After CNN reportedly settled for an undisclosed amount in the defamation lawsuit from Covington Catholic student Nicholas Sandmann, leftists on Twitter have expressed outrage, using the moment to bash Trump supporters and Nicholas Sandmann alike.
“The same Trump cultists celebrating Nick Sandmann’s victory against the corporate media outlets who smeared him with false accusations from social media mob bullying that generated fake clickbait news articles are strangely silent about all the liberals they falsely accused too,” tweeted Dr. Eugene Gu.
“The same people who promote the QAnon conspiracy theory, which the FBI says is now a domestic terror threat, the Obama Birther conspiracy, the ‘Replacement Theory’ don’t have much high ground to gloat about the Nick Sandmann settlement but when you are without shame…” tweeted CNN contributor Wajahat “Abu Khadija” Ali. “Nick Sandmann: future Republican congressman,” he continued.
The same Trump cultists celebrating Nick Sandmann’s victory against the corporate media outlets who smeared him with false accusations from social media mob bullying that generated fake clickbait news articles are strangely silent about all the liberals they falsely accused too.
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) January 7, 2020
The same people who promote the QAnon conspiracy theory, which the FBI says is now a domestic terror threat, the Obama Birther conspiracy, the "Replacement Theory" don't have much high ground to gloat about the Nick Sandmann settlement but when you are without shame…
— Wajahat "Abu Khadija" Ali (@WajahatAli) January 7, 2020
Nick Sandmann: future Republican Congressman.
— Wajahat "Abu Khadija" Ali (@WajahatAli) January 7, 2020
One Twitter user even referred to Nick Sandmann, a minor, as a “cockroach” that CNN dealt with: “Conservative news outlets and reporters are eating up this Nick Sandmann settlement like it’s a big win. CNN shrugged their shoulders and said ‘Let the little cockroach have this money. We’re good for it.'”
“In the Trump era, you can profit off publicly ridiculing Native Americas like Nick Sandmann or start your own clothing line after killing a child like Eddie Gallagher. Or murder journalists like Mohammad bin Salman & you will have the full support of the POTUS. #TrumpIsADisgrace,” tweeted Twitter user “Bleeding Heart Liberal Marine.”
In the Trump era, you can profit off publicly ridiculing Native Americas like Nick Sandmann or start your own clothing line after killing a child like Eddie Gallagher. Or murder journalists like Mohammad bin Salman & you will have the full support of the POTUS. #TrumpIsADisgrace
— Bleeding Heart Liberal Marine (@zaharako) January 7, 2020
Conservatives on Twitter have been roundly celebrating the news, calling it a triumph of justice.
“This is the greatest news story of the year so far. Suleimani ain’t got nothin’ on this,” tweeted The Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles.
“Congrats to [CNN] for finally getting at least some of what they deserve for being the enemy of the people,” tweeted actor Nick Searcy.
“Major victory against fake news,” tweeted Tim Pool.
“JUSTICE: CNN has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought against them by Covington Catholic student Nick Sandmann They brutally smeared him & tried to destroy his life Will the Media cover this admission of guilt as extensively as they covered the lies about Sandmann?” tweeted TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk.
“Revenge is a dish best served cold,” tweeted Sebastian Gorka.
Sandmann was thrust into the national spotlight earlier in 2019 when mainstream news outlets like The Washington Post and CNN reported that he and several of his fellow students harassed a Native American man named Nathan Phillips while attending the March for Life in Washington, D.C. Phillips testified that the “Make America Great Again” hat-wearing boys blocked his path and taunted him with racial slurs, which appeared somewhat credible at first when viral video revealed the boys standing around Phillips, cheering as he banged a drum in front of Sandmann’s face. However, the narrative took a dramatic turn when other videos showed that Phillips approached the boys, who were at the time being taunted with racial slurs by the fringe black nationalist group Black Hebrew Israelites.
Without fully investigating the matter, news outlets largely ran with Phillips’ account of what happened, smearing the boys as racists. Sandmann arguably bore the brunt of the smears due to his face being featured so prominently in the video. In fact, media figures, such as CNN contributor Reza Aslan, suggested he’d like to punch the 16-year-old in the face. “Honest question. Have you ever seen a more punchable face than this kid’s?” Aslan tweeted at the time.
In response, Sandmann’s family sued several news outlets for defamation, targeting The Washington Post first for $250 million and accusing the outlet of “using its vast financial resources to enter the bully pulpit by publishing a series of false and defamatory print and online articles … to smear a young boy who was in its view an acceptable casualty in their war against the president.”