CNN political commentator Mary Katharine Ham slammed her own network on Friday over the way that it covers certain topics while apparently ignoring others.
The drama started over remarks that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) made this week about how the media covered the events of January 6 this year, saying, &#8220;This is their Christmas: January 6. They are going to take this and milk this for anything they can to be able to smear anyone who ever supported Donald Trump.&#8221;
“I just look back and compare when I was in Congress. One event that we faced was the attempted assassination of Republican members of Congress on the baseball game. I actually was on the field,” DeSantis continued. “If you do not have the Capitol Police there, you probably would have a dozen people assassinated. That was like a one-day, two-day story. That was not something that the Capitol-based press wanted to talk about. Why? Because it totally undercut their preferred narratives.”
New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman responded to the remarks from DeSantis by writing: &#8220;He’s arguing the shootings didn’t get much coverage? Pretty sure they were a huge story.&#8221;
This is where Ham jumped in.
&#8220;I lived a block from the baseball field. Under 48 hours, the news vans were gone. I was on TV, live from the baseball field where they played the game a day later, after almost being canceled by mass murder, but my topic was &#8216;Mike Pence reportedly hired a lawyer,’” Ham wrote. &#8220;You&#8217;re welcome to talk yourself into idea that a similar murder attempt on an entire team of Democrats would have gotten the same treatment. I think the shooting of Gabby Giffords is pretty analogous and disproves that theory. Even without that data point, it&#8217;s just not true.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
You&#39;re welcome to talk yourself into idea that a similar murder attempt on an entire team of Democrats would have gotten the same treatment. I think the shooting of Gabby Giffords is pretty analogous and disproves that theory. Even without that data point, it&#39;s just not true.
&mdash; Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) <a href="https://twitter.com/mkhammer/status/1479499495478022147?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;And it doesn&#8217;t mean Jan. 6 doesn&#8217;t deserve coverage. Moving on after 48 hrs would be wrong for that and for Gabby Giffords! But the coverage was what it was, Scalise&#8217;s return to Congress was very sparsely covered, and the anniversary was barely mentioned,&#8221; Ham continued. &#8220;I checked at the time, and it is real. News vans were staked out at the home of the parents of Elizabeth Lauten, the GOP staffer who criticized Obama&#8217;s daughters on Facebook that time, for longer than they were at the practice baseball field. That&#8217;s not just a news cycle issue.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I checked at the time, and it is real. News vans were staked out at the home of the parents of Elizabeth Lauten, the GOP staffer who criticized Obama&#39;s daughters on Facebook that time, for longer than they were at the practice baseball field. That&#39;s not just a news cycle issue.
&mdash; Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) <a href="https://twitter.com/mkhammer/status/1479501055574564866?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Ham was later called out by CNN&#8217;s Andrew Kaczynski, who tweeted out an apparent screenshot from Ham&#8217;s appearance on CNN at the time, writing: &#8220;It looks [like] you discussed the baseball game?&#8221;
&#8220;Hi, Andrew. Yes, this is within 24-48 hrs that this was a story,&#8221; Ham responded. &#8220;This segment was based on the galactically stupid Sanford contention that it was *Trump’s rhetoric* that caused it, bc of course. Pointed out Nats Park hit bc it was overlooking the game &amp; yet not focused on this.&#8221;
&#8220;Do you need the rest of my itinerary from that day and the day after, which again, were basically the only days this was a national story, which was my point?&#8221; Ham continued. &#8220;Got jack to say about Cuomo and Toobin, but gotta fact-check me when he’s got nothing.&#8221;
&#8220;One jacked off in front of female colleagues and one violated every conflict of interest rule in journalism, lied about it, and got fired, but I’m the issue bc I think the Congressional baseball shooting was covered too lightly and taxes are too high,&#8221; she concluded. &#8220;Sure, dude.&#8221;

Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit – Day 3

CNN’s Mary Katharine Ham Torches Her Own Network In Viral Rant

Mary Katharine Ham

CNN contributor Mary Katharine Ham mocked Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) over her claim that Republicans attack her because they secretly want to date her.
Ham joined anchors Brianna Keilar and John Berman on Monday&#8217;s broadcast of &#8220;New Day&#8221; to discuss the viral tweets showing that Ocasio-Cortez spent New Year&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ocasio-cortez-caught-partying-in-miami-without-mask-rules-for-thee-but-not-for-me">vacationing maskless</a> in Florida — and the Congresswoman&#8217;s response to criticisms that she vacationed while her home state faced a record-shattering wave of new COVID-19 cases.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
It’s only Monday, but <a href="https://twitter.com/mkhammer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mkhammer</a> has already won the week with this savage mockery of AOC’s self-absorbed vanity. 😂😂😂 <a href="https://t.co/M7n7Cm4aA6">pic.twitter.com/M7n7Cm4aA6</a>
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) <a href="https://twitter.com/guypbenson/status/1478064060709101570?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Berman and Keilar introduced the segment by noting that, after photos of her <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/im-not-surprised-desantis-says-hed-be-a-pretty-doggone-wealthy-man-if-he-had-a-dollar-for-every-lockdown-politician-who-escaped-to-florida">Florida vacation</a> made the rounds on a number of conservative outlets, she had lashed out at her critics by calling them &#8220;creepy weirdos&#8221; and claiming that &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ocasio-cortez-slammed-for-claiming-republicans-are-mad-they-cant-date-me-broke-the-cringe-meter">sexual frustration</a>&#8221; had played a part in driving their hatred of her.
&#8220;If Republicans are mad they can’t date me they can just say that instead of projecting their sexual frustrations onto my boyfriend’s feet. Ya creepy weirdos,&#8221; Ocasio-Cortez said, referencing a comment someone had made about her boyfriend&#8217;s sandals. &#8220;It’s starting to get old ignoring the very obvious, strange, and deranged sexual frustrations that underpin the Republican fixation on me, women, &amp; LGBT+ people in general. These people clearly need therapy, won’t do it, and use politics as their outlet instead. It’s really weird.&#8221;
&#8220;First of all, I woke up like this. So I have authority on people being sexually frustrated by my mere existence,&#8221; Ham began in mocking tones. &#8220;I&#8217;m glad to be able to discuss this with you. The plight of the super hot in America has long been ignored. AOC has started a national conversation about this. You know, I know we have all dealt with it &#8230; You know, we can start an organization or something.&#8221;
&#8220;Just the other day, I noticed the IRS keeps sending me notices even though I never expressed any interest in them. And it&#8217;s like, &#8216;why are you so obsessed with me?'&#8221; Ham continued. &#8220;One day you wake up and think is there more to life than being ridiculously good looking? I did it. And now I’m here. AOC did it and now she’s a Congresswoman. And in that capacity, you have to answer questions. And, like — I’m goofing on this because it’s goofy. To question the motives of every questioner you come across I don’t think behooves you.&#8221;
&#8220;She can answer the questions about being in Florida without going here. And by the way, I know because I’m talking about this, there are weirdos who will get weird in my comment section right now. &#8216;Hi, how is it going? You can’t date me. This is the real plight of being a woman in the public eye. And there is some of that out there,&#8221; Ham added. &#8220;But we also have to answer fair questions. And a fair question to AOC is, &#8216;Hey, is your trip with your partner to Florida dangerous to yourself and others? And if not, why not?&#8217; It suggests people can use their personal freedoms to make decisions about their risk profiles and go forward in the world of COVID.&#8221;

COP26 – Day Ten Gender, Science and Innovation

WATCH: Mary Katharine Ham Mercilessly Mocks AOC For Claiming Republicans Just Want To Date Her

