CNN's Sellers Wrongly Denies Kamala Harris Helped Bail Rioters

bradwilmouth | September 2, 2020
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Over the past several days, CNN's flagship morning show, New Day, has been busy peddling misinformation while also covering for liberals with regard to recent rioting by leftists in places like Kenosha and Portland.

CNN personalities have continued to call Kyle Rittenhouse a "vigilante" and suggest that President Donald Trump is obligated to condemn him even though there is substantial reason to believe he was acting in justifiable self-defense in response to attacks by rioters.

Additionally, the show was dismissive of reports that Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris helped fundraise for a group that helped violent rioters get out of jail, and buried reports that a self-described ANTIFA and BLM activist is suspected in killing a Trump supporter in Portland.

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At the top of Tuesday's show, co-host Alisyn Camerota chided President Trump for not "condemning" Rittenhouse, even though it looks like he has a substantial case in his favor for self-defense. Here's Camerota: "Instead of condemning the deadly violence, President Trump is defending Kyle Rittenhouse -- the teenager accused of murdering two protesters in Kenosha..."

Co-host John Berman then hyped a soundbite of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden blaming President Trump for the violent crime engulfing the country.

The CNN host ignored the media's culpability in fanning racial tensions by its distorted reporting that makes police officers look racist in their dealings with black suspects, similar to what happened in 2014 and 2015 when violent crime surged after eight years of decline.

In fact, when President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden left office, the number of murders nationwide per year had increased from 15,399 in 2009 to 17,413 in 2016.

CNN analyst and Washington Post reporter Toluse Olorunnipa later called Rittenhouse a "vigilante" and incorrectly claimed that President Trump did not call Jacob Blake's family.

Over the weekend, CNN also helped promote another developing myth -- similar to the Dylann Roof Burger King myth that liberals still bring up -- that Rittenhouse was given special treatment after shooting three people as the weekend edition of the show used a clip of Blake's father, Jacob Blake Sr., suggesting that Rittenhouse was given "high-fives" by the police officers as if it were after the shootings.

And, on Wednesday, CNN contributor Karen Finney accused Rittenhouse of "murder" and claimed there was a double standard because police officers did not notice him when he tried unsuccessfully to surrender to them in Kenosha immediately after the shootings.

On Tuesday's show, as liberal CNN contributor and frequent guest Bakari Sellers debated conservative contributor Scott Jennings, Sellers denied that Kamala Harris had helped raise money that went to bail violent rioters out of prison even though it has been documented that that is how some of the funding was used, as was reported Monday night by Fox News Channel's Tucker Carlson. Sellers even likened the rioters who had been bailed out of jail to peaceful civil rights icons John Lewis and C.T. Vivian.

[video:https://www.mrctv.org/node/553233 align:center]

And, although Jennings was good about noting Harris's links to supporting radicals, as Rittenhouse was discussed, he declined to point out that the teen appears to have a case to argue self-defense for his actions in Kenosha as Sellers complained that Jennings had not gone far enough to condemn the 17-year-old's actions against rioters.

Additionally, on Tuesday's show, even though Carlson had already reported on Monday that a leftist who identifies himself as a supporter of both ANTIFA and BLM is a major suspect in the killing of a Trump supporter in Portland, CNN reporter Josh Campbell did not divulge this information as he updated viewers on the story:

JOSH CAMPBELL: We are learning the identity of a man who was shot and killed. People say he is 39-year-old Aaron Danielson. And a far-right group here, Patriot Prayer, had posted a note of condolences to him, saying that he was a supporter of theirs. Obviously, there was a debate raging here about whether there will be members of that group and other far-right supporters that might be coming into town to try to seek retribution for his shooting. As of this point, police aren't releasing any information about the cause of that death and the suspect. They don't have anyone in custody at this moment.

