Bye-Bye Brian! The Worst of CNN’s Stelter

That’s a wrap for CNN host Brian Stelter. Reliable Sources host who ineptly attempted to play the role of objective media critic — at CNN of all places — was fired on Thursday.

At NewsBusters Stelter was the subject of many a blog because he so often exposed his leftist bias in his copious criticisms of Republicans and news outlets (like Fox News) that refused to carry water for Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. 

His run as a CNN anchor encompassed the entirety of President Donald Trump’s “criminal presidency” So he was astonished to discover that Trump is not insane. He also questioned his sanity throughout those years. “cult”Following of supporters. All the while proving his objectivity to Kellyanne Conway, a former White House Counselor: “I’m not on a side of the [political] aisle.” 

Stelter’s political savvy was questionable at best. The CNN anchor told Stormy Daniels attorney Michael Avenatti : “I don’t know if it’s a good thing that star power and TV savvy is required for the job, but I think it is….and looking ahead to 2020, one reason why I’m taking you seriously You can also use it as an a [presidential] contender is because of your presence on cable news.” 

The following is just a sampling of the voluminous output of Stelter’s liberal bias in his stint as anchor of CNN’s Trustworthy Sources:  

2016

 

Trump is to blame for the firebombing of GOP headquarters 

“So the Arizona Republic getting so many death threats over an endorsement [for Hillary Clinton]This is an example showing how heated the rhetoric can be. A firebombing attack on a local GOP office in North Carolina is another example. It is unknown who did this. We don’t know if it’s a Republican, a Democrat, a movement. No idea. One possibility is that there are some extremists at the core. Hopefully we’ll get more information soon. This is unacceptable. It is imperative that the temperature be brought down for all parties immediately. Unfortunately, Donald Trump is the lead in terms of raising the temperature at this moment in time.”
— Host Brian Stelter on CNN’s NewsroomOctober 16, 2016,

 

Liberal Bias Is Just Conspiracy Nonsense

“Corrupt media. In Trump’s world, journalists are really just Clinton campaign workers in disguise collaborating with her in an attempt to rig the election. This is not just false, it’s ludicrous and it’s damaging….What are the consequences of this conspiratorial talk?”
— Host Brian Stelter on CNN’s Trustworthy SourcesOctober 16, 2016,

 

Blasting Trump as “Authoritarian” Strongman

“He is entertaining up at that podium — I love watching these rallies for that reason. On the other hand, John, I talk to international correspondents who say to you, ‘This is exactly what authoritarians do. It is the way strongmen act. This is what happens in authoritarian regimes.’ I think we need to start using those words on TV, at least, to discuss the possibilities before us.”
— Host Brian Stelter to former Fortune editor John Huey on CNN’sTrustworthy SourcesDecember 4, 2016

 

2017

 

Will Dictator Trump “Deny Reality on a Daily Basis?”

 

 

“Will President Trump deny reality on a daily basis? He will create his own fake facts and stats. What are the possible consequences? Are reporters going to stop trying fact check? Does that seem to be the end goal? To wear us down, to wear us out….Do Trump’s allies want to silence skeptics in the media, destroy the press or maybe support an alternative press that presents an alternative reality that’s more favorable?…Do citizens in dictatorships recognize what’s happening right here right now? Are they looking at the first two days of the Trump administration and saying, ‘Oh, that’s what my leader does?’ What should we learn from them today?”
— Host Brian Stelter on CNN’s Reliable sourcesFebruary 22, 2017

 

Trump’s “Poisonous” “Dangerous” Attacks on the Press 

 

 

“[Jeffrey] Lord and I were just debating how effective the president’s anti-media attacks are, and we’re in agreement, they are effective. But let’s recognize how poisonous they are as well. Each president has disputed news reports about their presidency. But, no president ever called news outlets fake. No president gets up at a podium and says the things we’ve heard from this president tonight. It’s nothing new from him, this was really a copy-and-paste speech, as you all were just talking about. But it is insidious, it is poisonous, and I think for the journalists in this room – just trying to do their best work – it is disappointing to continue to hear the president taking this tone.”
— CNN host Brian Stelter on CNN’s live coverage of the White House Correspondents Dinner, April 29, 2017.             