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Brianna Keilar

COVID

Florida

John Berman

CNN contributor and conservative Mary Katharine Ham on Friday publicly hit her own network for being &#8220;dishonest&#8221; in their coverage of podcast host Joe Rogan taking doctor-prescribed Ivermectin when he got COVID.
CNN notably linked the medicine to &#8220;horse dewormer&#8221; when reporting on Rogan and neglected to report on his five-day recovery, the host said when confronting CNN medical expert Dr. Sanjay Gupta, earlier this week.
&#8220;Rogan is right that it’s dishonest to say he took horse dewormer when he did not,&#8221; Ham tweeted, referring to CNN coverage.
&#8220;It was irresistible to dunk on him for a lot of people, so they went with that instead of sticking to ‘hey, this anti-parasitic isn’t recommended for COVID treatment,’ which would’ve been credible,&#8221; she said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Rogan is right that it’s dishonest to say he took horse dewormer when he did not. It was irresistible to dunk on him for a lot of people, so they went with that instead of sticking to “hey, this anti-parasitic isn’t recommended for COVID treatment,” which would’ve been credible. <a href="https://t.co/tF2tIuHyPD">https://t.co/tF2tIuHyPD</a>
&mdash; Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) <a href="https://twitter.com/mkhammer/status/1449016964224061445?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Ham was quickly rebuked for part of her post by a conservative at The Federalist.
Political editor John Daniel Davidson responded to Ham, &#8220;Well, it WAS recommended by Rogan&#8217;s doctor, so that also wouldn&#8217;t be credible,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;And it&#8217;s not like Rogan&#8217;s doc is the only one in the country recommending Ivermectin off-label. The MOST they could have said, credibly, is that the CDC doesn&#8217;t recommend it.&#8221;
&#8220;Agreed, I’m not looking to explicate the entire Ivermectin fight in one tweet,&#8221; Ham replied. &#8220;That was shorthand for a pronouncement that would have been more suitable than ‘he’s taking horse dewormer,’ which is just straight, well, horses***.&#8221;
&#8220;I’m happy for folks to take it safely &amp; half expect there may end up being better data later on,&#8221; she added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Agreed, I’m not looking to explicate the entire Ivermectin fight in one tweet. That was shorthand for a pronouncement that would have been more suitable than “he’s taking horse dewormer,” which is just straight, well, horseshit. I’m happy for folks to take it safely &amp; half expect
&mdash; Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) <a href="https://twitter.com/mkhammer/status/1449055288095649796?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Though Ham called out CNN&#8217;s shoddy reporting, evening host Don Lemon doubled down the network’s Ivermectin claim relative to Rogan. Gupta seemed to backtrack his agreement with Rogan on the podcast, too.  <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/don-lemon-doubles-down-on-joe-rogan-horse-dewormer-claim-gets-slammed-lying-encouraged-at-cnn">The Daily Wire</a> reported:
<blockquote>Speaking to CNN medical expert Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Lemon said, “It is not a lie to say that [Ivermectin] is used as a horse dewormer. I think that’s important. And it is not approved for COVID.”
“Correct, that is correct and it is not approved for COVID,” Gupta responded, adding, “But you know, there’s still a few ongoing trials around Ivermectin. But if you look at the data, there is no evidence that it really works [against COVID] here.”</blockquote>
&#8220;The Joe Rogan Experience&#8221; host took the medicine after it was prescribed to him by his doctor, and he recovered from the virus in five days. The host made it a point to emphasize on his podcast with Gupta that he did not take “horse dewormer,” but a drug that has been used by millions, if not billions of people, though largely to treat internal waterborne parasites.
Lemon and CNN were quickly blasted online. “CNN and [Don Lemon] are pathetic,” journalist Glenn Greenwald posted. “There is zero ambiguity they lied about Joe Rogan. They told viewers he took horse dewormer: a 100% lie. He took the human version of ivermectin prescribed by his medical doctor.”
“But as I said, lying is not frowned upon at CNN: it’s encouraged,” Greenwald added.
In an op-ed published at CNN, Gupta <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/13/health/sanjay-gupta-joe-rogan-experience/index.html">rationalized</a> why he appeared on Rogan’s podcast, apparently feeling the need to do so. The doctor claimed he went on the show to convince Rogan to get the COVID-19 vaccine, though Rogan has already been infected and likely has antibodies.
Ironically, during the interview, Gupta slammed Rogan for being set in his ways and unable to change his mind upon hearing new information and a different perceptive.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/don-lemon-doubles-down-on-joe-rogan-horse-dewormer-claim-gets-slammed-lying-encouraged-at-cnn">Don Lemon Doubles Down On Joe Rogan ‘Horse Dewormer’ Claim, Gets Slammed: Lying ‘Encouraged’ At CNN</a>

‘Horses***’: CNN Contributor Sides With Rogan Over Own Network On Ivermectin Claims

