They try. Oh how they try.
It seems that whenever CNN has NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on as a guest, the conversation eventually steers toward getting him to criticize Trump. They attempted this pathetic shtick in January when Poppy Harlow tried to elicit a slam against Trump from Stoltenberg but got only praise for Trump from the Secretary General.
You would think CNN would have learned from this but noooo. They repeated themselves on Monday during News Central. Host Kate Bolduan kicked off the interview by asking Stoltenberg about Sweden becoming the latest member of NATO and then the conversation turned to Ukraine. However, as we later found out, Bolduan really only had one primary agenda for the interview... getting an Orange Man Bad quote from the NATO Secretary General. And just like with Poppy Harlow she ended up sorely disappointed with the response.
Bolduan even pulled the same trick out the CNN hat as Harlow by presenting a video clip of Donald Trump saying something critical of NATO. And just as with Harlow, the interview boomeranged again but this time on poor Kate instead of Poppy.
Bolduan goes through the motions of acting as if she is interested in the new membership of Sweden in NATO. After some preliminary back and forth with Stoltenberg in which the discussion touched on Ukraine, we find out what really interests her when Bolduan pulls out a Donald Trump clip in ready reserve. After she played the clip Bolduan attempted to get the Trump criticism from Stoltenberg that Harlow failed to do in January.
KATE BOLDUAN: That was Donald Trump at a campaign rally. What's your reaction to that language? I mean are you concerned about the direction the political debate is headed in the United States regarding NATO?
JENS STOLTENBERG: I expect the United States to be -- continue to be a staunch NATO ally, also after the elections in November, because it is in the U.S. interest to have a strong NATO. NATO's a good deal for United States because together we represent 50 percent of the world's military and economic might. It makes also the United States safer.
Second, it is broad. Political support for NATO in the U.S. Congress. I visited the - the Washington - Washington just a couple of weeks ago, and that was the message from both the Republican and the Democrat -- Democratic side.
And thirdly, the criticism has not mainly been against NATO, but the criticism coming from former President Trump has been against NATO allies not spending enough on NATO. And there things have really changed. Now, more and more NATO allies are spending at least 2 percent, the NATO guideline, of GDP on defense. And now Sweden joined today. They are spending more than 2 percent. So - so - so European allies and Canada are really making difference now by significant increasing what they spend on defense.
BOLDUAN: Well, what you're saying is that concern should not be even on the table then for Donald Trump should he be president again.
DRAT! Foiled again!
To fully appreciate how ridiculous CNN is making itself by trying to "Get Trump" whenever Stoltenberg is the guest, let us look at Harlow doing basically the same thing in January and with the same backfire as happened on Monday. Does CNN never learn?
Oh, and CNN, please don't think the third time will be the charm when you next have Jens Stoltenberg on as a guest. The probability leans much more to three strikes and you're ...out!