<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cnn">CNN</a> host <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/don-lemon">Don Lemon</a> defended his decision to wear a hoodie under his suit jacket during a live broadcast after “The Late Show” host <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/stephen-colbert">Stephen Colbert</a> made fun of him.
Colbert made the comments on his show Thursday night, questioning Lemon’s choice to dress so casually. 
&#8220;I believe a great man once said, ‘What the f*** is that?'&#8221; the comedian said while displaying an image of Lemon doing the broadcast Thursday. 
&#8220;I know they want to add some comedy to CNN, and this is hilarious, but how do you report the news in that outfit? How do you actually talk about tragedy wearing that, because what could be more tragic than that look he had this morning?&#8221; he continued, per <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11664229/Stephen-Colbert-slams-Don-Lemon-wearing-HOODIE-CNNs-revamped-breakfast-show.html">The Daily Mail</a>. 
Colbert next compared Lemon&#8217;s outfit to something worn by “a high school track teacher who went for a run but then got a little hungry and stopped at a restaurant.” 
“But it was too nice of a restaurant and they said, &#8216;Excuse me sir, you have to wear a jacket.&#8217; So then he stole a jacket from Guys and Dolls,” Colbert quipped before saying, “Don, you&#8217;ve got a lot to answer for.”
Lemon reacted with surprise while discussing the “Late Show” clip with co-host Kaitlan Collins on “CNN This Morning” the next day. 
He described the shirt in question as “a sweater that had a hood on it.” 
The CNN host said of Colbert&#8217;s segment, &#8220;I didn’t expect that reaction. For me, it was sort of like a Rorschach test about wearing that outfit. I don&#8217;t know if I want to get into it because I was actually really surprised by it.&#8221;
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Don Lemon Defends Hoodie" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qo9Qu6IYsoE?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
“Right now, people aren&#8217;t wearing suits as much,” he continued, showing photos of himself in different colored suits. “Lots has changed since the pandemic, right? So I just found it interesting that there was such a reaction, because online I got a lot of negative reaction.”
Next, Lemon compared his outfit choice to other mainstream figures who were questioned about their fashion sense. 
&#8220;I think if Barack Obama can get criticized for a tan suit, if Volodymyr Zelensky can fight a war in a hoodie, if Trayvon Martin can start a revolution in a hoodie, then Don Lemon can tell the news in a hooded sweater,&#8221; he continued. 
&#8220;I think John Fetterman wears a hoodie on Capitol Hill,&#8221; Collins replied.
&#8220;If John Fetterman can become a senator in a hoodie, then Don Lemon can tell the news in a hoodie,&#8221; Lemon agreed.
When Collins asked if Lemon would keep wearing hoodies despite the backlash, he replied, “Of course.”
&#8220;I just want to say that a lot has changed. I understand more how you feel when women talk about [how] they talk about women’s skirts and women’s outfits and their hair and their makeup or whatever. Women get scrutinized,” he said of the incident. “Men never get scrutinized.&#8221;

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon – Season 8

Don Lemon Defends Delivering The News In A Hoodie After Getting Mocked By Stephen Colbert

Don Lemon

Entertainment

Media

Stephen Colbert

Television

U.S.

This article is a companion piece to today’s Morning Wire Afternoon Update. To listen to the podcast version, click <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
John Kerry Praises ‘Select Group Of People’ For ‘Saving The Planet’
White House Special Climate Envoy John Kerry <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/at-davos-john-kerry-praises-select-group-of-people-for-saving-the-planet-but-says-they-need-money-money-money" target="_blank" rel="noopener">addressed</a> attendees of the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday, praising the group for their efforts to combat climate change. The remarks drew ridicule from some critics who called Kerry out of touch and elitist.
&#8220;When you stop and think about it, it’s pretty extraordinary that we — a select group of human beings because of whatever touched us at some point in our lives — are able to sit in a room and come together and actually talk about saving the planet,” Kerry gushed on Tuesday. “I mean, it’s so almost extraterrestrial to think about ‘saving the planet.’”
Kerry added, “If you said that to most people, most people would think you’re just a crazy, tree-hugging, leftie, liberal do-gooder … but really that’s where we are.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
United States climate envoy John Kerry tells the World Economic Forum that the &quot;select group of human beings&quot; in Davos are talking about &quot;saving the planet,&quot; even if that sounds &quot;crazy, tree-hugging, leftie, liberal do-gooder.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/mfWDwDxQGA">pic.twitter.com/mfWDwDxQGA</a>
&mdash; Andrew Lawton (@AndrewLawton) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewLawton/status/1615302030406434816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Man Armed With Knife, Wired Vest Shot By Federal Security Guard In Philadelphia 
Outside a federal courthouse in Philadelphia, a <a href="https://www.fox29.com/news/person-weapon-shot-security-outside-federal-court-building-philadelphia-sources-say" target="_blank" rel="noopener">security guard shot</a> a man “multiple times” on Tuesday after officials say he approached the building armed with a knife and wearing a vest with wires. The man was transported to a nearby hospital and is in critical condition. A motive has not been released.
China&#8217;s Economy Slows, Population Shrinks
China’s economy increased only 3% last year, the worst amount seen in decades. Experts blame the country’s strict COVID lockdowns and expect growth in the year ahead as those restrictions ease.
According to official numbers released today, China’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chinas-population-drops-for-the-first-time-in-six-decades" target="_blank" rel="noopener">population shrank</a> for the first time in decades this year. The decline, which many experts believe has actually been going on for several years, is linked to the one-child policy which was launched in 1980 and officially ended in 2016.
CNN Turning To Comedy?
CNN is <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/cnn-putting-comic-primetime-cringe-worthy-network-nothing-lose-experts-insiders" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> considering adding a comedian to host some of its late-night lineup, as part of CEO Chris Licht’s latest attempt to shake up the network. The network saw a significant drop in viewers last year.
Public Memorial For Lisa Marie Presley Scheduled
The Graceland estate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lisa-marie-presleys-memorial-plans-announced-as-graceland-confirms-who-will-get-elvis-former-home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that a memorial for the late Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of Elvis Presley who passed away last week, will take place on January 22 at 9:00 am at the Memphis mansion and will be open to the public.
Twitter Auction Begins
Twitter began its long-anticipated <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2023/01/17/twitter-office-furniture-auction/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">online</a> auction on Tuesday for more than 600 office items, including objects such as high-end espresso machines, boardroom tables, and Twitter paraphernalia like neon signs and bird statues. Per the website hosting the auction, items were going for as high as $10,000. Bidding will close on Wednesday, January 18.
Congressman Jink Banks Running For Senate
Republican Indiana Congressman Jim Banks announced on Tuesday that he would be running for Senate in 2024. The seat is currently held by GOP Senator Mike Braun, who has already announced he won’t seek re-election at the end of his term.
To listen to the audio version of this podcast, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/morning-wire/id1576594336" target="_blank" rel="noopener">click here</a>. And for more in-depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.

