IN THE WAKE OF THE CNN/BUZZFEED ALTERCATION WITH
TRUMP THERE WAS A FEAR THAT THE MEDIA WOULD TURN ON EACH OTHER,
AND IN SOME FASHION THAT HAPPENED WITH CNN PUTTING OUT A
STATEMENT IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARD DEFENDING THEMSELVES AND
ATTACKING BUZZFEED.
THERE ARE REASONS YOU MIGHT WANT TO DO
THAT, THOSE WERE TWO DIFFERENT NEWS REPORTS TRUMP WAS PUTTING
TOGETHER, THE STUFF BUZZFEED PUBLISHED, THE STUFF CNN
REPORTED ON WERE NOT THE SAME THING, WERE HARDLY RELATED, BUT
WERE LUMPED TOGETHER BY THE PRESIDENT INTENTIONALLY, SO CNN
WAS DEFENDING THEMSELVES BY ATTACKING BUZZFEED.
AND I'M
WORRIED THAT CONSIDERING HOW MUCH COMPETITION THERE IS IN THE
MEDIA, BOTH ON TV AND ONLINE, THAT THERE WILL BE A LOT OF
WILLINGNESS TO SORT OF INFIGHT AND TEAR EACH OTHER DOWN WHEN WE
SHOULD BE PROPPING OURSELVES UP AGAINST AN ASSAULT THE LIKES OF
WHICH WE HAVEN'T SEEN IN AMERICA.
THERE ARE PEOPLE
WORRIED ABOUT THIS, ONE IS ON FOX NEWS, WE WILL TURN TO
SHEP SMITH.
PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP TOLD CNN THAT THEIR ORGANIZATION AND
AMOUNTS TO FAKE NEWS.
CNN'S REPORTING ON THE RUSSIAN MATTER
WAS DIFFERENT THAN THE DOCUMENT DUMP EXECUTED BY AN ONLINE NEWS
PROPERTY.
THOUGH WE HAD FOX NEWS CANNOT CONFIRM CNN'S REPORT, IT
IS OUR OBSERVATION THAT IT'S CORRESPONDENCE FOLLOWED
JOURNALISTIC STANDARDS AND THAT NEITHER THEY NOR ANY OTHER
JOURNALISTS SHOULD BE SUBJECTED TO BELITTLING AND DELEGITIMIZING
BY THE PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES.
THAT GUY STANDING IN FRONT OF THOSE GIGANTIC IPADS -- WE DON'T
OFTEN COVER WHAT HE DOES ON FOX NEWS BUT HE SEEMINGLY HAS MORE
INTEGRITY THAN THE OTHERS THERE.
WHAT'S IT'S NOT SEEMINGLY, HE IS
VERY DIFFERENT THAN THE OTHERS.
THOUGH HE MAY LOOK ROBOTIC, HE
DOES NOT BEHAVE ROBOTICALLY IN THE SAME WAY --
OR DOGMATICALLY.
THESE PEOPLE SEEM TO BE CONTROLLED BY THEIR NETWORK IN
THE WAY THAT THEY SPEAK ABOUT THINGS, OR THEY'VE FOUND PEOPLE
WHO FIT PERFECTLY, BUT SHEP SMITH DOES NOT FIT IN THAT WAY.
I'VE BEEN TALKING TO PEOPLE ABOUT THIS, NON-JOURNALISTS,
AND A LOT OF THEM JUST SAY CNN OR WHOEVER ATTACKED TRUMP AND HE
IS JUST FIGHTING BACK.
AND I'M LIKE, OKAY, FIRST OF ALL HE'S
DOING IT IN A RIDICULOUS WAY, BUT SECOND OF ALL WHEN THE
PRESIDENT-ELECT, THE FUTURE PRESIDENT, DOES STUFF LIKE THAT,
IT CAUSES JOURNALISTS TO BE LESS CRITICAL AND SPEAK OUT LESS, AND
THAT AFFECTS THE WHOLE INDUSTRY.
BUT ALSO THEORETICALLY LESS SAFE.