“You think about some of these words [from Donald Trump], some of these tweets, some of these campaign rallies back last year as – as poison, as a form of poison that has entered into the bloodstream. What I’m really interested in now is how is that poison affecting the body politic, how is that poison affecting the consumers, because it’s not something any of us were seeing or covering five years ago.”
CNN Trusted Source host Brian Stelter on the Buzzfeed editor Ben Smith’s April 26, 2017 podcast of Newsfeed with Ben Smith.

 

You Really Want to Get Into a Scandal

Host Brian Stelter: “But journalists also recognized there are big scandals going on.”
Kellyanne Conway, White House Counselor: “What scandals going on? Please name them. Let me know about it. No, you can’t get away with that. Is there any other big scandals that are going on in your country? Please, name them for me.”
Stelter: “When you look at this president’s rhetoric, his demagogic behavior when it comes to the media – ” 
Conway: “His rhetoric is scandal?”
Stelter: “Yes….you don’t think that his words against the media are poisoned, Kellyanne, actually hurting the country on a daily basis?”
— CNN’s Trustworthy SourcesJuly 23, 2017, p.

 

Psychoanalyzing “Crazy” “Racist” Trump

 

 

“It’s usually after the microphones are off, of after the stories been filed, after the paper has been put to bed, people’s concerns and fears and questions come out. These questions can feel too extreme, out of control, or hot to be broadcast on TV. Like these questions: Is President Obama a racist? Does he have any kind of illness or is he healthy? Is he fit for office?…My impression has been since President Trump’s inauguration, there’s been a lot of tiptoeing going on. His actions have been described as un-presidential, as unhinged, and sometimes even crazy.”
— Host Brian Stelter on CNN’s Reliable sourcesThis was August 20, 2017.

 

Stelter Sermonizes: “We’re Pro-Truth”

 

 

“We’re not anti-Trump…We’re pro-truth. We’re pro-honesty. We’re pro-decency, and this is a tough moment in American history for people that support facts and decency.”
— Host Brian Stelter to Presidential Counselor Kellyanne Conway on CNN’s Trustworthy SourcesThe 5th of November 2017.  

 

“Is Now the Time” to Start Talking About Trump’s Mental Stability? 

“Look at the New York Daily NewsToday. Column calling President Madman. Saying that he is truly unhinged….Eugene Robinson’s column in The Washington Post. People are saying we have to talk about his health now before it’s too late. Eugene Robinson saying: ‘How long are we going to pretend that President Trump is fully rational? How long are we going to ignore the signs he’s dangerously out of control?’ And here is MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough raising the same point…That’s the question. I’m going to ask you, Jeff Greenfield. Is now the time?”
— Host Brian Stelter on CNN’s Trustworthy SourcesDecember 3, 2017 

 

2018

 

Let’s Just Say It, Trump is Nuts 

“When a President of the United States threatens North Korea by invoking the size of his nuclear button, it is fair to ask about his fitness. A leader from another country would do the exact same thing. I believe many journalists, commentators will agree that it is not a good idea. There have been many reasons for him to be questioned about his health in the past year. Trump believes in conspiracy theories. He has shared racist images on social media. Fox News misleads him and he tweets about it. He denigrates actual reporting as fake news. He supports the prosecution of political enemies. For fun, he insults others. He says so many flat-out false things that journalists can barely keep up.”
— Host Brian Stelter on CNN’s Reliable sources7. January 2018, p.

 

Brian Is Just As Jealous Of Their Ratings

“You and I have covered Fox News for years. Is it appropriate to call the channel a news channel?”
— Host Brian Stelter’s question to NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik on CNN’s Trustworthy SourcesDecember 17, 2018, at 12:17.