Tuesday stock photo

Tuesday Afternoon Update: John Kerry Pats Himself On The Back, CNN Could Be Turning To Comedy, And More

General

John Kerry

Morning Wire

Podcast

Former <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/cnn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a> anchor <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/brian-stelter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brian Stelter</a> hosted a panel on the “clear and present danger of disinformation” during the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/world-economic-forum" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Economic Forum</a> in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday.
The former primetime host recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/failing-upwards-brian-stelter-is-heading-to-harvard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">landed</a> a fellowship at Harvard University. His <a href="https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2023/sessions/the-clear-and-present-danger-of-disinformation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">panel event</a> at the World Economic Forum, which <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-world-economic-forum-meets-in-davos-this-week-heres-what-to-expect" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supports</a> the notion that private and public actors should routinely cooperate for desired political and social ends, asked prominent lawmakers and members of the media about the possibility of controlling purported misinformation online.
Stelter asked Arthur Sulzberger, the chairman of the New York Times Company, about the current state of disinformation since social networks began to feel “pressure” about monitoring content over the past several years. The executive compared condemnations of “fake news” as “enemies of the people,” phrases popularized by former President Donald Trump, as following the pattern of Stalinist Russia and Nazi Germany. He called for “real sustained effort” from social media platforms and lawmakers to reject the phenomenon.
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) likewise said that the Trump phenomenon “proved that lying works” as a political strategy. “Part of jumping on his bandwagon was buying into this game that you could just lie, and not only could you get away with it, but it might actually help your career.”
European Commission Vice President Vera Jourová described a “very broad exercise” in monitoring disinformation within the European Union and said that 90% of the requests for removals on Facebook come from government agencies.
Moulton said there is a “healthy concern” in the United States that European censorship goes “too far.”
“Yes, they are ahead of us, and they’re doing some smart things. But I know when I use the internet in Europe and I get all the warnings about cookies and whatnot, that actually makes me feel safer,” he said. “We also have a healthy concern that we are not going to be censored.”
Stelter countered that many Democrats have pressured social media companies over the past six years to “be stronger in content moderation.” Moulton responded that many lawmakers are uncomfortable when they see critical posts online but expressed a willingness to consider more censorship in cases such as vaccine misinformation.
“This concept of preserving public safety, even under the banner of free speech, is actually something that we have accepted for a long time,” he continued. “We get taught in grade school the concept of yes, you are allowed free speech, but not crying fire in a crowded theater.”
The panel comes as independent reporters continue to release emails and other internal company documents provided by Twitter CEO Elon Musk to chronicle federal law enforcement agencies <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-new-twitter-files-shows-how-federal-state-governments-monitor-americans-social-media-posts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">policing content</a> on the platform and asking executives to remove posts.
The latest <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-twitter-files-release-shows-how-adam-schiff-staffers-harassed-the-company-with-absurd-ban-requests" target="_blank" rel="noopener">release</a> showed that staffers working for Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the former chair of the House Intelligence Committee, wrote to Twitter “quite often” asking for posts to be removed. Another <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-new-twitter-files-shows-how-federal-state-governments-monitor-americans-social-media-posts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">edition</a> of the project indicated that agencies, particularly the FBI, contacted Twitter about the censorship of so many posts that employees congratulated each other in internal company communications for the “monumental undertaking” of reviewing the requests.

Vanity Fair’s 6th Annual New Establishment Summit – Day 1

Brian Stelter Talks ‘Disinformation’ At World Economic Forum

Brian Stelter Hosts Panel Event On 'Disinformation' At World Economic Forum

Brian Stelter

Misinformation

Social Media Censorship

World

World Economic Forum

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) said Sunday that the Biden administration has failed in its pledge of transparency, acknowledging “we don’t know exactly yet” whether President Joe Biden or anyone on his team has broken the law after the White House announced over the weekend that five more classified documents were found in his Delaware home.
Appearing on CNN’s State of The Union with host Jake Tapper, Comer <a href="https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1614635986994229255" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accused</a> the president of hypocrisy, noting that the Biden administration went after former President Donald Trump swiftly when a similar situation was revealed but appeared to hide his own misconduct from the public for political reasons. 
“Remember, they were quick to call for a special counsel prior to the midterm elections, and Joe Biden used as his closing argument during the midterm elections that Republicans were a threat to democracy, and he cited the fact that President Trump mishandled the documents,” Comer told Tapper. “While he was doing this, he knew very well that he himself had possession of classified documents. So, the hypocrisy here is great.” 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Tapper: &quot;Are you accusing President Biden or anyone on his team of breaking the law?&quot;
Comer: &quot;Well, we don&#39;t know exactly yet&quot;<a href="https://twitter.com/jaketapper?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jaketapper</a> asks Rep. James Comer (R-KY) about a House Republican probe into Biden&#39;s mishandling of classified docs. <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSotu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CNNSotu</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CNNSOTU?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CNNSOTU</a> <a href="https://t.co/KTIEo1q4cX">pic.twitter.com/KTIEo1q4cX</a>
&mdash; CNN (@CNN) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1614635986994229255?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Comer went on to say that House Republicans are concerned about a lack of transparency from the administration, a pledge that former Press Secretary Jen Psaki <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/21/opinions/biden-first-year-transparency-diakun/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made</a> on Biden’s first day in office, promising to “bring transparency and truth back to government.” Comer claimed the variations in responses to Trump and Biden represent a “two-tiered system of justice in America.” 
Tapper attempted to explain Biden’s lawyer’s possible reason for sitting on the information, which was initially discovered on November 2, was to not impede a Department of Justice investigation in regard to witnesses. Comer said that argument was “hard to believe.” 
“I would consider the fact that it was right before a midterm election, a very important midterm election that was close, that was going to determine the balance of power in Congress, the fact that they had, that they were quick to call for a special counsel with Trump, it seems political here, it seems hypocritical, it seems like a double standard, and that’s our concern,” Comer said. 
The Kentucky congressman explained that as Chair of the House Oversight Committee, he has jurisdiction over the National Archives, which he also accused of lacking transparency, adding that he is frustrated with the agency. Comer said the archives never briefed him or Ranking Minority Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the top Democrat on the committee, on the November 2nd discovery. 
“Why was Mar-a-Lago raided, but the president’s home not?” Comer asked. “Why are the president’s lawyers still allowed to go rummage through looking for documents after a special counsel has been appointed,” he said. 
Comer recently made similar <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1614392317523427330" target="_blank" rel="noopener">comments</a> to CBS News, saying it appears the Biden Administration didn’t immediately inform the public of the president’s document scandal for “political reasons.” 
“It sure looks like the reason they withheld that was for political reasons and I wonder if we would have ever known it was it not for the investigative reporting at CBS,” Comer said. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
House Oversight Chair <a href="https://twitter.com/JamesComer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JamesComer</a> says &quot;it sure looks like&quot; the Biden administration withheld the document scandal from the public &quot;for political reasons.&quot;
&quot;I wonder if we would&#39;ve ever known it were it not for the investigative reporting at CBS News.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/KQTnDw85nU">pic.twitter.com/KQTnDw85nU</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1614392317523427330?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

House Republicans Speak To The Press On Biden Family Business Dealings

Comer Says ‘We Don’t Know Exactly Yet’ Whether Biden Broke Law, Accuses Biden Team Of Withholding Info For ‘Political Reasons’

