With Erica Hill subbing for Audie Cornish, CNN This Morning continued to downplay Islamic terrorism against Christians in Nigeria in the context of Trump-ordered US strikes on Islamic terrorists there.
And as seen in the screencap, CNN put in quotes the "slaughter" of Christians. Hill suggested that's not reality, but conservatives don't care about reality:
HILL: ...the data doesn't necessarily support the president's claim that Christians are being disproportionately targeted. Ashley, this has been, the religious persecution, has been a really animating subject matter, if you will, for many conservatives. Does it matter to them that the data doesn't line up?
Writing about CNN doing something similar last month, we countered claims that Christians aren't being targeted with these facts:
- Global Human-Rights NGOs, almost all left-of-center, have condemned the violence. Amnesty International issued reports titled “Harvest of Death” and “Targeted for Faith” — highlighting Christian villages wiped out.
- Human Rights Watch: Issued a 42-page brief “They Burned Everything” — documenting Fulani attacks on Christian farming communities.
- Even the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect--founded by George Soros’ Open Society!--lists Nigeria as an R2P crisis because of “Christian genocide.”
- UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion (2022): “Christians are deliberately targeted for killing and kidnapping.”
- Pope Francis called it “a terrible genocide” in an open letter co-signed by 350 African bishops, many of them liberation-theology progressives.
- A study by the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa found that Christians were 6.5 times more likely to be killed in the violence than Muslims.
There's much more, as you can read about here. And yet, Saturday's New York Times carried this headline on the front page: "Analysts Question Claim Militants Are Singling Out Christians."
For CNN and other media outlets to downplay the way in which Christians in Nigeria are being targeted by Muslims is outrageous. But it's of a piece with the way the liberal media seeks to softpedal Islamic attacks on home soil, as when they pretend not to know the motive of attackers who shout Allahu Akbar while wielding their guns or knives.
Hill also took a snide shot at President Trump. She opened the segment by accusing him of hypocrisy, saying in respect of military operations in Nigeria and off the coast of Venezuela, that Trump is "gunning" for a Nobel Peace Prize.
We see what you did there, Erica.
Here's the transcript.
CNN This Morning
12/26/25
6:00 am ETERICA HILL: President Trump ordering a deadly Christmas Day strike on ISIS fighters in Nigeria. CNN This Morning starts right now.
A move from the president, who of course is gunning for a Nobel Peace Prize.
. . .
CNN's Nada Bashir is following these developments for us and joins us now live from London. So, Nada, what more do we know about these strikes and the targets specifically?
NADA BASHIR: Well, look, Erica, we had heard warnings from the US president in November, calling on his Defense Secretary to prepare for possible action in Nigeria. We frequently heard from the US president discussing what is characterized as the persecution of Nigeria's Christian community by Islamist extremist groups, notably the Islamic State group in Nigeria. And now, of course, we have seen that so-called action being carried out now, an overnight strike.
. . .
HILL: Well, President Trump, of course, casts himself as a peacemaker. He touts ending several wars, has also vowed to limit U.S. military intervention abroad. Yet from Iran to Venezuela, we are seeing an increase in international escalations. And the president warning, of course, there could be more to come in Nigeria, writing on Truth Social to the, quote, dead terrorists, warning there will be, in his words, many more if the slaughter of Christians continues.
. . .
It's important to note, the country itself is about split between Christian and Muslim faith. And the data doesn't necessarily support the president's claim that Christians are being disproportionately targeted.
Ashley, this has been, the religious persecution, has been a really animating subject matter, if you will, for many conservatives. Does it matter to them that the data doesn't line up? Because that is a significant issue.
. . .
ASHLEY DAVIS: But I'm very happy that, that the administration is actually striking in abroad rather than them coming and striking us in our country.
In regards to the Christian and Muslim controversies, I mean, we don't know what we don't know. It's so complicated. There's a lot of national security complications that are overlaid between the two groups, that the ISIS and terrorist groups are hiding behind the Muslim religion. And so I think that we need to be very cautious that this is, including with president, that this is a religious attack.
HILL: Yeah, caution definitely advised. I will just say, just based on our reporting, the data does not support the claims that Christians are being disproportionately targeted.
