TENNESSEE: Lawmaker Floats Resolution Branding CNN, Washington Post ‘FAKE NEWS’

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ChurchMilitant.com) – Tennessee’s Republican State Rep. Micah Van Huss proposed legislation to recognize CNN and The Washington Post as “fake news.”

His resolution calls both CNN and The Washington Post “part of the media wing of the Democratic Party.” The text also “condemns” the media outlets for “denigrating our citizens and implying that they are weak-minded followers instead of people exercising their rights that our veterans paid for with their blood.”

“I’ve filed HJR 779 on behalf of a constituency that’s tired of fake news and Republicans who don’t fight,” Rep. Van Huss explained on his Facebook page.

The resolution recalls incidents at both news outlets where a host or editor referred to supporters of President Donald Trump as “belonging to a cult” or “cult-like.”

“To describe the entire Republican Party as a cult led by President Trump is problematic,” reads a portion of the resolution. “If journalists are going to refer to the party as a cult and its supporters as cultists, they must define what ‘cult’ means; otherwise, they are assuming that a cult is some obvious phenomenon and everyone knows what the word means.”

The segment generated a flood of responses on social media. Van Huss’ bill falls on the heels of a recent CNN segment, during which anchor Don Lemon, author Wajahat Ali and Republican political strategist Rick Wilson mocked President Trump — suggesting he is unable to find Ukraine on a map — and describing Trump supporters as “the credulous Boomer rube demo.”

President Trump fired back, tweeting: “Don Lemon, the dumbest man on television (with terrible ratings!)”

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1222028267865223170?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1222028267865223170&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.churchmilitant.com%2Fnews%2Farticle%2Ftennesee-high-court

Author and columnist Mark Steyn blasted CNN for mocking Trump supporters saying the CNN panel should relabel themselves “Trump’s re-election committee,” adding, “If you want more Trump, this is how you get more Trump.”

“Calling 63 million voters illiterate rubes” represents the height of “bipartisan establishment condescension,” Steyn added.

Examples of CNN’s and The Washington Post’s demonstrably false reporting are legion.

In 2017, CNN congressional correspondent Manu Raju falsely reported that Donald Trump Jr. was offered advanced access to the WikiLeaks e-mail archive.

CNN falsely reported in 2017 that fired White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci was under federal investigation for meeting with a Russian banker prior to President Trump’s inauguration. CNN eventually apologized for its false story after Scaramucci vehemently denied its contents.

When I was a kid, you’d turn on the news to see what was going on, and now, of course, we’ve gotten into premium politics.Tweet

In 2018, CNN also reported that President Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, was prepared to tell then-special counsel Robert Mueller that the president had advance knowledge of the Trump Tower meeting between his son, Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer, and others.

The Washington Post ran a nearly 2,000-word story in 2018 alleging the Trump administration was systematically denying passports to Latin-Americans along the border, accusing them of using fraudulent birth certificates.

CNN and The Washington Post later amended the stories but not until after damage had been done and confusion created.

“News organizations used to report the news,” Rep. Van Huss said. “I remember when I was a kid, you’d turn on the news to see what was going on, and now, of course, we’ve gotten into premium politics.”

EDITORS NOTE: This Church Militant column is republished with permission. © All rights reserved.

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