Joe Rogan

CNN anchor John Avlon was viably stunned and appalled when conservative commentator Mary Katharine Ham criticized Dr. Anthony Fauci for losing Americans&#8217; trust and ripped the media for &#8220;fangirling&#8221; over the powerful bureaucrat, rather than ask him important tough questions.
After the liberal CNN panelists and coanchors roundly ridiculed Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) for questioning Fauci, Avlon turned his intention to Ham, asking her about the &#8220;conservative decision to demonize Anthony Fauci.&#8221;
“So what&#8217;s the game here? What is the purpose of this fixation on attacking Anthony Fauci?” Avlon asked, <a href="https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/kristine-marsh/2021/07/21/fireworks-cnn-mary-katharine-ham-shames-media-fangirling-fauci">according</a> to NewsBusters.
&#8220;Well, I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s entirely a game,&#8221; Ham rebuffed Avlon. &#8220;I think it&#8217;s that Fauci is a very powerful public official who deserves and rarely gets tough questioning in almost any realm. He gets frankly a lot of fangirling and a lot of just sort of forum for his ideas and he doesn&#8217;t get a lot of pushback.&#8221;
&#8220;Senator Paul understood the assignment here,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;He&#8217;s asking about a tough subject that admittedly none of us are experts on, but I would like to know a lot more about. And despite his protestations, tough questions for Dr. Anthony Fauci are not attacks on science itself.&#8221;
Ham then blasted Fauci for his repeated &#8220;shadings&#8221; of the truth, which she said are why the American people don&#8217;t trust him. The conservative noted of Fauci&#8217;s flip-flopping on masks, seemingly to keep the supply of masks for hospital staffers. You might agree with the outcome, she said, but it built up distrust from the American people.
The CNN panelist then talked about the coronavirus lab leak theory, which Fauci has been dismissive toward:
<blockquote>&#8220;On the issue of this particular line of questioning which has to do with the lab leak theory, we also have to put in practice you may say it&#8217;s legitimate to ask him difficult questions but we don&#8217;t ever seem to get around it to. Okay? On this issue in particular that’s connected to the lab leak theory. The lab leak theory was credible last year. Reported on valiantly by [CNN analyst] Josh Rogin even when people say it was verboten and we shouldn&#8217;t talk ability. Rand Paul asked about it last year as well. This is the kind of thing that makes people distrust folks when we&#8217;re told we can&#8217;t talk about something that we have good reason to ask&#8230;&#8221;</blockquote>
As Ham ripped the media and criticized Fauci, Avlon looked visibly outraged.
Podcast host and political commentator Stephen L. Miller commented on the CNN anchor. &#8220;John [Avlon] looks completely incensed at the very suggestion that Fauci must answer questions for his role in NIH funding,&#8221; he <a href="https://twitter.com/redsteeze/status/1418205588614352896">posted</a> to Twitter. &#8220;And this right here is the entire problem. He looks personally offended.&#8221;
Political analyst David Gregory, also on the panel, was outraged, too, deeming Ham&#8217;s criticism as &#8220;cable news silliness.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/mkhammer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mkhammer</a> drops ABSOLUTE TRUTH BOMBS on CNN about Fauci.
Just look at their faces!
🤣 <a href="https://t.co/5xxeIEuMOC">pic.twitter.com/5xxeIEuMOC</a>
&mdash; Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) <a href="https://twitter.com/TwitchyTeam/status/1418203118890803200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 22, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rand-paul-im-making-criminal-referral-to-doj-for-anthony-fauci-because-he-has-lied-to-congress">Rand Paul: I’m Making ‘Criminal Referral’ To DOJ For Anthony Fauci Because ‘He Has Lied To Congress’</a>

WATCH: Conservative Stuns CNN Panel With Fauci Criticism, Mocks Media ‘Fangirling’

