CNN’s Jake Tapper and MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski refuse to book Republicans who question the results of the 2020 presidential election, despite their own network’s glorification of Democrats such as Georgia Democrat Party chairwoman and state Rep. Nikema Williams, who questioned the results of the 2018 Georgia governor’s race between Stacey Abrams and Brian Kemp.
Tapper, who provided a platform for Abrams to claim there was interference in the 2018 gubernatorial race, said last week during an appearance on Kara Swisher’s New York Times podcast, “Sway,” that “there’s about a third of the House Republican caucus that I am willing to book.”
Following his remarks that he would only have on certain Republican guests, Tapper released the following statement to Politico, attempting to backtrack and say this “isn’t a policy,” but rather a “discussion” on whether to continue having certain Republicans as guests:
This isn’t a policy, it’s a discussion I think everyone in the news media should be having. Should those who shared the election lie that incited the deadly attack on the Capitol and that continues to erode confidence in our democracy be invited onto our airwaves to continue to spread the Big Lie? Can our viewers count on these politicians to tell the truth about other topics? This isn’t an easy conversation for some folks — especially for journalists who work for organizations where the Big Lie was platformed — but that’s all the more reason to have this conversation.
In addition to Tapper’s comments, MSNBC host Brzezinski and her co-host and counterpart, Joe Scarborough, have also adopted similar practices to that of Tapper by refusing Republicans who have doubts or question the legitimacy of the 2020 election to appear on their show.
Brzezinski recently took aim at media outlets for “booking Republicans who support the big lie and tiptoed around it just because they’re so grateful to have a Republican on to talk about other things.”
Despite efforts from certain anchors at CNN and MSNBC to block most Republicans from appearing on their programs, both networks have recently welcomed Williams with open arms.
During a March appearance on MSNBC’s All In, Williams claimed the 2018 Georgia governor’s race was “stolen” from Abrams. Two days after her appearance, CNN’s Dana Bash delivered a profile piece on Williams, highlighting her claim Republicans are “going to do everything in their power right now to restrict access to people who mainly look like me from voting.”
Furthermore, corporations are buying into what Williams has to say as Delta Air Line’s corporate political action committee, DeltaPAC, cohosted a fundraiser with a top Coca-Cola executive for Williams in April.
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