House Oversight Committee Chair Says 'We Don’t Know Exactly Yet' Whether Biden Broke Law, Accuses Biden Team Of Withholding Info For 'Political Reasons'

classified documents

Congress

Executive

Jake Tapper

Joe Biden

Politics

Senate Majority Leader <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/chuck-schumer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Charles Schumer</a> (D-NY) sparred with several hosts on CNN late this week when pressed about President Joe Biden&#8217;s growing classified document scandal.
Schumer made the contentious remarks during an interview on &#8220;CNN This Morning&#8221; on Friday, claiming that it was &#8220;too early&#8221; to comment about whether Biden violated the law.
&#8220;It&#8217;s much too early to tell,&#8221; Schumer said. &#8220;I think President Biden has handled this correctly. He&#8217;s fully cooperated with the prosecutors when the documents were found, he notified Archives. It&#8217;s a total contrast to President Trump, who stonewalled for a whole year.&#8221;
CNN&#8217;s Don Lemon pushed Schumer over reports that indicated that the administration gave &#8220;misleading statements&#8221; that have now &#8220;created the impression that Biden&#8217;s team has something to hide.&#8221;
&#8220;That doesn&#8217;t sound that much different than the former president,&#8221; Lemon said.
&#8220;Don, there&#8217;s now a special prosecutors. Let&#8217;s see what they have to say,&#8221; Schumer responded. &#8220;We can have all the speculation and comment. Let&#8217;s see what they have to say and let&#8217;s focus on doing things that help the American people.&#8221;
&#8220;But, senator, I have to get — I have to say this,&#8221; Lemon fired back. &#8220;You seem much more measured about this than with the Trump documents because you called for transparency with the Trump documents. You wanted lawmakers to have access to the documents seized from the former president, his residence in Florida.&#8221;
When Poppy Harlow brought up whether Biden was being transparent with the American people, Schumer responded, &#8220;Bottom line is the prosecutors will get to the bottom of this and let&#8217;s let them do it, for God&#8217;s sake.&#8221;
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Schumer: Biden handling of classified docs is &#039;complete contrast&#039; to Trump" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_pg7j1lJheo?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
TRANSCRIPT:
<blockquote>KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN: Joining us now to weigh in on all of this and what&#8217;s happening on Capitol Hill is Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the Democratic senator obviously from New York. We&#8217;re so glad to have you back on set.
But we have to ask you about what&#8217;s happening with the attorney general now appointing the special counsel, and the fact that the White House is acknowledging, yeah, these classified documents were found. Do you believe that he&#8217;s violated the federal law here?
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): It&#8217;s much too early to tell. There&#8217;s a special prosecutor in each situation. I think President Biden has handled this correctly. He&#8217;s fully cooperated with the prosecutors when the documents were found, he notified Archives. It&#8217;s a total contrast to President Trump, who stonewalled for a whole year. But the point is we now have special prosecutors for both of these situations, very serious people. We should let it play out. We don&#8217;t have to push them in any direction or try to influence them. That&#8217;s all I&#8217;m going to say, let the special prosecutors do their job.
COLLINS: Do you support the fact that a special counsel is overseeing this matter now?
SCHUMER: Yes, I do. And, in fact, when they first — the FBI went to Mar-a-Lago and they said, well, what are you going to say about this? I said, it&#8217;s premature to comment, and I&#8217;ve said it here. So, I&#8217;ve been consistent about it in both cases. You have prosecutors, special prosecutors, I support both of them. Let them do their job. I think that&#8217;s all that should be said. The politicians shouldn&#8217;t be buzzing around.
LEMON: Just to be sure about what you said, do you believe that the Biden folks are being transparent about this? Do you think that they&#8217;re being &#8212;
SCHUMER: I think the Biden folks, as I said, cooperated with the prosecutorial authorities from day one and Donald Trump didn&#8217;t.
LEMON: This is our reporting. According to one justice official, said that the White House public statements earlier this week offered an incomplete narrative about the classified documents from Biden&#8217;s time as vice president reinforced the need for special council. The misleading statements created the impression that Biden&#8217;s team has something to hide. That doesn&#8217;t sound that much different than the former president.
SCHUMER: Don, there&#8217;s now a special prosecutors. Let&#8217;s see what they have to say. We can have all the speculation and comment. Let&#8217;s see what they have to say and let&#8217;s focus on doing things that help the American people.
LEMON: But, senator, I have to get — I have to say this. You seem much more measured about this than with the Trump documents because you called for transparency with the Trump documents. You wanted lawmakers to have access to the documents seized from the former president, his residence in Florida, which it seems like you &#8212;
SCHUMER: The bottom line is, I said that night it’s premature to comment on what should be done, and I stood by that.
LEMON: For President Trump?
SCHUMER: Yes, former President Trump. That&#8217;s exactly right. That&#8217;s what I said.
LEMON: So, you think that your statements are consistent for both?
SCHUMER: I sure do. You bet.
LEMON: Okay.
HARLOW: So, you say the president has fully cooperated. And there&#8217;s no indication that he and the White House have not, but there is a real question about transparency and what the American people deserve. Let me just &#8212;
SCHUMER: Bottom line is the prosecutors will get to the bottom of this and let&#8217;s let them do it, for God&#8217;s sake. I know you want to buzz around and all of that, but the bottom line is &#8212;
HARLOW: Let me buzz for a minute. Let me buzz for one minute and I promise we&#8217;ll get on to something else.
LEMON: But it&#8217;s not just &#8212; hold on, it&#8217;s not just us buzzing around. You&#8217;re the Democratic head of the Senate. This is a really important issue. It&#8217;s not just  buzzing around.
SCHUMER: No. But we have to &#8212; and if there were no special prosecutor, there would be &#8212; you might have a different thing to say, but there is.
And now we have the law enforcement people who have the power to get all the facts out doing it. I support both. I think we should have a special prosecutor on each. I don&#8217;t mind you asking these questions, but my view is I&#8217;m not going to say anything, let the special prosecutors do their job.
HARLOW: The question I was going to ask is about the fact when this did come out, after CBS News&#8217; reporting, and the White House came out and acknowledged it, they only addressed the documents found on November 2nd, but they knew at the time about the documents found on December 20th. And that&#8217;s what begs the question of full transparency. And it&#8217;s not just us. The Washington Post editorial board this morning says the same thing, that if the president and this White House answered more questions directly like that exact timeline, that would, quote, promote trust and pre-empt this criticism. Would you like to see the White House do that today?
SCHUMER: I leave everything up to the special prosecutors. Their obligation legally was to report things to the Archives the minute they discovered them. Unlike Trump, they did.</blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-oversight-chairman-on-bidens-document-scandal-national-archives-wont-disclose-what-was-found" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House Oversight Chairman On Biden’s Document Scandal: National Archives Won’t Disclose What Was Found</a>

Chuck Schumer

Chuck Schumer Spars With CNN Hosts Over Biden Classified Document Scandal: ‘For God’s Sake’

Chuck Schumer Spars With CNN Hosts Over Biden Classified Document Scandal: 'For God's Sake'

