Anderson Cooper defends CNN's Trump town hall, and liberals furiously lash out at him: 'F*** that. F*** him. F*** this.'



CNN's Anderson Cooper defended the cable news network from critics who excoriated it for hosting a town hall with former President Donald Trump.

Trump berated moderator Kaitlan Collins for interrupting him and disagreeing with him during the town hall, and he repeated many of the claims that have angered people on the left.

Prior to the town hall event on Wednesday, CNN had been lambasted for giving Trump a platform, but those voices grew even more vociferous during and after the broadcast.

Cooper took time on his show to respond to the angry online mob.

"The man you were so disturbed to see and hear from last night, that man is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president," said Cooper.

"And according to polling, no other Republican is even close. That man you were so upset to hear from last night, he may be president of the United States in less than two years. And that audience that upset you? That's a sampling of about half the country," he added. "They are your family members, your neighbors, and they are voting. And many said they are voting for him."

Cooper went on to warn the viewers that Trump could very well win again.

"You have every right to be outraged today and angry and never watch this network again. But do you think staying in your silo and only listening to people you agree with is going to make that person go away?" he asked rhetorically.

Many on the left were predictably not enthused about the defense Cooper offered.

"Oh so now Anderson Cooper is gonna gaslight us because CNN F***ed up? Nah. Nah. F*** that. F*** him. F*** this," responded one critic.

"I don’t need @CNN to tell me who Trump and his army of devotees are. Believe me, our family know. Why are they lecturing us?What the hell is happening over there?" replied activist Rachel Vindman.

"This is horses*** @andersoncooper and the ugliest part is that you know it," said sports activist Dave Zirin.

"CNN just patted you on the head and said you have to listen to fascists or you're in a 'silo', and choosing not to listen to fascists won't make them disappear," read another popular response.

"CNN put a criminal sexual abusing fraudster responsible for a coup against the United States on the air for an hour, backed by hundreds of his cult followers and let them trample their coworker and lie to no end," said another critic.

Despite the outrage online, CNN garnered enormous ratings with the town hall event.

Here's the video of Cooper's defense:

Anderson Cooper addresses criticism about Trump town hall www.youtube.com

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Ex-Navy SEAL de-transitions, warns: 'We're hurting our kids. Kids are DYING'



On "The News & Why It Matters," BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales, along with BlazeTV contributor John Doyle and chief researcher Jason Buttrill, talked about retired Navy SEAL Chris Beck's de-transition, after famously coming out as transgender 10 years ago in an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, and his warning about how the transgender movement is hurting children.

"We're hurting our kids. Kids are dying, and I don't want that to happen. And it's killing me because I helped do that," Beck said in a recent interview with Robby Starbuck.

Beck accused CNN and others of using him to encourage people to transition and warned that so-called gender-affirming care is hurting children. He also said he was "taken advantage of" by "people who had knowledge way beyond me. They knew what they were doing. I didn’t."

"Part of my image is hurting these kids, and I want to make sure the whole world knows everything you see on CNN with my face, do not even believe a word of it. Everything that happened to me for the last 10 years, it's just it's horrible. It destroyed my life. I destroyed my life. I'm not a victim. I did this to myself, but I had help," he added. “I take full responsibility. I went on CNN and everything else, and that’s why I’m here right now, I’m trying to correct that.”


\u201cNavy SEAL Chris Beck came out in 2013 as transgender. @andersoncooper did a special on @cnn about it. His story was used as propaganda to allow trans people in the military and to popularize the issue. Now Chris is ready to expose the truth. Watch here: https://t.co/ChbjE6Kgly\u201d
— Robby Starbuck (@Robby Starbuck) 1669903390

Watch the video below to catch the conversation or find full episodes of "The News & Why It Matters" episodes here. Can't watch? Download the podcast here.



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CNN host asks key Rittenhouse trial witness to 'clarify his testimony.' But it doesn't go over well.



CNN anchor Anderson Cooper invited Gaige Grosskreutz, a key witness in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, to "clarify his testimony" this week after he seemingly contradicted himself during an interview on "Good Morning America."

What happened?

Cooper confronted Grosskreutz Thursday about his statements on "Good Morning America" that appeared to contradict his sworn testimony at the Rittenhouse trial on Monday.

Specifically, Grosskreutz testified under oath that Rittenhouse only fired on him when he "advanced" on Rittenhouse and pointed his handgun at the teenager. But on "Good Morning America," Grosskreutz claimed that he was not pointing his firearm at Rittenhouse when he was shot.

