CNN came under fire on Thursday when a shirtless, beer-drinking man at a pro-Trump boat parade schooled their field reporter about how inflation is impacting all Americans.
CNN correspondent Elle Reeve tried to get a sound bite from Joe Harner, a retired military veteran and power plant worker, who was double-fisting a beer and a red solo cup, at the event.
Reeve didn’t realize she bit off more than she could chew when she asked him to share his thoughts on the most important issues heading into the upcoming election.
Without hesitation, Harner responded, “The economy. Getting interest rates down. Getting it where we can afford to live in America. Right now it’s too expensive.”
Shirtless dude holding a beer takes this CNN reporter apart after she suggests he shouldn’t care about inflation.
King stuff. pic.twitter.com/ENgLOpYS5Y
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) September 19, 2024
Reeve tried to challenge him by asking if owning a boat meant he wasn’t feeling the financial pinch as much as others.
“You know, if you can afford a boat, you’re not hurting so bad, right? Because a boat costs a lot of money and it’s a lot of upkeep —” she questioned before he cut her off.
“Listen, nobody gave me s***!” he snapped. “I earned everything that I’ve got. I’m retired military, retired power plant, and I am successful and retired with boats, jet skis, because I did it right, and everybody has that chance. Whether they choose or not, that’s up to them.”
Reeve then tried to reframe the question, suggesting that someone in Harner’s financial position might not be as affected by the high cost of living as those with tighter budgets. She argued that groceries, for instance, might be a smaller concern for someone who owns a boat.
Harner, however, wasn’t having any of it. After pausing to stare at the reporter, he responded with a pointed remark: “Because I want my money to go further.”
“I want inflation to go down, I want interest rates to go back down, I want all that, but that covers everybody in the economy,” he added.
“Not just me, not just the poor, not just the rich, it covers everybody.”
Harner’s encounter with CNN wasn’t the only bad moment the liberal network had on Thursday.
That same day, a separate incident involving Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace and CNN commentator Michael Eric Dyson added fuel to the political fire.
Holy crap, @RepNancyMace just entered flirty text messages from a CNN panelist who called her racist into the Congressional Record. pic.twitter.com/jy1GG6TMi8
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) September 19, 2024
During a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing, Mace took aim at Democrats for their outrage over the mispronunciation of Vice President Kamala Harris’ first name.
Mace, who has become a rising star in the GOP, criticized the left for what she described as “fake outrage” over the issue, pointing out that prominent Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton, have also mispronounced Harris’ name during the DNC without facing the same backlash.
“My colleagues across the aisle said that those that can not pronounce Kamala’s name correctly are elementary aged children,” she remarked.
Michael Eric Dyson caught in 4k pic.twitter.com/j5kX9avfGe
— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) September 20, 2024
“Bill Clinton along with Al Sharpton, rapper Lil John — let’s not forget that Joe Biden can’t say her name right, neither can Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor,” she added.
“And this morning on ‘Morning Joe,’ Joan Baez called her a camel,” Mace snarked. “So I don’t want to hear it. It’s fake outrage.”
The GOP firebrand didn’t stop there. She then entered into the congressional record a series of alleged flirty text messages from Dyson, who had previously criticized her on CNN for mispronouncing Harris’ name.
Dyson, a professor at Vanderbilt University, had accused Mace of using racially charged language in her comments about Harris.
But Mace turned the tables by revealing text messages in which Dyson allegedly complimented her “gorgeous” appearance.
“I would like to also enter into the record a screenshot of a text message I received from the esteemed professor from Vanderbilt Michael Eric Dyson after my CNN interview, [where he] begged me for photos,” Mace told the committee.
— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) September 19, 2024
“In this text, he says, after calling me racist on CNN, ‘Shh, don’t tell anybody, we look good together,’ and sent me a kissy emoji,” she humiliatingly added.
“The guy says I’m gorgeous in all these photos. I don’t think he’s that bent out of shape on how anyone pronounces Kamala,” Mace concluded.
“And if we’re going to have that standard, you gotta hold it to both sides, not just one or the other.”