 

America is defeated when Hannity wins

 

 

“Let’s be honest. Sean Hannity was victorious this week. The rest of America was defeated. Hannity, the pro-Trump media leader has surrounded President Trump. They’ve distracted people about the truth involving Trump’s Russia ties and they’ve done everything possible to destroy faith in Robert Mueller’s probe. And look, Hannity won, it worked.”
— Host Brian Stelter on CNN’s Most reliable sourcesRetrieved February 4, 2018, at 10:54 a.m.

 

Conway is Too Near to Home for Stelter

 

 

Kellyanne Conway, White House Counselor: “Did you just you say something that a lot of people on your side of the aisle are not willing to say?” 
Host Brian Stelter: “I’m not on a side of the aisle. That’s an offensive remark.”
— CNN’s Trustworthy SourcesApril 20, 2018, 12:20 PM

 

Is Trump in need of an emergency broadcast system? 

“From your perch, running the Washington PostDo you consider this to be a type of national emergency, watching President Trump every day and reporting on it? Do we live in a state of national emergency? And if so, how in the heck should journalists be covering it that way?”
CNN Trusted Sources host Brian Stelter to Washington PostMarty Baron is Executive Editor for the Aspen Ideas Festival. June 27, 2018.

 

Trump Stoking a Worldwide “Hate Movement” Against the Press

 

 

“The President, with his back up against the wall, is saying journalists are dangerous, sick, enemies of the people….He’s shouting some of these attacks nowadays. And there’s certainly been a newfound focus on how he whips up his crowds against the press corps. More and more I think ‘hate movement’ is the proper term for what’s going on. Trump does not tell his supporters to ignore anything we write. He’s telling people we are the enemy. Trump and some of his allies are promoting a hate movement against the American press.”
— Host Brian Stelter on CNN’s Reliable sourcesAugust 5, 2018, p.

 

Don’t Be Afraid Trump Is Lying

 

 

“Is it time for newsrooms to think of new ways to convey Trump’s lack of credibility?….Because he says so many things that are bogus….He tells us all these lies, he spreads all these falsehoods….but he’s done nothing to earn your trust and everything to squander it. The President is constantly lying and spreading conspiracy theories everyday….Should there be a bug in the corner of the screen that says, ‘Warning, the President’s probably misleading you again’?”
— Host Brian Stelter on CNN’s Reliable sourcesUpdated August 26, 2018

 

Brian Stelter Eyes Avenatti, President Talent Scout

 

 

“I don’t know if it’s a good thing that star power and TV savvy is required for the job, but I think it is. By the way, President Obama was also a TV star and this helped him before Trump. This is even more evident with Trump. And looking ahead to 2020, one reason why I’m taking you seriously as a contender is because of your presence on cable news.”
— Host Brian Stelter to Stormy Daniels attorney Michael Avenatti on CNN’s Reliable sourcesSeptember 16, 2018

 

2019

 

Trump’s “Criminal Presidency?”

 

 

“After you and [Bob]Watergate: Woodward exposes you, [Richard]Nixon was a criminal president, and the presidency was criminal. Is the Trump presidency a criminal presidency?”
— Host Brian Stelter’s question to CNN political analyst Carl Bernstein on CNN’s Reliable sources9 December 2019.

 

Worried We’re Not Hyping Democratic Field Enough

“We are talking about…a number of history-making candidates. This is amazing to me. I also see so many women and people of color on the Democratic side. Yet, it is almost taken as a given. Should we, in the press, be talking more about the historic nature of this early primary season?”
— Host Brian Stelter on CNN’s Trustworthy Sources3 February 2019, p.

 

Trump lies every day, he must be guilty!