Scandals

Former <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/bill-clinton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Clinton administration</a> official David Gergen, now a political analyst at <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cnn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a>, warned late this week that Biden was in for a nightmare over the classified document scandal.
When asked by network opinion host Anderson Cooper how big of a mess Biden was in, Gergen responded, &#8220;It&#8217;s very, very big.&#8221;
&#8220;Not legally, but politically,&#8221; Gergen claimed. &#8220;It&#8217;s a very, very big deal.&#8221;
Gergen&#8217;s claim may not be entirely accurate, as Attorney General Merrick Garland announced last week that he appointed a special counsel to oversee the federal investigation into the scandal.
&#8220;I do think that they, that the Biden people, they may be making a big mistake,&#8221; Gergen said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t think sitting there, hunkering down now, you&#8217;re just acting like it&#8217;s not out there &#8230; they&#8217;re going to get creamed doing that.&#8221;
Gergen said that the way the Biden administration has handled the matter is going to lead the American public to ask the question, &#8220;What are they hiding?&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Former Clinton administration adviser David Gergen says Biden is in “very, very big” trouble over the classified document scandal.
He’s going to get “creamed,” Gergen says. <a href="https://t.co/bCzurd6E6W">pic.twitter.com/bCzurd6E6W</a>
&mdash; Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) <a href="https://twitter.com/jasonrantz/status/1614434405052993537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
TRANSCRIPT:
<blockquote>ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Want to talk about the political fallout, which could be considerable, and unwelcome to the administration, certainly, coming, as Phil Mattingly mentioned, with inflation cooling, and gas prices dropping, and the President&#8217;s approval numbers growing, in the polls, at least before this.
Joining us is CNN Senior Political Analyst, David Gergen, White House insider, for Democrats and Republicans alike, dating back to the Nixon years; also CNN Political Commentator, and former Pennsylvania Republican congressman, Charlie Dent; and CNN Political Analyst, Jackie Kucinich. She&#8217;s Washington Bureau Chief for The Boston Globe.
David Gergen, let&#8217;s start with you. How big a mess is this for the Biden administration?
DAVID GERGEN, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER TO NIXON, FORD, REAGAN &amp; CLINTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST, AUTHOR, &#8220;HEARTS TOUCHED WITH FIRE: HOW GREAT LEADERS ARE MADE&#8221;: It&#8217;s very, very big. Not legally, but politically, it&#8217;s a very, very big deal.
This is a President who was marching upward. For the first time in his presidency, he&#8217;s got his numbers up, people are feeling better about the economy, for all sorts of reasons, to believe that he can now present himself — the fears that people like me have, about how old is he and can he govern well. Those fears will be dissipated if he were able to stay on that track.
But now, along comes this gigantic story, which was totally unexpected, and it&#8217;s knocked that — the knock for six&#8211;
COOPER: Yes.
GERGEN: &#8211;the original plan, now.
But I do think that they, that the Biden people, they may be making a big mistake, Anderson. I may be wrong about this. I think they&#8217;ve done a wonderful job being cooperative with the government, and they&#8217;ve done it, quote, by the book, as they were saying.
But I don&#8217;t think sitting there, hunkering down now, just acting like it&#8217;s not out there, is a good strategy. They’re going to get creamed doing that.
COOPER: There&#8217;s also been the drip, drip, drip of information.
GERGEN: Yes.
COOPER: Some of that unpreventable because they didn&#8217;t know a Special Counsel was coming.
GERGEN: Yes.
COOPER: But they did know when they had the President talk about the first batch of documents that were found&#8211;
GERGEN: Yes.
COOPER: &#8211;they had already known that there were other documents found.
GERGEN: Yes.
COOPER: You would think they might have just jumped — announced that all at once?
GERGEN: Exactly. That&#8217;s why they could have put that out there.
COOPER: Right.
GERGEN: And as matters now stand, that long delay in putting it out there is going to encourage people to believe, well what are they hiding?
COOPER: Yes.
GERGEN: And that&#8217;s where they — there&#8217;s a temptation in every one of these kinds of crises, to hunker down. And it&#8217;s the wrong temptation. It&#8217;s the wrong temptation to listen to — look to — you going all the way back to Iran/Contra, and other kind of crises, like that. You&#8217;ve just got to get the facts out.
COOPER: Yes.
GERGEN: &#8220;These are the facts we know. There&#8217;s some facts we don&#8217;t know. And we&#8217;ll keep you posted.&#8221;
COOPER: Jackie, do you think this largely takes away the White House&#8217;s ability to criticize former President Trump&#8217;s handling of classified documents? Obviously, yes, big differences between the two.
JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, THE BOSTON GLOBE: Yes.
COOPER: But how often does nuance breakthrough in political discourse, these days? I mean, rarely.
KUCINICH: Well, yes. And that&#8217;s the thing, right? This definitely muddies the waters in a way that, I think, Republicans are elated about.
I mean, going into, particularly on the House Republican majority, there was a perception, particularly among Democrats, that a lot of these investigations were going to be essentially fishing expeditions. Well, because of this, they were thrown a fish, and they&#8217;re actually able to grab onto something. And this, it does mute the ability to criticize President Trump in the — former President Trump in the same way.
And let&#8217;s be clear, this isn&#8217;t happening in a vacuum. We all kind of expect Biden to announce his plans for the coming presidential election in short order. We think it&#8217;s the beginning of this year. So, does this affect — I think there&#8217;s a real question about that. Does this affect, on that timing, should this continue, in the weeks and months to come?
COOPER: Congressman Dent, as we reported, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jim Jordan is launching this investigation into the DOJ. Should the Biden administration be concerned about Republican oversight on this?
CHARLIE DENT, (R) FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE &#8211; PENNSYLVANIA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Absolutely, they should, because Jim Jordan must be absolutely giddy and salivating over this. I mean, politically, as just discussed, the waters have been muddied, even though there are real differences between the two cases.
But, Joe Biden, he ran for president on being competent. This looks like he was careless, and reckless, or his people were. I mean, for him to go out there and say that — well, first, bad news does not get better with time. The fact that they&#8217;re releasing this out in bits and pieces, &#8220;Oh, yes, we found some, by the Corvette, locked in the garage.” I mean, this is really not helping his case.
And plus, now that there is a Special Counsel appointed, again, that&#8217;s just more reasons for the Republicans to picket them. What they&#8217;ll find out? I have no idea. But, as a political matter, I think Republicans are thrilled because this really diverts attention away from many of their own problems. And so, they should be — they&#8217;re in a much better position than they were one week ago.
COOPER: I mean, David, I guess, Republicans, is there a Catch 22, for them? I mean, if they cry foul about this, about the mishandling by the Biden administration, wouldn&#8217;t that also put attention on President Trump&#8217;s handling?
GERGEN: Yes, I think they&#8217;ve gotten a little overheated here in the last few days in their criticism. And I do think they are the ones who want to step back and let the story be told by others.
But among other things, right now, Anderson, when you&#8217;re in one of these situations in the White House, you’ve got your team, your party is out, in the Congress and elsewhere, and you need to feed them things that they can use to defend you with. And the Biden people are not providing them the handles, the arguments, the counterarguments.
One of the things, for example, that has taken some of the sting off this, to me, is what we&#8217;ve experienced in recent years, is we&#8217;ve had an explosion in the number of documents that are classified now.
COOPER: Right, there&#8217;s over-classification.
GERGEN: Over-classification. Pat Moynihan, 15 years ago, headed up a bipartisan commission to look at secrecy. And what he found was there were 2 million people in the federal government who could slap classifications on documents. And there were 1 million people in private industry who had the capacity to put&#8211;
COOPER: It&#8217;s a lot.
GERGEN: &#8211;classifications on documents. And so, naturally, things just took off. And it made people, inside the government, increasingly complacent. And what you&#8217;re seeing, I think, and have — finding these, some of these documents, on a garage, for God&#8217;s sakes, is a sloppiness, a massive sloppiness&#8211;
COOPER: Yes.
GERGEN: &#8211;on people who don&#8217;t understand these. And actually, this is quite sensitive.
COOPER: Yes.
GERGEN: We should take this seriously. But they&#8217;ve been engulfed by a lot of this other stuff where, as Jim Sciutto was saying earlier today, on your — on this channel, he said, basically, you used to have a sandwich down, for lunch, and then you put a stamp out, again, begin putting the classification on it.
COOPER: Yes. Jackie, I mean, you&#8217;d mentioned this before. But, I mean, do you really think it potentially impacts Biden&#8217;s expected announcement for running?
KUCINICH: I don&#8217;t know. I don&#8217;t know, Anderson. I think it really depends. I mean, I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s going to impact his decision whether or not to run certainly.
But we were going into this year, as Phil Mattingly mentioned, you had tagging on to the Senate. Republicans were in complete disarray, fighting amongst themselves.
You had the economy getting better. You had Biden touting the achievements from last year. And this really has kind of hit a wall, as a result of these revelations about these documents. So certainly, it dampens the momentum that this White House had, potentially going into a future announcement.
COOPER: And Congressman Dent, I mean, Senator Chris Coons, the Democrat from Delaware, obviously a big Biden ally, he was arguing that voters don&#8217;t care about the President&#8217;s handling of classified documents, that they&#8217;re more concerned about gas prices, grocery prices.
That&#8217;s essentially the same arguments Republicans were always making in the lead up to the midterm elections, and about stuff on Russia.
Do you think Coons is right?
DENT: Yes, Chris Coons is a good friend. And I think he is generally right on this question. But again, but if you&#8217;re Joe Biden, you really don&#8217;t want this issue around. The Special Counsel, sniffing around, nothing good will come of it.
And it&#8217;s true. Biden&#8217;s had good news. And Chris Coons is probably right that this is not the primary focus of voters.
But still, not a great issue, because it really speaks to a carelessness, and a recklessness, where Joe Biden has done his best to contrast himself with Donald Trump, who was always very careless, and reckless on many matters. And it just kind of undermines his whole argument.
But, at the end of the day, you&#8217;re right, or Chris Coons is right, that most voters are concerned about the prices of groceries, and gasoline, and everything else they&#8217;re dealing with.
COOPER: Yes.
DENT: Housing and whatnot.
COOPER: Yes. Charlie Dent, David Gergen, Jackie Kucinich, appreciate it. Thank you.
GERGEN: Thank you.</blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-more-classified-material-found-at-property-owned-by-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More Classified Material Found At Property Owned By Biden</a>

