George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley praised CNN’s Jake Tapper on Friday for verifying the facts of his colleague Jim Acosta, writing in a scorching column that the liberal network needs more of these moments if it wants to be seen again. as “honest and objective”.
“There was a revealing moment of dissonance on CNN this week, a network that is now relentless in its negative and highly partisan coverage of the Administration,” Turley wrote.
CNN’S JAKE TAPPER FACT-CHECKS COLLEGE JIM ACOSTA
George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley praised CNN’s Jake Tapper on Friday for verifying the facts of his colleague Jim Acosta.
Acosta has been repeatedly called in for that bias and sent a clearly misleading tweet criticizing White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. Meanwhile, CNN host Jake Tapper has set the record straight for McEnany, “Turley wrote, noting that” it is often impossible to distinguish CNN hosts from advocates of their shows. “
“I really miss old CNN. The loss to journalism is immense. In fact, in any case, it may be leading people to Trump. ”
During a press conference on Thursday, McEnany reiterated President Trump’s firm stance of wanting children to return to school in the fall amid intense debate about how educators can prevent the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.
“Science shouldn’t get in the way of this, but as Dr. Scott Atlas said, I thought this was a good quote: ‘Of course, we can do it. Everyone else in the Western world, our peer nations are doing it. we are the outliers here, ” McEnany said, citing the former chief neurologist at Stanford Medical Center.
CNN’s JIM ACOSTA criticized for removing Kayleigh MCENANY from context on TWEET VIRAL
“The science is very clear on this. For example, you look at the JAMA pediatric study of 46 pediatric hospitals in North America that says the risk of critical illness from COVID is much lower for children than seasonal flu. The science is in our side here. We encourage localities and states to just follow science. Open our schools, “he continued.
Acosta tweeted about what McEnany said when he suggested it was unscientific, with a quote out of context.
“The White House press secretary on Trump’s push to reopen schools: ‘Science must not stand in the way of this,'” the liberal journalist tweeted.
Acosta later added, “McEnany went on to say ‘science is on our side here.'”
CUOMO FIRED ON CNN’S JAKE TAPPER SET FOR HITTING THE NYC COVID RESPONSE POSTER
“That was clearly and absolutely false. However, Acosta knew that it would work well in the eco-newspaper model adopted by CNN. It quickly accumulated 30,000 retweets, ”wrote Turley. “Then he added that McEnany actually meant otherwise. That received less than 700 retweets. It is the latest example of the demand from many viewers to listen only to news that supports their own bias and adds to a kind of journalistic comfort zone. ”
Without directly addressing Acosta’s tweet, Tapper criticized the spread of the distorted quote and urged everyone to “read McEnany’s FULL comment.”
Turley took this as a clear image of Acosta, who has become a household name by training with Trump and members of his administration on a regular basis.
Although I have occasionally criticized Tapper, I have praised him more frequently for his professionalism and intellect. This is why. This is what CNN once was and, with the help of figures like Tapper, it could be again: an honest and objective news organization, ”Turley wrote.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE
Turley wrote that many of his friends who work for CNN “privately regret” the network’s anti-Trump agenda.
“It is often impossible to distinguish CNN hosts from advocates of their programs. The hosts are now participating in an open defense against the President, ruling out with the pretense that a guest take a partisan stance, ”Turley wrote. “I really miss old CNN. The loss to journalism is immense. In fact, in any case, it may be leading people to Trump. “
Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