“You’re going to hear this from the right for the next days and weeks to come, that the press has made all of this up to take down President Trump. The press follows a Trump-created trail. Trump has repeatedly proven that he is not to be trusted. He is so dishonest that even America’s allies don’t know what to believe….Maybe every time he said no collusion more than 231 times so far, maybe every time he said no collusion he was telling the truth. Maybe that’s what Mueller found. This would bring some relief to the nation. But Trump’s daily deceptions have given this country ample reason to be suspicious. That’s why there is so much noise.”
— Host Brian Stelter on CNN’s Trustworthy Sources24 March 2019,

 

Trump Isn’t Being Called “Crazy” Enough

“News outlets use words like ‘erratic,’ ‘volatile,’ ‘unstable’, but rarely are the words and actions covered as a whole, rarely do they take it to the next level….What he just said seems crazy….When you watch a broadcast nightly newscast, how often do you hear about just how far off the road Trump is? They don’t do it enough. Yes, they do note the daily madness, but they rarely connect the dots between the freak-outs.”
— Host Brian Stelter on CNN’s Trustworthy SourcesThe 25th of August 2019.

 

Is it possible to support Trump without being a Cult Expert? We’ll Ask a Cult Expert

 

 

“The word ‘cult’ has been popping up more and more. Recall that two weeks ago, Anthony Scaramucci spoke on the program about his assertion that Trump supporters belong to a cult. Dan Rather recently stated that he feels for Trump is becoming increasingly cultish. Und dieses Wochenende in Washington Post, Trump critic and Republican strategist John Weaver said, the GOP is ‘not a party anymore in the traditional sense; It’s a cult.’ But none of them are mental health experts. Steven Hassan. He’s out with a brand-new book called The Cult of Trump. He has firsthand experience escaping the Unification Church back in the ’70s….You say the President is using mind control, but how is that provable?”
— Host Brian Stelter on CNN’s Trustworthy SourcesDecember 24, 2019, 00:00.

 

End Is Near for Trump “Cult” 

 

 

Host Brian Stelter: “Dan you tweeted something that might be related to this. You said the other day, ‘I have covered many cults. They end with bangs, some with whimpers, but always end. The question is how much damage they leave in their wake.’ Is Mitch McConnell part of the Trump cult?”
Former CBS Evening NewsDan Rather anchor: “Yes. “Yes. And I’m not the only one making this observation that increasingly President Trump’s support seems cultish. It’s all about him it’s not about the policy, it’s not about the standards of politics….These cults generally don’t end well. People will say it’s too much to say it’s a cult. But I don’t think so.”
— CNN’s We trust these sourcesDecember 17, 2019,

 

Journalists are not anti-Trump enough

“Do you think journalists are going to look back years from now and regret not doing even more to speak out about this lying and deceit?
— Host Brian Stelter to CNN’s The Lead
host Jake Tapper on CNN’s Trustworthy SourcesDecember 24, 2019, 00:00.

 

2020

 

Should Networks Even Air GOP Convention Full of Trump’s “Lies?”
 

 

“What we are going to see in the next few days is a truth imbalance. Because if we’ve learned anything from the Trump years, it’s that there’s a real likelihood, there’s a real forecast of lies coming fast and furious from the President and, sadly, from many of his allies, in these speeches, in these videos, in these events that we are about to witness….Which is going to put news outlets in tough positions about when to interrupt, when to fact check and how?…There are discussions in newsrooms about how to handle what is likely to be a stream of lying.”
— Host Brian Stelter on CNN’sTrustworthy sourcesUpdated on August 23, 2020.

 

Donald Trump: Get your car keys 

 

 

“Picture all of us Americans in a car together. Trump is the driver. Trump is the driver. He’s trying to drive the car off the road. This analogy shows that the car is our democracy. It is old, it’s got a lot of miles on it but it’s still running, strong….The driver, ever since 2016….wants to go off-roading or he wants the car all to himself or he doesn’t know where he’s going. Something’s going on with the driver. He’s trying to crash the car. But all of us are along for the ride.”
— Host Brian Stelter on CNN’s Reliable sourcesThis article was published on August 2, 2020.

 

Debate Moderator Must Withstand Trump’s “Blizzard of Lies”

 

 

“The moderator Chris Wallace says he wants to be as invisible as possible tonight. This means that the blizzard will begin. And as in a blizzard, it’s going to reduce visibility, people are going to get numb. And it’s going to be up to Joe Biden to shovel the you-know-what. I mean, when truth is losing, when truth is lost, Trump is winning.”
CNN Trusted SourcesBrian Stelter is the host and previews the presidential debate. CNN NewsroomRetrieved September 29, 2020.