President Biden Welcomes Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio To The White House

Ex-Clinton WH Official: Biden In ‘Very, Very Big’ Trouble Over Document Scandal, Will Get ‘Creamed’

Anderson Cooper

Biden Administration

It wasn&#8217;t President Joe Biden&#8217;s fault that he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jonathan-turley-says-corvette-excuse-wont-cut-it-bidens-claim-he-didnt-know-about-docs-could-come-back-to-bite-him" target="_blank" rel="noopener">left classified documents</a> sprawled throughout the Acela corridor after leaving the vice presidency, CNN wants you to know. He was too busy working hard up until the last minute of the Obama presidency and was a victim of his own making, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/legacy-media" target="_blank" rel="noopener">legacy media</a> outlet implied Friday in a puff piece of all puff pieces.
In an article that took four &#8220;journalists&#8221; to write, CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/12/politics/biden-documents-final-days-vice-president-aides-scramble" target="_blank" rel="noopener">starts</a> off by explaining that &#8220;The early days of 2017 were a whirlwind for Vice President Joe Biden: swearing in a new Congress, a surprise Medal of Freedom, a speech at Davos and one final trip to Ukraine.&#8221;
In turn, his staff was torn between closing down the office and keeping things running for their eager beaver boss.
&#8220;Those competing objectives – to use his office until the final minutes even as it was obliged to shut down – made for a muddled and hurried process that left aides packing boxes of documents and papers late into the night, even as more material kept arriving,&#8221; CNN observed.
The aides tasked with sorting out Biden&#8217;s personal and professional effects must have made a simple mistake in the last weeks. They put the docs in the wrong box. That&#8217;s likely true, but it doesn&#8217;t really forgive the fact that Biden took the documents in the first place. Unlike a president, the veep doesn&#8217;t have the same broad declassification powers, so nobody can argue the files were actually declassified.
Throughout the article, CNN does its best to present Biden in as positive a light as possible.
&#8220;Former aides and others familiar with the process of Biden’s transition out of government service describe a serious effort to follow the law made difficult by an unusually active final stretch,&#8221; the piece says, implying that it is perfectly understandable some papers got lost in the shuffle.
The piece is replete with excuses and gratuitous detail about Biden&#8217;s public service on behalf of the American people in the waning days of Obama&#8217;s second term.
&#8220;In just the final five days of his vice presidency, Biden met in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and in Switzerland with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He spoke by phone with the prime minister of Iraq two days before leaving office,&#8221; the article claims. &#8220;And earlier in the week he held calls with the president of Kosovo and the prime minister of Japan. As his team worked in Washington to ensure all the classified material in his offices were properly packed and submitted to the government, more classified documents continued to arrive.&#8221;
Of course, the nearly two thousand-word article could have been reduced to two or three sentences at most.
It also glosses over that the Biden team had six months after leaving office to go through the documents with the help of the General Services Administration.
In that case, the question isn&#8217;t really how did this error happen in the final weeks, it&#8217;s why didn&#8217;t the Biden team find the papers in the following six months after leaving the vice presidency?
The anonymous aides never explain what happened from January 2017 &#8211; July 2017.
Instead, the supposedly non-partisan CNN gifted Biden a column that throws &#8220;lower-level&#8221; staff under the bus while portraying the current president as a regular, &#8220;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaNpcgmj5qI" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world&#8217;s best boss</a>&#8221; Michael Scott from &#8220;The Office.&#8221;
In a memorable scene, Scott told his boss David Wallace that his greatest weaknesses are, &#8220;I work too hard, I care too much, and sometimes I can be too invested in my job.&#8221;
Confused, Scott had to explain to his boss that his &#8220;weaknesses are actually strengths.&#8221;
And that&#8217;s what CNN wants you to believe about Biden. His greatest strength is also his greatest weakness — he worked too hard as veep — which explains why he walked out of the White House in 2017 with classified docs.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