LET'S NOT FORGET THE
JOURNALISTS AROUND THE WORLD HAVE FACED A LOT OF VIOLENCE
OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, AND SEEING IT HERE, WHERE WE'VE HAD,
BY THE WAY, A JOURNALIST MURDERED ON LIVE TV IN THE PAST
COUPLE OF YEARS I THINK IT WAS, WHEN YOU HAVE PEOPLE YELLING
FAKE NEWS AND A PRESIDENT ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO NOT TRUST
WHAT THEY SAY, BUT ALSO THAT THE LIES THEY ARE TELLING ARE
SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO FOR YOU, THAT SETS POTENTIALLY A
DANGEROUS PRECEDENT.
SINCE YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THIS QUICKLY, I'LL BE THE GUY
YELLING RUSSIA.
IT'S WORTH NOTING WHEN TRUMP BEHAVES THAT
WAY TO A JOURNALIST, HOW VLADIMIR PUTIN, WHO TRUMP
UNQUESTIONABLY ADMIRES AND HASN'T BEEN BASHFUL ABOUT SAYING
HOW MUCH HE ADMIRES HIM, WE KNOW PUTIN KILLED AT LEAST ONE
JOURNALIST, MURDERED HIM, BECAUSE OF A SERIOUS
INVESTIGATION.
AND I PRESUME HAS DONE WORSE TO OTHERS.
SO I GET A
LITTLE SCARED WHEN I SEE TRUMP BEHAVE THIS WAY.
IT WAS A WAY I
ANTICIPATED GETTING SCARED, BUT IT WAS STILL SCARY TO SEE.
NEXT
PART OF THE WAY PUTIN CAME TO POWER WAS KIND OF A FAKE NEWS
REVOLUTION, I GUESS A LOT OF HIS PEOPLE WERE TRYING TO CONFUSE
PEOPLE AS TO WHAT IS REAL AND WHAT IS NOT.
THEY WERE NEVER AS RELIANT ON REAL NEWS AS WE WERE.
I LOVE MICE OF SCRIPTURE AND TO PRAVDA -- WAS THAT THE -- I
LET IT LAPSE.
THEIR SPORTS SECTION IS HORRIBLE.
A LOT OF HOCKEY.
MY FEAR IS THAT EVEN IF JOURNALISTS BAND TOGETHER AND
DEFEND THE CONCEPT OF JOURNALISTIC INTEGRITY, IF WE
START TO TURN AGAINST EACH OTHER I THINK WE WOULD BE LESS
PREPARED TO PROTECT OURSELVES.
IN THIS LAST VIDEO WE SEE
MICHAEL MOORE ARGUING SIMILAR THOUGHTS.
JIM COULD EASILY HAVE SAID SOMETHING.
A HIGHER ROAD WOULD HAVE BEEN FOR THE NEXT REPORTER --
THAT'S WHAT I SAID.
THE NEXT REPORTER SHOULD HAVE SAID I
YIELD MY TIME TO JIM ACOSTA, OR JUST RESTATE HIS QUESTION.
ALL JOURNALISTS AT THIS POINT MUST REALIZE THEY ARE ALL IN THE
SAME BOAT, AND THIS IS A PRESIDENT WHO WILL ATTACK THE
TRUTH TELLERS.
SO EVERYONE HAS TO HAVE EVERYONE ELSE'S BACK.
THAT IS TRUE, I THINK THAT IS TRUE ON THE LEFT TOO.
SO I HOPE
THE MANY THINGS WE SHARE HERE DON'T GET IN THE WAY BECAUSE
SOME PEOPLE, SOME DEMOCRATS, SOME ON THE LEFT, ARE NOT AS
PROGRESSIVE AS OTHERS -- THERE ARE THINGS TO CRITICIZE, THIS IS
NOT A DON'T CRITICIZE PEOPLE ON THE LEFT, CORY BOOKER WENT FROM
HAVING PEOPLE PUT THEIR ARMS AROUND HIM JUSTIFIABLY FOR
STANDING UP TO JEFF SESSIONS TO MAKING A FAIRLY UNBELIEVABLY
TRANSPARENT AND INDEFENSIBLE VOTE.
AND I HOPE THAT CORY
BOOKER GETS THAT MESSAGE, WE'LL SEE.