And for his part, on a show that is already typically short on conservative contributors participating in the show's panel discussions, anti-Trump right-leaning CNN contributor Matt Lewis on Tuesday sounded like a liberal analyst as he invoked Willie Horton and Lee Atwater and complained about President Trump making a campaign issue of violent crime:

[video:https://www.mrctv.org/node/553244 align:center]

MATT LEWIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, I think it's so sad and transparent -- Donald Trump believes that this is the only way he can win the election. This is his Richard Nixon, Lee Atwater, Willie Horton, whatever it is. This is his play -- it's all he has left. And I think what's interesting about this, though, is he's not even hiding it. These aren't even dog whistles. He's being very transparent.

And on Wednesday, left-leaning CNN analyst John Avlon devoted a "Reality Check" segment to trashing Trump for not rushing to judgment against Rittenhouse, with Avlon complaining: "The President of the United States refused to condemn an accused killer because he thought he might be a political supporter."

He later added: "It turns out Rittenhouse is a big Trump fan, sitting in the front row of a recent rally. So, rather than condemn the vigilante violence, Trump rationalized it."

Tuesday's fact-challenged episode of CNN's New Day was sponsored by Nordstrum Rack and Masimo. Their contact information is linked.

6:01 a.m. Eastern

ALISYN CAMEROTA: Instead of condemning the deadly violence, President Trump is defending Kyle Rittenhouse -- the teenager accused of murdering two protesters in Kenosha -- as well as the Trump supporters who shot Portland protesters with paintballs. Mr. Trump now compares police officers who use excessive or deadly force to golfers who, quote, "choke," missing a three-foot putt.

JOHN BERMAN: So you think the family of George Floyd feels like someone missed a three-foot putt? You think Jacob Blake will get the use of his legs to even try a three-foot putt? Of course the larger point here might not be what this discussion is, but what it isn't. It's not the pandemic -- it's not the six million confirmed cases in the U.S. It's not the 183,000 Americans who have died. It's not the rising cases in the Midwest which are now of concern. It is deliberately not that by design not that. Now, Joe Biden is accusing the President of making it all worse just for politics.

JOE BIDEN, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Fires are burning, and we have a President who fans the flames rather than fighting the flames. But we must not burn -- we have to build. This President, long ago, forfeited any moral leadership in this country. He can't stop the violence because for years he's fomented it.

(…)

6:04 a.m.

SHIMON PROKUBECZ: And while protests in Kenosha turned deadly last week, the President refused to condemn the 17-year-old gunman suspected of killing two people.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: You saw the same tape as I saw. He was trying to get away from them, I guess, looks like, and he fell, and then they very violently attacked him, but -- I guess he was in very big trouble. He probably would have been killed, but it's under investigation.

Biden denouncing all violence from both the right and the left, saying Trump is only causing more division instead of uniting a hurting nation.

(…)

6:06 a.m.

JOSH CAMPBELL: Now, in addition to that overnight, we're also getting some other details about an incident that happened over the weekend. We are learning the identity of a man who was shot and killed. People say he is 39-year-old Aaron Danielson. And a far-right group here, Patriot Prayer, had posted a note of condolences to him, saying that he was a supporter of theirs. Obviously, there was a debate raging here about whether there will be members of that group and other far-right supporters that might be coming into town to try to seek retribution for his shooting. As of this point, police aren't releasing any information about the cause of that death and the suspect. They don't have anyone in custody at this moment. 

(…)

6:15 a.m.

TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It seems like the President is actually trying to change the subject from coronavirus to, quote, unquote, "law and order." He'd rather have Americans focus on some of the unrest we're seeing in various cities because he thinks that plays well for him politically. ... He thinks this is a strong political moment for him -- that he can show that he's tough on crime. He's supporting police -- he's going to be meeting with police in Kenosha. He will probably take some questions which will give him another opportunity to essentially defend the vigilante type of violence that we've seen in some of these cities where some of his supporters come out with long guns and try to intimidate protesters and then, in some cases, shoot a couple of people.

(...)

6:19 a.m.

