In an effort to shield the Biden-Harris administration from criticism over the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, CNN anchor Jim Acosta proposed something rarely advocated on CNN: prayer.
Before leveling any political brickbats at the president, Acosta exhorted his viewers, “Pray on it.”
It would be wrong to politicize a tragedy, he said.
Acosta began the homilette by remembering the bravery of the 13 U.S. servicemen killed as a suicide bomb tore through the U.S. airport in Kabul last Thursday.
“For weeks, the brave men and women of the U.S. military have been heroically evacuating their fellow Americans and Afghan allies by the tens of thousands,” he said. “Just for a moment, imagine the courage it takes to do that job.”
“If there were ever a moment for some sense of national unity, this was it,” Acosta said on “CNN Newsroom” on Saturday. “Yet in the hours that followed, the divisions in this country were all too apparent.”
Acosta then turned to the familiar, “Republicans pounce” line of reporting.
“Former President Donald Trump immediately pounced on the attack in Kabul,” Acosta complained, before citing additional Republican criticisms of President Biden’s withdrawal from Kabul, which ultimately left hundreds of American citizens behind.
“President Biden should expect some of this criticism. That is politics,” Acosta said, seemingly ascribing every critique of Biden’s withdrawal to pure partisanship. “But it’s the knee-jerk immediacy of this political attacks that stands out.”
“So many times, we hear politicians simply offer thoughts and prayers. Well, if there ever was a moment for just thoughts and prayers, this was it,” Acosta sermonized. “The tweets, the statements, this time should’ve been about putting the troops first with thoughts and prayers: thoughts and prayers for the Marines and other servicemembers who died Thursday; thoughts and prayers for their families; thoughts and prayers for the troops leaving Afghanistan, as we speak; thoughts and prayers for the Afghan people and for this country.”
“Just imagine, just this once, if we simply offered our thoughts and prayers,” he said. “Give it some thought. Pray on it.”
Jim Acosta had shown a less prayerful disposition when a tragedy involves Republican officials.
- Just four days after a gunman opened fire and killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Acosta shouted at President Trump to ask “whether he will do anything about guns.”
Following the president's remarks, I tried to ask Trump why does this keep happening in America and whether he will do anything about guns. He did not respond except to say thank you.
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) February 15, 2018
- Earlier this month, as the Delta variant began sweeping through the United States, Acosta told CNN’s viewers that new strains of COVID-19 after Republican governors who oppose mask mandates. “Why not call it the DeSantis variant instead of the Delta variant?” he said on “CNN Newsroom.”
Acosta: People should not have to die so some politicians can own the libs. They’re not owning anybody but they may end up owning the pandemic because they’re prolonging it. Perhaps it’s time to start naming these new variants that may be coming out after them… pic.twitter.com/1xfTUGY1rt
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 7, 2021
- Acosta asked President Trump, “Who dropped the ball” on preventing COVID-19 deaths last April 3. “Why is it we don’t have enough masks? Why is it we don’t have enough medical equipment in this country?” he asked. “The president got testy when I pressed both he and Secretary Azar on that,” Acosta later told his colleague, Wolf Blitzer. “The buck is supposed to ‘stop here,’ Wolf, as you know.”
It is unclear whether Acosta prayed before any of those critiques.
Acosta, who has not distinguished himself publicly as an overly religious man, has accelerated CNN’s casual use of profanity, on and off the air. He has referred to Fox News as a “bulls**t factory.” While he later claimed, “I hate to use the word bulls**t,” he used the swear word at least eight times in May and June. Acosta also tweeted “F*** you” to former Melania Trump named Justin Caporale in 2018.
The Bible does generally instruct people to pray before making any decision. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God,” according to James 1:5.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.