CENK HAD A GREAT TWEET
ABOUT THAT, HOPEFULLY WHEN HE REALIZES WHO HIS CONSTITUENTS
ARE AND WHAT THE MOVEMENT IS HE WILL CHANGE HIS TUNE.
I THOUGHT
THAT WAS A RESPECTFUL WAY OF PUTTING THAT OUT THERE.
BUT WE
NEED TO STOP ARGUING ABOUT RUSSIA, IT'S ONE OF THE BIGGEST
POLITICAL STORIES OF OUR LIFETIME, THE RUSSIAN
INTERFERENCE IN OUR ELECTIONS, SO THE NOTION THAT WE SHOULDN'T
TALK ABOUT IT OR THERE IS NO EVIDENCE IS CRIMINALLY STUPID.
.ORG TRUMP SAYS HE ACCEPTS THE EVIDENCE.
THERE IS OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE.
HIS PICK TO HEAD THE CIA SAYS THE EVIDENCE IS CLEAR,
BERNIE SANDERS SAYS IT IS CLEAR.
THESE PEOPLE HAVE READ THE EVIDENCE.
WE CAN DO TWO THINGS AT ONCE.
WE CAN TALK ABOUT HOW RUSSIA
INTERFERED IN THE ELECTION, WE CERTAINLY DON'T HAVE ANY PROOF
TO SUGGEST THAT HE IS A RUSSIAN PATSY, WE DON'T KNOW, WORTH
INVESTIGATING BUT WE DON'T KNOW.
BUT THE IDEA THAT WE ARE NOT
GOING TO TALK ABOUT IT BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO BECOME OUR
BENGHAZI, WHICH IS A THING GOING AROUND TWITTER?
BUT THE STUPID
THING GOING AROUND ON THE LEFT.
WE CAN DO THAT AND ALSO TRY TO
FIND WAYS TO MAKE SURE WE FIGHT FOR HEALTHCARE AND STAND UP FOR
UNIONS AND START PRODUCING CANDIDATES AND A LEADER OF THE
DNC WHO WILL ALLOW DEMOCRATS TO TAKE BACK SOME GODDAMN
STATEHOUSES AND LEGISLATORS AND GOVERNORSHIPS AROUND THE
COUNTRY, SOME SECRETARIES OF STATE, AND WAYS TO FIGHT
INFRINGEMENTS ON THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT AROUND THE COUNTRY,
AND AS I SAID WAYS TO STAND UP TO UNIONS AND CHANGE INCOME
INEQUALITY AND START MOVING IT SLIGHTLY BACK, AND DISTRIBUTE
WEALTH, WHICH IS WHAT WE HAVE ALWAYS DONE IN THE COUNTRY,
REDISTRIBUTE WEALTH, DO IT IN A FAIR AND REASONABLE WAY, AND
FIGURE OUT FOREIGN AFFAIRS -- WE CAN DO THAT WILL ALSO SAYING
JESUS, RUSSIA TOOK THE ELECTION FROM HILLARY CLINTON?
FOR ALL
HER FAULTS, THAT ALMOST CERTAINLY HAPPENED.
IN
UNDERSTANDING WHY JAMES COMEY DID WHAT HE DID, MY SENSE IS
THAT HE BUMBLED INTO IT, BUT LET'S FIND OUT.
ALMOST THINGS
ARE WORTH TALKING ABOUT AND WE CAN RUB OUR BELLIES AND PAT OUR
HEADS AT THE SAME TIME.
I WOULD SAY WE CAN BE CONCERNED ABOUT THAT EVEN IF YOU
DON'T THINK IT WAS DETERMINATIVE.
WHETHER YOU LIKED
WHAT WAS REVEALED OR WHETHER YOU THOUGHT IT HAD AN EFFECT OR NOT,
SOMETHING HAPPENED AND WE CAN LOOK INTO THAT WELL-BEING
INTERESTED AND CONCERNED ABOUT INSTITUTIONAL REFORM AND
POLICY IDEALS AND VALUES.
I LIKE HOW DONALD TRUMP PORTRAYS IT AS, WE ARE
TRYING TO BE FRIENDS WITH RUSSIA.
I DON'T THINK YOU ARE UNDERSTANDING WHAT IS GOING ON.