 

“Racist” Rush Limbaugh “Will Always Symbolize Division”

 

 

“A pioneer of conservative media and a deeply polarizing figure….Critics blasted him for racist, sexist, and other offensive speech….A conservative media icon whose legacy will always symbolize division.”
CNN Trustworthy Sources host Brian Stelter on CNN live coverage within minutes of the announcement of Rush Limbaugh’s passing by his wife Kathryn on his syndicated radio show, February 17, 2021.

 

Psaki is the best! 

 

 

“What does the press get wrong when covering Biden’s agenda, when you watch the news, when you read the news, what do you think we get wrong?…You were a CNN commentator in between your time working with the Obama administration and now working for Biden. How did this experience help you? What did you take from CNN and how does it apply to your job now?”
— Host Brian Stelter to White House Press Secretary and former CNN colleague Jen Psaki on CNN’s Trustworthy Sources, June 6, 2021.

 

Trump supporters are like the Deadly Jonestown Cult 

“These citizens in other countries sometimes email me, and say you know why doesn’t the American media just call out Trump for what he is? Trump fandom should be called what it is. Sometimes they use the word ‘cult.’ I know that’s a sensitive word, doesn’t come up a lot in American news coverage, so I wanted to put it to an expert, an unfortunate expert. Jackie Speier began her career as a politician working for a legislator. On a fact-finding trip to Jonestown, she was. Unfortunately, she knows from firsthand what the word Cult means to her. She managed to flee with her entire life. Other people were not capable of escaping that fateful day. So I wanted to hear her thoughts about the comparison, the notion of the cult of Trump.”
— Host Brian Stelter on CNN’s Reliable sourcesThe date is August 1, 2021.

 

CNN Is Not Biased, Just “Pro-Decency” 

“When you’ve got a propagandist [Donald Trump], a demagogue running for President, then becoming President, and taking pretty clear anti-democracy positions, I think the idea was understandable that anchors….talked about democracy, talked about truth, talked about decency. I don’t think it’s partisan to be pro-democracy, pro-decency, pro-truth.”
CNN Trusted SourcesBrian Stelter was the host at an event held by Lehigh University on September 13, 2021. Good Morning America host Joan Lunden.

 

What’s the point of treating Republicans fairly when they are radicals?

“I want to dive right into your argument about what both-siderism is and why it’s failing the public….Is it that we’re treating Democrats and Republicans equally and ignoring GOP radicalism, is that the heart of the problem?”
— Host Brian Stelter to Los Angeles Times columnist Jackie Calmes on CNN’s Reliable sourcesOctober 24, 2021.

 

Annoyed By Fox New’s “Smothering Patriotism” That Tore Families “Apart”

 

 

“[Fox News] network is turning 25 and running lots of commercials celebrating its birthday.….The network evolved or devolved into the beating heart of the GOP, a heart with clogged arteries and weak muscles. It’s the network that brought us…..smothering patriotism after 9/11, and a portrayal of the U.S.A. that seems stuck in a time warp….Full of rage, anger. It’s the whitelash on TV….For the families who feel they have been torn apart by Fox, this week is not a happy anniversary.”
— Host Brian Stelter reporting on Fox News’s 25th anniversary as aired on CNN’s Reliable sourcesOctober 3, 2021. 

 

2022

 

Showing Both Sides of Abortion Debate = “Misleading”

 

 

“Think about this in the coverage in the last couple days….All these split screen images. One person who’s cheering, another person who’s jeering. Sometimes I see the opposite, but I also see joy on the other side. That 50/50 split, isn’t that actually misleading, isn’t that actually distorting?…New CBS polling….Only nine percent of Americans say it should be completely illegal in their state.”
— Host Brian Stelter on CNN’s Trustworthy Sources, June 26, 2022.

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