CNN panel descends into fiery clash as guests debate who really controls the media

A live CNN segment descended into an argument after a Democratic strategist’s claim that the mainstream media was run by conservatives.

The comment was aired Tuesday by prominent Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky toward Republican strategist Scott Jennings, the black sheep.

Both work part-time at the network and were involved in a fierce debate over the veracity of a recently filed lawsuit from Donald Trump.

The lawsuit, filed Monday evening in Iowa, names the Des Moines Register as a defendant, following a poll released with Kamala Harris as the frontrunner that he labeled “fake news.”

Trump would win the Hawkeye State days later with 55 percent of the vote, to Harris’ 42 percent. In the poll, Harris had a three-point lead over Trump just a few days earlier, hence the president-elect’s outrage.

On CNN NewsNight, host Abby Phillip reflected on the prospect that the discrepancy could be an example of members of the media manipulating free speech.

In response, Roginsky — a Moscow-born American — listed a slew of outlets she saw as aligned with Trump. These included Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post, as well as figures such as Sean Hannity and Joe Rogan.

Portraying them as part of Trump’s personal press army, Roginsky soon encountered an unamused Jennings, who then called the claim the “craziest” he had ever heard.

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“You know what I’m so tired of, Scott?” Roginsky, 51, initially said. “The number one cable news network, Fox News. The number one newspaper in circulation, The Wall Street Journal. Number three in circulation: the New York Post.’

As for personalities and podcasters, she added, “The number one person on radio, Sean Hannity. The number one person on podcast, Joe Rogan.

“All these people are Trump supporters,” the former Fox News employee continued. “What media are you talking about that is anti-Trump?”

The question was posed to Jennings, who emerged as Roginsky’s fiercest opponent.

The panel also included former Trump fixer Michael Cohen, who previously pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws at Trump’s behest “for the primary purpose of influencing” the 2016 presidential election.

“You’re not familiar with the anti-Trump media?” Jennings – a contributor to CNN, USA Today and the Los Angeles Times – was heard responding.

“You guys aren’t privy to the fact that you control everything from podcasts…” Roginsky replied, before being cut off by her contemporary and suffering what amounted to a two-pronged beating.

“I mean, of all the things I’ve heard you say here, that might be the craziest,” Jennings, 47, declared — clearly surprised because Republicans have long said the exact opposite.

“Believe me, there is plenty of anti-Trump media out there,” Jennings said — though he didn’t stop there.

“What I’m really trying to say is that you guys have taken over the airwaves,” Roginsky shot back — as liberals ranging from Joy Reid to the ladies of the View continue to blame failed outreach efforts instead of looking inward .

“You’ve taken over the airwaves,” Roginsky continued. “You guys have taken over podcasts.”

‘And now you’re sitting here complaining, because all you do is whine and complain.

“Your entire raison d’être is to have grievances,” she concluded of Jennings and other Republicans.

‘You don’t actually think about leadership. Just remember that you have grievances against the media.”

Similar sentiments have been expressed — especially in recent months — by a series of progressive news personalities, as anchors from stations like CNN and MSNBC continue to try to explain the outcome, which was clearer than many had imagined.

Just last month, a day after Harris’s loss, Roginsky criticized spectators — and her own colleagues — for pointing fingers instead of actually looking in, and explained, through what she described as a series of what she called “hard truths” about why she believes Democrats have fallen out of reach.

“I’m going to say some hard truths to my friends in the Democratic Party,” Roginsky began, after similar criticism was leveled in the aftermath of the 2016 election, where many viewed Trump as a credible threat against the ill-fated favorite Hillary. Clinton..

“It’s not Kamala Harris’ fault,” she continued. ‘It’s not Barack Obama’s fault. It is the Democratic Party’s fault for not knowing how to communicate effectively with voters.

“We are not the party of common sense,” she then declares – and adds: “[this] is the message the voters have sent us.

“For a number of reasons, we don’t know how to talk to voters.”

On Tuesday, however, she sang a very different tune — days after Disney settled with the newly elected president in a defamation lawsuit filed after host George Stephanopoulos said on air that Trump had been “found liable for rape” in a New York prison. civil lawsuit.

In reality, Trump was found liable for sexual abuse, which led to the out-of-court settlement.

Former Trump lawyer Cohen then brought up the news about the newly settled ABC News lawsuit, which was first reported hours earlier. The network accused of giving Harris an edge in her only presidential debate will rake in more than $12 million.

He pointed out that the president-elect questioned whether the poll in question was an “intentionally fake poll,” while appearing to suggest that the Des Moines Register, like ABC, might be willing to settle out of court to prevent that evidence will come out. discovery.

“What happens if it’s intentional?” Cohen asked Tuesday. “And that’s why I believe ABC ultimately went bankrupt, because they didn’t want discovery to happen. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no other reason why they did it.”

“They folded because they wanted to suck up to Donald Trump,” Roginsky continued, doubling down on her earlier argument.