revert back to CNN’s usual obnoxious ways the rest of the segment.
The Republican party and Mitch McConnell also got coal, but Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and outgoing anti-Trump Republican governor Charlie Baker got candy canes.
You can read the transcript below to see those comments.
Omaha Steaks sponsored this CNN segment, you can contact them at the Conservatives Fight Back page linked.
CNN's New Day
12/24/21
7:00 am hour
JIM SCIUTTO: Well, 2021 was a busy year to say the least in Washington. I don't think anyone would argue that. So in the spirit of the Christmas season, let's take a look back at who is getting coal in their stocking and who is getting the opposite of coal, which our lawyers tell us is candy canes. Santa himself is here, CNN politics Chris Cillizza. So because we want to end on a good note, Let's start with the bad stuff. Who is getting coal this year?
CILLIZZA: I forgot my snowy white beard for my full Santa effect, Jim. Let's start, and Zolan referred to this. First, Joe Biden. Joe Biden starts 2021 in the high 50s in approval rating, looks like he's getting the coronavirus back under control, the economy is starting to recover. He ends the year with Omicron raging, with his approval rating in the low 40s. With some good signs in the economy. But overall, a very tough year for the president. So coal.
I will also put Kamala Harris in the coal category. It’s for a lot of the reasons that Zolan and Erica just talked about. I think that she has struggled to adapt to tae role as everyone who has been Vice president always has. This is not unique. That is just the job of being vice president. So I think she has struggled a little bit. I think the whole thing with Biden's age. Is he running again? Which he is the frontrunner, that complicates things. And the other one getting coal, Mitch McConnell. I say this not because he had an unsuccessful legislative year or anything like that it’s because he has become target number one for Donald Trump. Donald Trump calls him the old crow. He attacks him. He is trying to recruit someone to run against him as leader in the senate. Mitch McConnell’s number 2, John Thune is reportedly thinking about walking away from politics. That would be a blow to McConnell as well. The last one I want to put in the coal category is the Republican party in the coal category. This is a party currently organized and led by a man who falsely claims that the 2020 election was stolen. We cannot lose sight of that. He is not only arguing it is stolen. He is working to put in place people, secretaries of state, lower level offices who favor the idea of the election being stolen and might in 2024 reverse an outcome. And I think we can't lose sight of that. So there are my 4 coals.
SCIUTTO: Not coincidental that Mitch McConnell is one of the few willing to stand up to the big lie. So candy canes. Who is getting the good stuff?
CILLIZZA: I do like you–I can tell you have kids. You're like me. You give them the broccoli first and the candy at the end.
SCIUTTO: Yeah.
CILLIZZA: First, candy cane Pete Buttigieg. Easy for me to say. I think he has had a really good year in that he is headlining the best thing for Democrats that Joe Biden got done, the infrastructure package. He's out there selling it, its getting good reviews. And candidly Pete Buttigieg getting good reviews and Kamala Harris not getting good reviews. They are some of the two axis of the future of the Democrat party. So when one goes up, the other goes down a little bit, so Buttigieg.
On the other side, Ron DeSantis I think gets a candy cane. Again, Before I can already feel my Twitter feed blowing up because people hate Ron Desantis particularly Democrats. Here’s what I’ll say. I'm talking about what Ron DeSantis’s goals were at the start of the year and what the end of the year looks like. He wants to run for president. He has had a very good year in engendering support and loyalty within the Republican party, so much so that Donald Trump is taking notice and trying to throw a few punches back at DeSantis to say, hey, if I'm running, he better not be running. So DeSantis. Third, and talk about your Twitter feed blowing up. Joe Manchin. Here's why. As some people would argue, has as much power as the President of the United States in terms of getting the legislative agenda done. Joe Manchin didn't want the Build Back Better Act. We don't have the Build Back Better Act. If there is going to be a social safety spending bill, it is going to go through Joe Manchin. So he is as powerful now as he has ever been.
CILLIZZA: And then I want to end on one I think a lot of people don't know, Charlie baker, governor of Massachusetts. So Charlie Baker is the most popular or second most popular governor in the country. Which is remarkable. He is a Republican in one of the most democratic states in the country. He's retiring mostly because he's sick of being in the Trump Republican party. This is a guy who left his ballot blank in 2016 and 2020. I think he is an example of leadership in the Republican party saying I'm not going to go along to get along. I don't think this guy is good for the party. And I think he deserves some commendation for that. I ran out of candy canes just now.
SCIUTTO: I hear you but he is leaving the party with a candy cane.
CILLIZZA: He is. That's why Republicans get the coal. Because again, the people who should be Liz Cheneys Adam Kinzinger, Charlie Baker, people who shown actual leadership in the face of an attempt to overthrow an election that was fairly conducted, are leaving. And that means the party consolidates around that big lie. And that is hugely problematic. Both for the party but also for the country.