President Joe Biden, CNN

CNN Writes The Puff Piece Of All Puff Pieces About Biden’s Work Ethic, Handling Of Classified Docs

CNN Writes The Puff Pieces Of All Puff Pieces About Biden's Work Ethic, Handling Of Classified Docs

Department of Justice

Legacy Media

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/texas">Texas</a> Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw apologized on Sunday for referring to some of his GOP colleagues as &#8220;terrorists&#8221; during negotiations that led to the election of Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kevin-mccarthy">Kevin McCarthy</a> (R-CA) as House speaker.
Crenshaw shared the apology during an interview on CNN&#8217;s &#8220;State of the Union&#8221; with Jake Tapper.
“Look, things get heated and things get said. Obviously, to people who took offense by that, it’s pretty obvious that it’s meant as a turn of phrase,” Crenshaw said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
On <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CNNSOTU?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CNNSOTU</a> with <a href="https://twitter.com/jaketapper?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jaketapper</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/RepDanCrenshaw?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepDanCrenshaw</a> discusses the GOP infighting that led to the stalled House speaker vote. <a href="https://t.co/aORnzxukRG">https://t.co/aORnzxukRG</a>
&mdash; State of the Union (@CNNSotu) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSotu/status/1612129629816475648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2023</a></blockquote>
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“I’ve got pretty thick skin. I’m called awful, vile things by the very same wing of the party that I was fighting at that moment. So I was a little taken aback by the sensitivity of it. But to the extent that I have colleagues that were offended by it, I sincerely apologize to them. I don’t want them to think I actually believe they’re terrorists. It’s clearly a turn of phrase that you use in an intransigent negotiation,” he added.
Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL, had referred to the 20 GOP holdouts against McCarthy as “terrorists.” He later doubled down on his remarks but explained they weren&#8217;t intended to be taken literally.
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“They need to be men and adults and say what they want, instead of playing these little games, that&#39;s what we&#39;re asking. That&#39;s what I&#39;ve asked them. Some of them are my friends. Stop saying platitudes like, ‘Washington is broken. We can&#39;t do the status quo,’” Crenshaw said.
&mdash; Dylan Wells (@dylanewells) <a href="https://twitter.com/dylanewells/status/1610701401168003072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“It’s a figure of speech. People need to lighten up and grow some f***ing thick skin,” he said. “That’s what I think about that. I am so sick of like these hurt feelings. I already got criticized earlier because I called them something else. You know what? You step into the octagon, be ready to get punched in the face.”
Crenshaw continued to blast the tactics of his colleagues and challenged them to join in making McCarthy the House speaker.
“They need to be men and adults and say what they want, instead of playing these little games, that&#8217;s what we&#8217;re asking. That&#8217;s what I&#8217;ve asked them. Some of them are my friends. Stop saying platitudes like, ‘Washington is broken. We can&#8217;t do the status quo,’” Crenshaw said.
Crenshaw also criticized the GOP holdouts during an <a href="https://radio.foxnews.com/2023/01/04/crenshaw-unloads-on-gop-holdouts-acting-like-terrorists-children/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> on Fox News Radio with host Guy Benson on Wednesday.
“They had no plan. They have some list of demands that mostly have been met,” he said. “They basically closed all the doors and pulled the pins on the grenades and are staring at each other like, what the hell do we do?&#8221;
McCarthy failed to receive the needed votes from the GOP House majority until early Saturday morning.
As The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-kevin-mccarthy-elected-next-speaker-of-the-house" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, McCarthy won with 216 votes over Rep. Hakeem Jeffries’ (D-NY) 212 after six Republicans voted “present,” which lowered the bar needed for McCarthy to clinch the position. The win came after 15 votes over multiple days as House members returned to Washington, D.C., after the holiday break.
A total of 20 Republicans refused to support McCarthy&#8217;s nomination throughout the early rounds. In the final vote, all but six of the GOP House members voted for McCarthy to help end the week-long battle.

Dan Crenshaw

Dan Crenshaw Walks Back ‘Terrorist’ Comment Against GOP House Members

House Republicans

Terrorists

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/january-6th-was-pelosis-fault-house-republicans-investigative-report-unveils-counter-narrative-of-u-s-capitol-riot/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Texas Rep. Troy Nehls</a> sneaked in a blistering burn in an appearance on CNN Thursday, saying it was his “first time on the Clinton News Network.”
Discussing the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-speaker-race-reaches-10th-ballot-for-first-time-since-before-civil-war/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House GOP battle over the speakership</a>, the former U.S. Army major and county sheriff smirked as he invoked the derisive moniker conservatives use to describe the far-left cable news channel. He dropped the dig as he explained that he meant no offense when he had earlier referred to Erin Burnett as “young lady.”
“I’ll assume when you called me a young lady it was a compliment,” Burnett said as she wrapped up the segment.
“Of course it was,” Nehls replied. “This is my first time on the Clinton News Network.”
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Troy Nehls on CNN: “This is my first time on the Clinton News Network.” <a href="https://t.co/ssnkB84MBh">pic.twitter.com/ssnkB84MBh</a>
&mdash; Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) <a href="https://twitter.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1611202952852828161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Burnett shot back that the remark was “in my opinion rude,” but graciously thanked him for appearing on the network, which under new President Chris Licht has said it wants to shed its reputation as far-left.
Nehls is a member of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of about 40 conservative lawmakers, some of whom are seeking to block Rep. Kevin McCarthy from becoming the next speaker of the House. Nehls said he differed with those colleagues and is backing McCarthy.
&#8220;Listen, I don&#8217;t know if you&#8217;re aware of young lady, but I am also a member of the House Freedom Caucus,&#8221; Nehls said. &#8220;So I am one of those America First patriots. And I have said to my friends, my colleagues in the Freedom Caucus, that I don&#8217;t believe that this is the battle we should be waging. I think the real battle starts when we start drafting legislation and policy in the 118th Congress under a Speaker McCarthy.&#8221;
The House has held 11 votes since Tuesday in an effort to name a speaker to succeed Nancy Pelosi. Republicans eked out a slim, 222-213 majority in the November midterms, and, barring a rules change, McCarthy needs 218 votes to become speaker. So far, 20 Republicans have refused to vote for him.
Voting was expected to resume Friday after another night of bargaining between McCarthy and the holdout group.

