Critics are ridiculing CNN’s director of political coverage for his over-the-top praise of President Joe Biden.
The moment: David Chalian made the remarks while covering a Tuesday night memorial ceremony in Washington, D.C., where members of the incoming administration commemorated the 400,000 Americans dead from COVID.
The event was organized by Biden’s inaugural committee.
- “The contrast on display tonight was so stark, I mean those lights that are just shooting out of the Lincoln Memorial along the Reflecting Pool, it’s like almost extensions of Joe Biden’s arms embracing America,” Chalian effused about the display.
- “It was a moment where the new president came to town and sort of convened the country in this moment of remembrance, outstretching his arms,” he added.
- “And contrast that with the video you just saw of a disgraced president, on his way out, at his lowest point in his presidency, at the very end here, by himself, fighting for his political movement to live on.”
Earlier in the day, President Donald Trump delivered a farewell address in which he touted his legacy and thanked supporters.
The reaction: Right-leaning commentators panned Chalian’s exuberance, many of them connecting it to the media’s perceived softness on coverage of the incoming administration.
- Senior Hudson Institute fellow Michael Scott Doran asked, “Put aside your feelings about Trump. This sycophancy in the media doesn’t creep you out? Really?”
- The Intercept’s Glenn Greenwald compared the comments unfavorably to North Korea’s state media’s news coverage, adding, “LOL. Damn.”
Quite the contrast: Meanwhile, mainstream media figures openly celebrated Trump’s departure from office Wednesday.
- New York Times editor Lauren Wolfe deleted her Twitter account after being widely mocked for saying she had “chills” watching Biden arrive at Joint Base Andrews, while CNN host Don Lemon said in reference to Trump leaving office: “Good riddance. Bye-bye.”