MATT LEWIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, I think it's so sad and transparent -- Donald Trump believes that this is the only way he can win the election. This is his Richard Nixon, Lee Atwater, Willie Horton, whatever it is. This is his play -- it's all he has left. And I think what's interesting about this, though, is he's not even hiding it. These aren't even dog whistles. He's being very transparent. Donald Trump doesn't want to be the President for everybody. He doesn't want to bring people together. He wants actually to really have two teams, right? There's the Kyle Rittenhouse team that is white and supports the police, and then there is the Jacob Blake team which are the rivals. And there's really no pretense of bringing people together, and I think it's again stoking division.

(…)

OLORUNNIPA: At the end of the day, these are lives that are lost, and the President never sort of acknowledges that. He says this is like somebody choking on the golf course, you know, he said the police officers' names get in the headlines and "that's horrible and they're lives are ruined,"  and he never mentions the fact that, you know, in case after case, unarmed people are losing their lives -- their families are grieving.

The President hasn't even called the family of Jacob Blake, and it's clear that he does not sort of understand what is undergirding this movement, and that's part of the reason why I think he's cracking down so hard on the "law and order" side because he just doesn't idenfity at all with the idea that there needs to be any kind of racial reckoning or any kind of movement towards racial injustice in the country, and that's part of the reason that he just doesn't understand the movement at all and wants to crack down on it as much as possible.

(…)

7:03 a.m.

BAKARI SELLERS: For him to go and pal around with law enforcement and just act as if nothing is wrong -- to only state one side of the ills or the issue that we have in this country and not take a look of totality at some of these problems we have -- to not even recognize the violence caused by his own words when you look at Kyle Rittenhouse or you look at law enforcement shooting Jacob Blake in the back. What we see this morning and what we'll see today is basically an arsonist going to his fire.

(…)

7:06 a.m.

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, look, I think some of the words Joe Biden said yesterday were the correct message, although I'm left wondering, "What am I supposed to believe?" On the one hand, he says, "Do I look like I have a soft spot for radicals?" And on the other hand, his running mate, Kamala Harris, has tweeted out links asking people to bail them out of jail -- the people who've committed violence -- and, in fact, several staffers on the Biden campaign have done just that. And so, just as a consumer of information, I hear Joe Biden's words, and then I see his ticket's action, and then I'm left to wonder, "What's the truth?"

JOHN BERMAN: Bakari, you want to weigh in there?

SELLERS: Yeah, I mean, I don't know, Scott woke up this morning, got coffee, and is deciding to spin stuff that doesn't make any sense. Look, there is a clear difference between rioters … there's a clear difference between peaceful protesters who were arrested for their civil disobedience. We just had this entire life lesson. I'm talking about people like C.T. Vivian and John Lewis. There are many people who went and protested civilly, disobediently, who were arrested, and we tried to help bond them out of jail. There is a difference between bonding them out of jail and talking about people who are rioters. And the fact that that's the only talking point you have this morning is disappointing.

Even more importantly, my question to you would be, while you want to get up in arms, it's not about the words versus bonding out peaceful protesters. Your President -- the President of the United States -- the person who carries the Republican mantle -- cannot disavow the actions of Kyle Rittenhouse. He cannot talk about the fact that Jacob Blake should not be paralyzed today. So let's talk about that. Let's have a real conversation, not turn yourself into a pretzel with talking points.

CAMEROTA: How about that, Scott? Okay, how about that, Scott, about the President not condemning Kyle Rittenhouse who's charged with shooting two protesters and killing them?

JENNINGS: Yeah, I believe Kyke Rittenhouse should not have been in Kenosha. I mean, it's tragic that he was in Kenosha. He should not have been there, and I've seen a lot of information flying out about this. I don't think the President frankly should say anything other than to tell people, "If you are intending to go somewhere to commit violence, then just go home." I mean, that's true of anybody -- it would be true of Rittenhouse -- it would be true of anybody -- so I think that's what he should say. I do think, though, Bakari, that if you're going to talk about the Blake case, and you're going to talk about Rittenhouse, and you're going to talk about your talking points -- the things you're stuck in a feedback loop on -- you have to admit there are nuances to these cases that you're not willing to talk about.

A lot of tragedy happened here. It was tragic that apparently the police were called to protect a female sexual assault victim from Blake in the first place. No one wants to talk about it, but it actually happened. There's a lot more nuances to tragedy....