Anthony Fauci

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/45874/democrats-demand-attorney-general-william-barr-ashe-schow">Democrats</a> and their allies in the mainstream media exploded last week after Attorney General William Barr <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/45809/watch-ag-barr-i-think-spying-did-occur-trump-amanda-prestigiacomo">told</a> a Senate panel that the Obama administration spied on Donald Trump&#8217;s 2016 presidential campaign.
&#8220;I am going to be reviewing both the genesis and the conduct of intelligence activities directed at the Trump campaign during 2016,&#8221; Barr <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/45809/watch-ag-barr-i-think-spying-did-occur-trump-amanda-prestigiacomo">stated</a>, later adding, &#8220;I think spying did occur, yes. I think spying did occur.&#8221;
Running predictable interference for the Democrats, CNN&#8217;s Jake Tapper ran a segment on his show, &#8220;The Lead,&#8221; dissecting why Barr used the word &#8220;spied.&#8221; The implication, of course, is that Barr is a partisan doing as he is told by President Trump and using alleged &#8220;dog whistles&#8221; to gin up the base.
CNN contributor Mary Katherine Ham, however, was quick to disrupt their display in unhinged anti-Trump outrage, informing the group that &#8220;spying&#8221; on someone and surveilling someone without their knowledge is effectively the same thing &#8212; no matter how much they may dislike the president.
&#8220;Barr said, quote, &#8216;spying did occur. Yes, I think spying did occur.&#8217; He also said, I want to make sure there was no unauthorized surveillance,&#8221; Tapper <a href="http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1904/11/cg.02.html">started</a> the segment. &#8220;So I think it&#8217;s still kind of up in the air, what did he mean when he said spying did occur. What do you think he meant?&#8221;
Karen Finney, CNN commentator and former Hillary Clinton campaign spokeswoman, suggested it was because Barr was trying to &#8220;give a little credence to &#8230; conspiracy theories, maybe a little red meat for Trump.&#8221;
&#8220;Was he trying, to &#8230; you know, buy into or give a little credence to the sort of conspiracy theories, maybe a little red meat for Trump for being good for not tweeting the first weekend that the Mueller report was supposedly out,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Or is it that Barr is not understanding &#8212; I mean, this is a very different time than the last time he was attorney general in terms of social media, in terms of the connotations.&#8221;
Finney added that she&#8217;s not sure the AG understands &#8220;the weight of what he&#8217;s saying that we think of spying in a very different way than the Vietnam era, which I would argue is all the more reason if you are thinking about Vietnam to make the report public.&#8221;
Tapper then stepped in to play a clip of former FBI director James Comey assuring the public that they only surveilled and did not &#8220;spy&#8221; on the Trump team.
&#8220;It&#8217;s concerning because the FBI, the Department of Justice&#8230;court-ordered electronic surveillance. I have never thought of that as spying,&#8221; Comey says in the clip.
&#8220;I think that Barr is talking about whatever Donald Trump wants him to be talking about,&#8221; Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons stated bluntly. &#8220;It just feels like he was told to use the word spying and he was looking for a way to work it into the conversation.&#8221;
&#8220;Spying, surveillance, tomato, tomato. This wouldn&#8217;t be the first time a Trump appointee has looked into a conspiracy theory,&#8221; CNN contributor and former Ted Cruz staffer Amanda Carpenter claimed. &#8220;I remember that when Mike Pompeo was CIA director, he took a meeting with someone who claimed that the DNC hacking was an inside job. So, maybe sometimes you have to do stuff to make your boss happy.&#8221;
&#8220;But why spying instead of surveillance, if you know the difference,&#8221; Finney interjected.
&#8220;Yes,&#8221; Tapper agreed.
That&#8217;s when Ham stepped in: &#8220;Because they&#8217;re synonyms. That&#8217;s why,&#8221; she directly stated.
&#8216;If you&#8217;re going to the FISA court and you are surveilling someone without their knowledge, you are spying on them, whether it is authorized or not. The question is, whether this was appropriate?&#8221; the commentator explained to the panel.
&#8220;Now I have always been more than willing to be convinced there was enough there, there that they needed to get this warrant specifically for Carter Page, but the bar should be extremely high for using FISA court warrants to go after American citizens,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;And the DOJ inspector general is already doing investigation into this to determine whether that was the case, which I think is good for all private American citizens who would like not to be spied on if there is not good cause.&#8221;
Ham added, &#8220;And I am not interested in pretending that words don&#8217;t mean what they mean just because Trump uses them sometimes. And spy means this. I&#8217;m sorry. It just does.&#8221;
Finney then suggested that such truth is thrown out the window when it comes to Trump. &#8220;But that&#8217;s not the world we&#8217;re living in. I mean, Trump uses certain words very deliberately to &#8212; as dog whistles, to send signals to the alt-right,&#8221; she said.
&#8220;So spy doesn&#8217;t mean what it means anymore?&#8221; protested Ham, adding, &#8220;I was very capable of explaining the difference.&#8221;
&#8220;Does spy mean authorized or unauthorized?&#8221; asked Tapper.
Ham calmly explained, &#8220;I think it means both. We&#8217;re now determining whether this was appropriate or not.&#8221;
&#8220;So it means surveillance and now &#8212;,&#8221; the host started.
&#8220;When you are surveilling a person without their knowledge, you are spying on them, yes,&#8221; Ham pointed out.
Still, Tapper pretended what Ham was saying was somehow controversial. &#8220;Okay, but Democrats are not happy with your explanation or that type of explanation.&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s just words,&#8221; Ham retorted.
WATCH:
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en">
<a href="https://t.co/ruLJgjtF4C">pic.twitter.com/ruLJgjtF4C</a>
&#8212; Jamie Crew (@Crusaydah) <a href="https://twitter.com/Crusaydah/status/1118037399961866241?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
<a href="https://twitter.com/Crusaydah/status/1118037399961866241">H/t </a>Molly Hemingway
Partial transcript <a href="http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1904/11/cg.02.html">via</a> CNN

