In the past couple of days, CNN senior political reporter Nia-Malika Henderson has been noticeably sour toward some GOP presidential candidates, asserting that they are "saying outrageous things," and even admitting to having a "visceral reaction" to Mike Huckabee's criticism of the Obama nuclear deal with Iran.
By contrast, the CNN reporter just yesterday effused over the "political genius" of President Barack Obama using a press conference to criticize members of the Republican presidential field.
On Tuesday morning's CNN Newsroom, as she set up a question for Henderson, host Carol Costello asserted that Republicans are trying to "out-Trump" each other and showed clips of videos released by the campaigns of Republicans Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz and Carly Fiorina. Costello:
The first debate is coming up, and the Republican candidates are vying for a spot. Right now, according to Politico, eight candidates are a lock. Eight. The others are trying to out-Trump each other to try to assure spot on stage. Listen.
After a number of video clips, turning to Henderson, Costello asked:
So, Nia, how much of that could come back to haunt these candidates if they, like, you know, experience a surge in the future?
After asserting that some GOPers have a short-term strategy to get into the debates, Henderson declared:
And, as you saw with Mike Huckabee, it certainly worked for him to say something that a lot of people think he shouldn't have said. And now he's on television -- we're talking about him. He's on the Today show. So it's worked for him, and he's certainly going to be in those debates. I think he's obviously looking at Iowa. His campaign hasn't really been getting a lot of attention, and so this is one of the things you see these candidates doing. Making these videos, saying outrageous things to try to get some attention.
She then added:
I don't think the Republican National Committee, when they thought of what 2015 would look like on a debate stage, that they thought that it would be this way, meaning that some of these Republicans would have to go to such lengths to get attention because, ultimately, it sort of backfires on the party, the fact that we're talking today about rape, for instance, from Michael Cohen, and the Holocaust comment from Mike Huckabee.
On Monday's CNN Newsroom, after Costello remarked that she was "surprised" that President Obama had mentioned Trump, Henderson began her response with praise for the President's "genius." Henderson:
Well, I think the political genius of what he said is that he is piggy-backing on something that you've seen Hillary Clinton try to do, and that is to make Donald Trump synonymous with the Republican Party. Of course, you've seen Republicans themselves try to distance themselves from Trump, trying to say he's not quite a Republican, that he doesn't reflect the Republican Party's values. But then you have the President of the United States name-checking Donald Trump saying he is essentially one and the same with the Republican Party, that he is emblematic of where the Republican Party is now.
Below are transcripts of relevant portions of CNN Newsroom with Carol Costello from Monday and Tuesday, July 27 and 28:
#From the Monday, July 27, CNN Newsroom at 9:06 a.m.:
CAROL COSTELLO: Nia, what do you say about that? Because I was kind of surprised that President Obama spoke out about Donald Trump specifically.
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON: Well, I think the political genius of what he said is that he is piggy-backing on something that you've seen Hillary Clinton try to do, and that is to make Donald Trump synonymous with the Republican Party. Of course, you've seen Republicans themselves try to distance themselves from Trump, trying to say he's not quite a Republican, that he doesn't reflect the Republican Party's values. But then you have the President of the United States name-checking Donald Trump saying he is essentially one and the same with the Republican Party, that he is emblematic of where the Republican Party is now.
It's a neat thing for them to try to do because voters very much try to draw their sort of assumptions about a party from what presidential candidates say. And so that's what they are really trying to do. Who knows, of course, how he's going to do when this thing really starts up in January. But, for now, I think this is a very effective strategy.
#From the Tuesday, July 28, CNN Newsroom at 9:07 a.m.:
CAROL COSTELLO: The first debate is coming up, and the Republican candidates are vying for a spot. Right now, according to Politico, eight candidates are a lock. Eight. The others are trying to out-Trump each other to try to assure spot on stage. Listen.
(CLIPS OF VIDEOS RELEASED BY SEVERAL GOP CANDIDATES)
So, Nia, how much of that could come back to haunt these candidates if they, like, you know, experience a surge in the future?
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON: Well, you know, I think they're not thinking about the long-term strategy here. They're thinking about this short-term gain. Somebody like a Lindsey Graham looks like he's not going to make the debate stage. Neither is Carly Fiorina. So they need some sort of buzz. They need to be in the bloodstream.
And, as you saw with Mike Huckabee, it certainly worked for him to say something that a lot of people think he shouldn't have said. And now he's on television -- we're talking about him. He's on the Today show. So it's worked for him, and he's certainly going to be in those debates. I think he's obviously looking at Iowa. His campaign hasn't really been getting a lot of attention, and so this is one of the things you see these candidates doing. Making these videos, saying outrageous things to try to get some attention.
I don't think the Republican National Committee, when they thought of what 2015 would look like on a debate stage, that they thought that it would be this way, meaning that some of these Republicans would have to go to such lengths to get attention because, ultimately, it sort of backfires on the party, the fact that we're talking today about rape, for instance, from Michael Cohen, and the Holocaust comment from Mike Huckabee.