Erin Burnett, Troy Nehls

WATCH: Texas Rep Sneaks In Devastating Dig At CNN During Appearance On Far-Left Network

Kevin McCarthy

U.S. House of Representatives

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cnn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN&#8217;s</a> John King used Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s tragic medical emergency this week to attack the Republican Party as members of Congress try to figure out who will become the next House Speaker.
King&#8217;s comments come as 20 House Republicans refuse to back Rep. Kevin McCarthy&#8217;s (R-CA) bid for House Speaker, which has resulted in Congress not being able to do anything because none of the members can be sworn into office.
&#8220;Especially when you have a small majority, you have to accept your responsibility as a member of the team,&#8221; King said. &#8220;Pick your business, pick your sport. Imagine if a baseball team goes on the field and after two pitches, the right fielder decides, I want to pitch. It can&#8217;t work that way. Someone has to be in charge. Someone has to be in charge of any organization. That doesn&#8217;t mean you always agree with your boss, you don&#8217;t always agree with your manager. You don&#8217;t always agree with your coach.&#8221;
King then used Hamlin&#8217;s cardiac arrest on the field earlier this week to attack House Republicans.
&#8220;Imagine those two doctors we just listened to who treated and all the people in the field who cared for that Buffalo Bills player, if somebody said no — or no, I want to do the other job, it doesn&#8217;t work that way,&#8221; he said. &#8220;When you&#8217;re on a team, you have to — yes, yes, you go to the boss&#8217; office and you say, I want this, I want this, I want this, but eventually, somebody has to make a decision. And you have to accept the responsibility of the government.&#8221;
&#8220;They don&#8217;t want that responsibility,&#8221; he claimed. &#8220;They don&#8217;t care about that responsibility. They don&#8217;t respect that responsibility.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Disgusting: CNN invokes Damar Hamlin&#39;s cardiac arrest to warn against GOP lawmakers. &quot;Imagine those two doctors that we just listened to who treated, and all of the people on the field who treated the Buffalo Bills player if they said, &#39;no, [I don&#39;t want to function as a team]&#39;&quot; <a href="https://t.co/y1xbrSjLu6">pic.twitter.com/y1xbrSjLu6</a>
&mdash; Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) <a href="https://twitter.com/NickFondacaro/status/1611098978195591189?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 5, 2023</a></blockquote>
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TRANSCRIPT:
<blockquote>JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: And, John, one of the things that you hear from a lot of the McCarthy supporters, who again might not even be super enthusiastic about him but just want to get down to work is that the rules changes that these rebels have already exacted from McCarthy or whoever ends up to being speaker because it&#8217;s not like the next person is going to go back on that are going to make legislating close to impossible.
JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: And so, whoever wins the speakership, will that person be Speaker for a week, a month, by August when you have to do the debt ceiling, and that means you have to be responsible &#8212; and responsible, I think is the word here, respecting the system, the organization, the government. Dana, I think, put it as plainly as you can, they don&#8217;t care. They don&#8217;t care.
Especially when you have a small majority, you have to accept your responsibility as a member of the team. Pick your &#8212; pick your business, pick your sport. Imagine if a baseball team goes on the field and after two pitches, the right fielder decides, I want to pitch. It can&#8217;t work that way. Someone has to be in charge. Someone has to be in charge of any organization. That doesn&#8217;t mean you always agree with your boss, you don&#8217;t always agree with your manager. You don&#8217;t always agree with your coach.
Imagine those two doctors we just listened to who treated, and all the people in the field who cared for that Buffalo Bills player, if somebody said no &#8212; or no, I want to do the other job, it doesn&#8217;t work that way. When you&#8217;re on a team, you have to — yes, yes, you go to the boss&#8217; office and you say, I want this, I want this, I want this, but eventually, somebody has to make a decision. And you have to accept the responsibility of the government.
They don&#8217;t want that responsibility. They don&#8217;t care about that responsibility. They don&#8217;t respect that responsibility.
TAPPER: Yes.
KING: So, 58 days after the American people, everybody thought, every historical marker said Republicans would win 20 seats, maybe 30 seats, maybe more, they won 10. They lost the seat in the Senate. Why? Because the American people said we don&#8217;t want crazy. We’ll take a center right, but we won&#8217;t take center crazy. What are we getting in the House right now? Crazy.</blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-endorses-candidate-for-house-speaker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elon Musk Endorses Candidate For House Speaker</a>

Minnesota Vikings v Buffalo Bills

WATCH: CNN Uses Damar Hamlin’s Cardiac Arrest To Attack Republicans

WATCH: CNN Uses Damar Hamlin's Cardiac Arrest To Attack Republicans

Republican Party

Former Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/adam-kinzinger">Adam Kinzinger</a> joined CNN as a senior political commentator on Wednesday and subsequently faced mockery from critics online.
&#8220;Kinzinger joins CNN with extensive experience in GOP politics, having recently retired from the U.S. House of Representatives after serving six terms representing Illinois’ Sixteenth Congressional District,&#8221; the network said in a statement. &#8220;Kinzinger most recently served on the high-profile House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol as well as the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the House Foreign Affairs Committee.&#8221;
The network also noted Kinzinger&#8217;s experience serving in the U.S. Air Force in both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
&#8220;Kinzinger was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in November 2003 and later awarded his pilot wings,&#8221; the statement said. &#8220;He has served in the Air Force Special Operations, Air Combat Command, Air Mobility Command, and Air National Guard. Kinzinger continues to serve his country as a pilot in the Air National Guard, with the current rank of Lieutenant Colonel.&#8221;
&#8220;Happy to join the team @CNN!&#8221; Kinzinger said on Twitter.
Kinzinger and CNN faced a lot of mockery online over the announcement.
&#8220;I can&#8217;t tell if CNN is a dude attracted to crazy women, or a woman attracted to destructive head cases,&#8221; Fox News host Greg Gutfeld said. &#8220;Either way, this is gunna be hilarious!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I can&#39;t tell if CNN is a dude attracted to crazy women, or a woman attracted to destructive head cases. either way, this is gunna be hilarious! <a href="https://t.co/iKz9FY935f">https://t.co/iKz9FY935f</a>
&mdash; GregGutfeld (@greggutfeld) <a href="https://twitter.com/greggutfeld/status/1610805324071542784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 5, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Fox News radio host Jimmy Failla tweeted: &#8220;WOW &#8211; Adam Kinzinger has signed with CNN. He wasn’t kidding when he said he wanted to leave the spotlight.&#8221;
&#8220;The fact that Chris Licht&#8217;s CNN has hired liberal wine mom simp Adam Kinzinger as not only a political commentator but senior political commentator is proof that nothing has changed at CNN from Zucker,&#8221; NewsBusters Managing Editor Curtis Houck tweeted. &#8220;By and large, CNN still hates a large part of the country.&#8221;
Political commentator Stephen L. Miller tweeted: &#8220;Also, congrats on a new land speed record.&#8221;
&#8220;LOL proving every one of his critics right,&#8221; political strategist Chris Barron tweeted.
Columnist David Marcus tweeted, &#8220;I have no reason to believe that this guy isn’t sincere in his wrong headed ideas, but let’s not kid ourselves, there’s always been a soft landing for Never Trump conservatives. It’s not some great act of courage.&#8221;

Greg Gutfeld Adam Kinzinger

Adam Kinzinger Joins CNN. Greg Gutfeld Zaps Them Both.