WATCH: CNN Contributor Embarrasses Panel, Jake Tapper After Refusal To Admit Obama Admin Spied On Trump

Jake Tapper

On Thursday, Federalist Senior Writer Mary Katharine Ham <a href="http://thefederalist.com/2017/03/23/mk-ham-and-chris-cuomo-healthcare-battle/">wrecke</a>d CNN anchor Chris Cuomo as they discussed health care, as Ham pointed out that adding mandates onto health insurance plans makes them too expensive for many people to use. When Cuomo accused Ham of being &#8220;cheap about it,&#8221; Ham fired back, &#8220;You can be nasty about it or you can listen to me.&#8221;
Ham began with this:
<blockquote>
On the essential health benefits, look; the idea that you gut all the essential health benefits and then there are no requirements of insurance companies is just not true. This is a highly-regulated industry and it would go back to the state regulations, so there would be plenty of those preserved in the pre-existing conditions part, which you&#8217;re discussing, is part of this package. That&#8217;s part of balancing this whole act, and part of trying to bring down these prices by getting rid of some of these essential elements because you sir, are paid for pediatric dental even if you don&#8217;t have children. That is a problem.
</blockquote>
Cuomo responded, &#8220;Right. But state by state &#8211; There was a reason, right? Everything has a reason. And this was about preexisting conditions.&#8221;
Ham interrupted, &#8220;Yes, because liberals love federal power.&#8221;
Cuomo snapped, &#8220;Look, you can be cheap about it or you can look at the facts. You make your choice. State by state you&#8217;re gonna get different types of regulations.&#8221;
Ham snapped back, &#8220;You can be nasty about it or you can listen to me.&#8221;
Cuomo continued, &#8220;So answer my question. State by state you get different types of regulations, right? The reason they built it into the ACA was because states weren&#8217;t covering it, right? Because you were having shortfalls, right?&#8221;
Ham slam-dunked him:
<blockquote>
They were not covering all of the things, sometimes including pediatric dental for single men with no children, yes. They were not covering those things. Look, these things bring up the prices. I am a person, single mom of two, who has lost three or four plans since Obamacare passed. I was told I would not; that was a lie. When I said that I would lose my plan, people called me a liar when this was going on. I have had 160 percent increase in my premiums; I was told those would go down, and I have had a 300 percent increase in my deductible. People are getting coverage that they cannot use because it is so expensive. That is something we have to deal with. One of the ways you can deal with that is cutting some of these, quote unquote, essential health benefits because some of them are, indeed, not essential. And you could give people more flexibility to have slightly less expensive and slightly less comprehensive plans, which is what many young people would like to buy.
</blockquote>
Last October, Ham <a href="http://thefederalist.com/2016/10/27/defective-obamacare-health-insurance-product-just-blew/">noted</a> that her premium was rising 96 percent. She added, &#8220;For this astronomical payment, I get a plan with an astronomical deductible that my healthy family of three will likely never hit except in the most catastrophic of circumstances.&#8221; She pointed out regarding Obamacare:
<blockquote>
We&#8217;re now seeing the fruits of the whole law in a <a href="http://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2016/10/25/october-surprise-consumers-democrats-slammed-by-obamacare-failures-n2236794">25-percent average rate increase</a>. When congressional Democrats were constructing the worst legislative Jenga tower of all time, they called critics&#8217; predictions &#8220;lies.&#8221; <a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/obamacare-off-to-a-rocky-start-in-2016/article/2582507">But here we are</a> with lower-than-expected participation in exchanges, extremely low numbers of healthy young people in the risk pools, and insurance companies jacking up rates or exiting the exchange entirely in an attempt to remain solvent under the weight of increasing benefits for increasingly older, sicker customers.
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Video of Ham and Cuomo below:
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&#8220;You can be nasty about it or you can listen to me&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/mkhammer">@mkhammer</a> jabs at <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisCuomo">@ChrisCuomo</a> in morning health care discussion <a href="https://t.co/2tKItvwzTJ">https://t.co/2tKItvwzTJ</a>
&#8212; New Day (@NewDay) <a href="https://twitter.com/NewDay/status/844860484109025281">March 23, 2017</a></blockquote>
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