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In the short time that Donald Trump has been in the Oval Office, he has inspired anger, protest, righteous indignation, headaches, and true exasperation. These emotions are felt everywhere: in the streets, in office buildings, in our homes, and, of course, in the media.
It's hard truly like a car crash; we just can’t look away as this president fumbles his way through the job with a nauseating ix of bullying, dystopian nightmare fuel, and general incompetence. Though it’s been less than 18 months, it feels like we've gone through multiple lifetimes just from his Twitter feed alone.
Although keeping up with the news can be traumatic, sometimes the most cathartic coping mechanism can be watching the media call out the garbage as its thrown. The place where we most often see this is CNN; along with simply reporting the news, CNN also jumps on every opportunity to burn the president (as they should).
Here we’ve compiled a list of some of the best and funniest (but also most maddening) moments in which CNN has had to slam Trump for his boorish, disrespectful, and inept behavior at various moments throughout the first year-plus of his presidency. CNN’s panels full of hosts, along with politicians, talking heads, and commentators have gone after him on the network, and often said the same things we find ourselves saying every time we read a new headline—albeit maybe with a little bit more tact.
It's hard to say that there is any fun to be had during this period in history, or that there may be a silver lining of some sort. But sometimes, in the face of something truly awful, you have to just be able to laugh at the ridiculous sham of it all. Right now, that’s all we have.
Here are CNN’s most brutal Donald Trump burns.
Erin Burnett Holds No Punches With The GOP
The ripple effect of Trump’s penchant for saying anything that pops into his head, is only underscored (and made further infuriating) by the senators and spokespersons who bend over backwards to defend such statements. Such is the case with Pastor Mark Burns, who showed up on a panel and quoted senators Tom Cotton and David Perdue pretending to have never heard Trump refer to any countries as “shitholes”. CNN host Erin Burnett rightfully called out these senators: “That’s pretty pathetic, you either recall or you don’t… That’s just BS,” she said. A rightful callout of the Trump Administration’s feigned ignorance in the face of his incompetence.
Jim Acosta Calls It How He Sees It
Trump’s “sh*thole country” remarks brought out the most fiery and passionate of defection from various people. While CNN and other media outlets have been rightfully criticized in the past for their hesitancy to call Trump’s bigotry by its name, these comments finally forced them to explicitly denounce Trump’s crass sentiments and their implications. On Anderson Cooper 360, CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta remarked, with regard to Trump’s statements, "deep down, this president may just be a racist." He also referred back to many of Trump’s racist transgressions, such as his disrespect toward President Obama and his caricature of Mexican immigrants.
“Trump Has Turned Oval Office Into ‘A Sh*thole’"
Another burn that took place during “sh*thole”-gate; Ana Navarro turned Trump’s despicable comments about foreign countries onto the president himself, stating that he has “turned the office into a ‘sh*thole.’” A self-described conservative contributor, Navarro had no problem calling out the president of her party: “Donald Trump has shown us his dark heart, has shown us his racism.” In the clip, we see Navarro full of both fire and disgust—the only real way to be when it comes to this kind of president.
"These numbers, sir, these numbers are disatrous."
Jake Tapper, host of CNN’s The Lead, has kept Trump’s feet to the fire since the election. As we all know, Trump loves to boast about his “popularity” and decry any dissenter as “fake news.” Tapper has remained unfazed by the president’s attempts at delegitimization and is always ready to discuss what the poll numbers really say. In one such instance, 68% of respondents stated that Trump is not level-headed; 62% stated that he doesn't provide moral leadership; 61% stated he isn't honest; 62% stated that he is doing more to divide the country than unite it. "These numbers, sir, these numbers are disastrous," said Tapper. It may be unprofessional to take glee in calling out the president, but it’s safe to bet that Tapper gets some thrill in using facts against a bully who hides behind his own false sense of self.
Panel Slams Trump Rally
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Trump holds a rally in which he makes a bunch of proclamations about his own greatness, and how he’ll make America great by punishing the “evil doers” with an iron first. This time around, the evil doers in question are “drug dealers,” and his plans for them include the death penalty. In this recent CNN panel, the correspondents call out Trump for what they (reasonably) consider “authoritarianism.” Panelist John Avlon classifies it best when he compares Trump to P.T. Barnum—dangling dangerous ideas of unchecked power and punishment in front of a hungry crowd.
"Eroding" America's "sense of unity."
As Trump’s ongoing Russia investigation continues to sow the seed of doubt around the tenure of his office, he has launched into a full discrediting campaign against any person or media entity who dares not entertain his propaganda. CNN political analyst David Gergen made his viewpoint about this strategy known, noting that Trump's comments may succeed in keeping his base together, but that they are also "eroding" America's "sense of unity." This burn may not feel particularly witty or painful, but there’s no greater indictment than, “your actions are going to help kill democracy.” An incredibly savage burn.
No Surprise About The Lies
Like most of us, CNN panelists seem visibly exhausted by Trump’s continued practice of lying in public. In this clip, the lies in question involve trade talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; a meeting that Trump allegedly tried to treat like one of his shady business dealings. “I’m not surprised that Donald Trump is lying,” former Bernie Sanders spokesperson Symone Sanders stated on the show. “I’m not surprised that he’s bragging about lying, but I am absolutely alarmed.” Republican Mary Katherine Ham also weighed in: “Do the homework, know the facts, go into the room with the prime minister, rather than gaslighting Prime Minister Trudeau.” Trump prides himself on being the ultimate businessman and insists on running the country like one—lies and haggling included. He deserves to be chided for it.
Panel Tears Trump’s Mueller Tweets Apart
After another weekend tweetstorm by the president (yes, this is our reality now), this time about Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe, CNN hosts Erica Hill and Chris Cuomo disputed the president’s claims that there was “no collusion or crime” on his campaign’s part. Both Hill and Cuomo fact-checked the president’s tweets line by line, and called them out for being “a fundamentally deceptive statement of how things work.” They also reminded Trump that it was his guys who appointed Mueller to this role as special counsel. This is another more tame burn, but still a strong example of CNN’s dedication to calling out Trump for being a liar.
Brian Stelter Questions Trump's Fitness For Office
This is a very subtle slam but effective in what it seeks to call out: Trump’s mental well-being. During the buildup to Michael Wolff’s book Fire and Fury, and after Trump tweeted a warning to North Korea that his nuclear button was “bigger” than Kim Jong Un’s, CNN host Brian Stelter called into question how this behavior looks from outside of the U.S. "It is not just the book that is forcing this fitness issue to the forefront," Stelter said during the segment. "When the president of the U.S. threatens North Korea by invoking the size of his nuclear button, it is fair to question his fitness. Many reporters would conclude that he is not well." In other words, “you’re embarrassing us.”