Cooper asked, "On 'Good Morning America' today, you said that you were absolutely not pointing your gun at Rittenhouse. Can you clarify that?"

In response, Grosskreutz once again seemingly contradicted his sworn testimony, saying the only way that he could have sustained the injury that he did is if his hands were up when he was shot.

Grosskreutz said:

Yes. Absolutely. First and foremost, that was a very tense situation, something that I've never been in before, just like having never been shot before. I think It's important to note, though, that specifically during [cross examination], if there is a skilled attorney, they're able to present questions to help support their narrative. That's their job, and with one of the exhibits that attorney Chirafisi had introduced, there is a photo of me with my gun pointed toward the defendant, either just after or right during he had shot me in my right arm.

It's important to note though that the physiology of my wound would be inconsistent with somebody being shot with their arm — and we'll say, the traditional way that you would point a gun at somebody or some thing — the only way that I could have sustained the injury that I have is if I have been shot with my arms up.

When asked by Cooper — who appeared confused by Grosskreutz's response — if he ever pointed his firearm at Rittenhouse, Grosskreutz played coy.

"I think that, again, in the still photos, it certainly looks like it, but never intentionally," Grosskreutz said. "You have to understand that following that gunshot, I had no use of my arm. I wasn't able to move anything in my right arm or on my right arm."

In an interview with CNN's @AndersonCooper, the lone survivor shot by Kyle Rittenhouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Gaige Grosskreutz, attempts to clarify his testimony and comments on "Good Morning America" about whether he pointed a gun at Rittenhouse.pic.twitter.com/ZxmDibzAZx

— Anderson Cooper 360\u00b0 (@AC360) 1636686960

What was the response?

After the CNN interview aired, Grosskreutz was accused of committing perjury or lying on CNN.

"Gaige Grosskreutz should be charged with perjury. He can then either state he lied on the stand under oath or he lied on CNN," commentator Stephen Miller observed.

Joe Biden and Anderson Cooper slammed for scrapping social distancing as the cameras pull away



Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and CNN host Anderson Cooper were criticized on social media Thursday night, after viewers noticed that the two threw social distancing out the window as the cameras pulled away after carefully staying far apart during the candidate's town hall.

What are the details?

Pundit Steve Krakauer shared footage of the incident, tweeting, "Joe Biden and Anderson Cooper are making a point of social distancing during the CNN Town Hall while on the stage. But when they think they've gone to commercial break, they get so close to each other that Biden is whispering in Cooper's ear:"

Joe Biden and Anderson Cooper are making a point of social distancing during the CNN Town Hall while on the stage.… https://t.co/lqIYfFKmMW
— Steve Krakauer (@Steve Krakauer)1600391142.0

Sure enough, the clip shared by Krakauer shows that after Cooper signs off for a commercial break, the cameras pull back but continue to show Biden approaching Anderson and the host leaning over as Biden appears to whisper in his ear.

Neither of them were wearing masks, which is noteworthy since Biden has repeatedly vowed that his administration would impose a federal mask mandate as long as it is legal.

The town hall was held in a parking lot and 35 cars were allowed for the "drive-in" event.. CNN reported that it "CNN is following all of the local guidelines and restrictions put in place due to the coronavirus pandemic," according to the vice president of its special events team, "and everybody attending and working the town hall will have their temperatures taken and will answer screening questions."

The outlet noted that in Pennsylvania, where the event was held, "wearing masks when outside of the home is mandatory."

But Twitter users noticed that Biden and Cooper did not appear to be following the rules.

Several people called both men "frauds" and re-upped the common accusation that CNN is "fake news." One person tweeted, "They are so phony. It's sad that so many people are blind to it.." Another asked, "Can you catch Covid if the cameras aren't rolling?"

Fox News'' Pete Hegseth reacted to the footage, describing it as 'mask-mandate Joe whispering sweeting nothings to @andersoncooper."

Mask-mandate Joe whispering sweet nothings to @andersoncooper. Just didn’t know the cameras were still rolling... https://t.co/o9fPB1n5FH
— Pete Hegseth (@Pete Hegseth)1600390148.0

Some folks wondered exactly what the two were discussing.

Others said the moment reminded them of when CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins was caught on camera immediately removing her mask after a White House coronavirus briefing in May.

But there were those who came to Biden and Cooper's defense, with one person tweeting, "They are both tested daily. They have to be in order to do their jobs effectively."