Adam Kinzinger

Greg Gutfeld

The left-wing media learned a lot in 2022, even if it was all stuff the rest of us already knew.
Two years after local officials closed schools, grieving family members weren’t allowed to say goodbye to their loved ones at in-person funerals, businesses were forced to temporarily close their doors — many of them for good — and Americans were generally forbidden from congregating outside of large groups, the press in recent weeks has come to an unexpected conclusion: Fighting each other over COVID is probably counter-productive.
“<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/10/covid-response-forgiveness/671879/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Let’s Declare a Pandemic Amnesty</a>” exhorted an October 31 headline in The Atlantic, a call whose temerity was only matched by the gall of its flipside from 2020. Back then, of course, the prevailing line from the mainstream media was that Dr. Fauci’s COVID pronouncements were to be followed to the letter and that there was no legitimate alternative path — until, that is, the doctor decides to change his mind, and woe betide the man or woman who asks to see the receipts.
It should come as no surprise that 2022, all things considered, was as chock-a-block as each year always is with examples of The Fourth Estate beclowning itself. Few if any of the year’s media fails, though, arguably came with a greater lack of self-awareness than that one from The Atlantic, calling on us all to basically hug out the COVID fights.
“Dwelling on the mistakes of history can lead to a repetitive doom loop,” the writer of the piece declared. “Let’s acknowledge that we made complicated choices in the face of deep uncertainty.”
Yes, of course: The mistakes of history. Deep uncertainty, and complicated choices — like the choice to use one’s position as a public health professional to declare on CNN that the unvaccinated <a href="http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/2107/08/cnr.10.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">should not be allowed to leave their homes</a>. The idea of pandemic amnesty sounds straightforward enough, until you stop to remind yourself that “complicated choices” are one thing — but you unilaterally declaring my livelihood and personal liberty subservient to your real-time experiment amid all that uncertainty is something else entirely.
That kind of years-late turnabout, long after the damage has already been done, was just one in what’s been a lengthy series of gaffes, errors, and outright fails that characterize 2022’s Year in Media.
We also saw that same phenomenon, by the way, manifest itself in more than just coverage of the pandemic. Like in the way the mainstream media was glaringly late to the party regarding Hunter Biden’s laptop — long after widespread coverage of the story might have made a difference in the 2020 election.
Just ahead of the 2020 election, remember, Facebook throttled any and all mention of the laptop story across its social media empire. Outlets like CNN and The Washington Post either refused to cover the news or played it down, while Twitter went even farther — taking the extraordinary step of refusing to let users share any links to news coverage about the laptop at all, even within the confines of private messages from one user to another. Twitter also temporarily locked <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/10/14/kayleigh-mcenany-locked-out-of-twitter-for-sharing-posts-hunter-biden-story/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the then-White House press secretary</a> out of her account for trying to disseminate a news article about the laptop.
Fast-forward to 2022, with a brash and anti-woke new owner now in charge of Twitter — and Twitter’s former head of safety Yoel Roth was now (surprise!) feeling compelled to declare Twitter’s ban on the laptop story <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/yoel-roth-twitter-censor-hunter-biden-laptop-story-was-mistake-2022-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a mistake</a>. Indeed, what CNN chief media correspondent Brian Stelter panned at the time as a “<a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2020/10/18/new-york-post-hunter-biden-stelter-rs-sot-vpx-biz-dupe.cnn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">manufactured crisis</a>” somehow — two years later, long after it mattered most — became “<a href="https://wpde.com/news/nation-world/cnns-brian-stelter-admits-hunter-biden-laptop-not-just-a-right-wing-media-story" target="_blank" rel="noopener">not just a right-wing media story</a>” anymore. Outlets like CBS News, The Washington Post, and The New York Times likewise, at various times this year, also finally <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/04/01/new-york-times-finally-admit-hunters-laptop-is-real-but-only-to-protect-joe-biden/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">agreed on the legitimacy</a> of the so-called &#8216;laptop from hell.&#8217;
2022, it seems, has also been the year of national legacy media deciding to declare the Hunter Biden laptop story amnesty, too.
To put it simply, this has been not only a year of the news media getting things wrong, as usual. When it comes to some of the biggest stories of our time, the profession also has an increasingly frequent habit of fighting alternatives that don’t fit the master narrative by plugging its ears, waiting an extended period of time, and then begrudgingly acknowledging the obvious after a consequence-free pivot.
Of course, there were plenty of other clear-cut and outright fails, too. Among the most egregious of 2022:
1) Headline: <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/senior-us-intelligence-official-russian-missiles-crossed-nato-93346632" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A senior U.S. intelligence official says Russian missiles crossed into NATO member Poland, killing two people</a>
What really happened: For many experts, this has been the nightmare scenario of the Ukraine war — A provocation against a third-party nation that requires a response from allies and pulls other nations around the world into the conflict. In this case, the truth was that an errant Ukrainian missile landed in Poland, the AP’s “anonymous sources” notwithstanding. WWIII averted, and the guilty reporter fired.
2) Headline: <a style="font-weight: 400;" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/26/business/media/cnn-plus-streaming-news.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Can CNN’s Hiring Spree Get People to Pay for Streaming News?</a>
What really happened: CNN’s delusion that a critical mass of subscribers would pay for its content in a standalone app a la Netflix went up in flames — and much faster than even the most negative critics anticipated. Moreover, the question in that NYT headline is premised on a fundamental misunderstanding about cable news audiences. They already are paying to get an extra fix of news and lifestyle content … from Fox, via its Fox Nation app. CNN’s troubles, meanwhile, are a formidable combination of secular decline and audiences not keen on buying what they’re selling. Go woke, and your streaming service goes broke.
3) Headline: <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2022/12/03/musks-twitter-files-internal-hunter-biden-debate-revealed-with-much-hype-but-no-bombshells/?sh=2d63ff587ea6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Musk’s ‘Twitter Files’: Internal Hunter Biden Debate Revealed With Much Hype But No Bombshells</a>
What really happened: Are you kidding me? No bombshell revelations in the Twitter files? How about the then-head of Trust and Safety at Twitter meeting weekly with the FBI, DHS, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence — as if Twitter was a subsidiary of the national security state? Or Twitter being paid millions of dollars by the FBI to suppress tweets and accounts at the bureau’s request? This is a company that espoused democratizing speech while policing it, that shadow-banned and suppressed conservatives — and straight-up kicked people off the service during the early days of COVID over statements that eventually become conventional wisdom. But, sure — no bombshells.
4) Headline: <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2022/10/crime-rate-justice-republicans-2022-elections/671800/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">What’s Really Going On With the Crime Rate?</a>
What really happened: There’s always been an obsession within the mainstream media to report on crime patterns with all the binary nuance of a sports match — the numbers are up, then they’re down. At the moment, the picture is especially dire out of cities like New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, though the post-midterm coverage engaged in a bit of chest-thumping over it all: See? Republicans tried to make you think we’re in the midst of a crime wave, but they still lost — so they were obviously wrong!
The fact of the matter, though, is that the reality of crime has much less to do with statistics than the mainstream media would have you believe. If city leaders in Los Angeles took a victory lap over there being just one murder in the city over the course of the year, but that murder victim happened to be your grandmother, what do you care that crime is “down”?
This obsession over statistics to fit a narrative completely misses the reality that normal people live with in the country’s biggest crime-ridden cities. We all understand that crime will always be a part of life, but there is an increasing sense that leaders in a position to do something about it are exacerbating the evil that threatens lives and livelihoods.

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