(Cross talk among Camerota, Jennings and Sellers)

SELLERS: No, no, no. Alisyn, if I may, let me be clear because, a lot of times, you want to muddy the waters and you want to sully a victim, and I will not allow that this morning. What I will say, though --

JENNINGS: And I'm not going to allow you to sully a sexual assault victim. She deserves information, too. She deserves a voice, too.

SELLERS: You know, the most amazing part about this conversation is she deserves a voice -- whatever your talking about -- but the simple fact is -- the simple fact is this -- Jacob Blake did not deserve to have lethal force -- and you can laugh at it if you want to -- I'm sick and tired of people coming on here and spinning...

JENNINGS: I agree. I totally agree with you. I don't think he should have had lethal force either. I totally agree with you.

SELLERS: Exactly, that's what we're talking about. So, yes, he should not be having lethal force, and Kyle Rittenhouse -- Kyle Rittenhouse -- you should be able to simply not say he shouldn't travel -- you should be able to say this is a problem that has been fermented by the President of the United States, and yesterday, his inability to condemn that and reject that is a problem. You've asked for Joe Biden to condemn it -- he has. There is a clear (audio gap) violence and protesters, and we've condemned it, and the President keeps throwing gasoline on the fire.

CAMEROTA: Scott, I hear you -- I hear what you're saying -- I know you want to say that Jacob Blake wasn't a perfect person -- I don't think that anybody has depicted him as that -- but a warrant even for a sexual assault case is not a death penalty case.

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16

 

mon aug 29

6a ben ferguson v marc lamont hill over Kaepernick sitting

7a corey lewandowski v Jennifer granholm campaign on illegal deportation and black outreach

lrguest carlos curbelo

dguest Gregory meeks

Kayleigh mcenany v maria cardona

8a corey lewandowski v ny dem party's basil smikle on black outreach

tues

6a Errol louis

7a Kayleigh mceneny v hilary rosen on Hillary pandering

hines ward v non-contrib donte stallworth on kaepernick

cguest mark burns, trump supporter who tweeted Hillary in blackface

8a dguest joel benenson, Hillary camp

rguest boris epshteyn, trump camp

dguest Charlie rangel

lguest dl hugely kaepernick

wed

6a no

7a corey lewandowski v bakari sellers

dguest congr henry cuellar, dguest sheriff martin cuellar

david axelrod

James blake on Kaepernick (cnn analyst)

8a rguest mike pence

lrguest vicente fox

dguest lorella praeli (Hillary camp)

dguest lanny davis v rguest boris epshteyn

thur

6a rguest ileana Garcia (pro-trump) v lrguest rudy Fernandez (ex gw bush) debate immigration

7a rguest joseph borelli (trump camp) v lrcontributor ana navarro

dguest jerry nadler

lrguest vicent fox

8a dguest tim kaine

rguest mike flynn

fri

6a no

7a Kayleigh mcenany v paul begala

dguest dennis archer v cguest rev Darrell scott

8a rguest tana goertz (trump advisor) to discuss cousin of dwyane wayne killed in chicago

20

mon aug 31

6a no

7a Andrew mccabe

dguest angus king

8a dguest lisa Monaco (ex Obama admin homeland sec) discussing trump visit to kenosha

tues

6a lrmatt lewis v jcontributor toluse olorunnipa discussing trump and racial unrest

7a scott kennings v bakari sellers discussing racial unrest

8a no

wed

6a dguest (prerecorded) jill biden

7a lrcontributor miles taylor v karen finney

8a dguest josh kaul (Wisconsin attorney general)

van jones v john harwood

thur

6a Jeffrey toobin v juliette kayyem over mail-in voting

Jefferey toobin v laura jarrett over police violence, bill barr

7a no

8a david axelrod mail-in voting

dguest tammy baldwin over police violence

rguest peter Navarro over pandemic

fri

6a bakari sellers v Errol louis over polling shifting away from support for blm protests

7a dguest jeh johnson

lguest Isabel Wilkerson racism in america

8a lguest Benjamin crump

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