John King

CNN's John King Interviews Hoffa Without Asking About 'Son of a B---hes' Remark
By Noel Sheppard | September 6, 2011 | 12:30 AM EDT

As NewsBusters previously reported, Teamsters president James Hoffa Jr. on Monday, at a Labor Day rally addressed by President Obama moments later, made some disgraceful comments about the Tea Party and his political rivals.

Later in the day, Hoffa was interviewed for six minutes by CNN's John King, and although the union leader's comments were played at the beginning of the segment and referred to in the onscreen chyron, King actually didn't ask his guest one single question about them (video follows with transcript and commentary):

John King Spins for Obama, Praises His Political Smarts In Debt Ceiling Debate
By Matt Hadro | July 29, 2011 | 4:55 PM EDT

It is one matter if a president stakes out a smart position within a heated political debate, but it is another matter when members of the press believe so and shower him with positive coverage. CNN's John King complimented President Obama on Thursday's Anderson Cooper 360 for having "positioned himself smartly here in the middle" on the debt ceiling debate.

King painted the president as a pragmatic moderate who has called on both sides to compromise, in a statement that could pass for White House talking points.

GOP Guest Informs CNN of Its Own Poll Results
By Matt Hadro | July 22, 2011 | 1:26 PM EDT

Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ga.) twice told CNN's John King Thursday night the results of CNN's own poll showing Americans favor a Cut, Cap, and Balance plan. King would not affirm his claims and instead reported other poll results showing that Americans favor compromise on the debt ceiling.

Throughout Thursday afternoon, the network selectively touted results from its newly-released poll showing a majority of Americans favor President Obama and his positions on the debt ceiling debate. What they ignored was that almost two-thirds of Americans want a balanced budget amendment to be passed, along with spending cuts and caps on spending in the future – or "Cut, Cap, and Balance," a conservative House GOP position.

CNN's John King Distorts Reagan, Parrots False Claim That He Peddled Tax Hike Compromise
By Scott Whitlock | July 22, 2011 | 12:02 PM EDT

CNN's John King on Thursday recycled the now debunked claim that, in a similar situation to the current debt ceiling debate,  Ronald Reagan lobbied for a tax increase compromise to avoid an economic default. This was the fifth time in less than a week that the cable network peddled the distorted quote provided by congressional Democrats.

Discussing the national debt, King spun, "Believe it or not, the country's been here before. Even though the President back then was a staunch conservative and a Tea Party hero today, listen to how he handled it."

CNN's King Asks GOP Debaters Who Picked Better '08 VP Candidate, Obama or McCain?
By Matt Hadro | June 14, 2011 | 2:00 PM EDT

Most of the questions raised during CNN's Republican Primary Debate Monday ranged from neutral to frivolous, although moderator John King slipped an obnoxious one in toward the end. King asked former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty which nomination for vice president during the 2008 campaign was better, Biden or Palin?

"Governor Pawlenty to you. Look back on 2008 and the process. President Obama made a pick. Senator McCain made a pick. Who made the best choice?" The question echoed liberal MSNBC host Chris Matthews from back in 2007, when he asked the Republican field "would it be good for America to have Bill Clinton back living in the White House?"

CNN's John King: Should Republicans Consider Losing Their Jobs and Raise Taxes for Good of the Country?
By Noel Sheppard | April 14, 2011 | 9:41 PM EDT

Now that President Obama has put tax increases on the table in order to balance the budget, his media are going to put even more pressure on Republicans to comply.

A fine example of this happened on CNN's "John King USA" Thursday when the host actually asked Sen. Rob Portman (R-Oh.), "Should Republicans now have the open mind and the courage to maybe lose their jobs like President Bush did for the good of the country and at least say entering the conversation, 'We won't flatly, ideologically, reflexively rule out any tax increases?'" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

CNN: Tiny Pro-Illegal Immigrant Rally Gets More Coverage Than March For Life
By Matthew Balan | February 7, 2011 | 6:31 PM EST

CNN devoted three and a half minutes of coverage on Monday's Newsroom to a protest by "two dozen, maybe three dozen" people who were against two proposed laws targeting illegal immigration in Arizona. The network showed live and taped footage of this liberal protest. By contrast, CNN spent a mere 11 seconds to the March for Life in January and showed no footage from the pro-life demonstration.

Anchor Brooke Baldwin led the 3 pm Eastern hour with the pro-illegal immigration rally:

BALDWIN: There is a new front opening up in the immigration battle. Where else would this be happening? Arizona. At this hour, children and their parents- I'm talking also itty-bitty babies there being carried- they're marching on the Capitol complex building in Phoenix, just as the state Senate considers another proposed crackdown. So, here's what you need to know: there's this new bill that would essentially deny American citizenship to any child born on U.S. soil if their parents came here illegally.

[Video embedded below the page break]

John King USA the Only CNN Program To Mention March For Life...For 11 Seconds
By Matthew Balan | January 25, 2011 | 4:08 PM EST

CNN's 7 pm Eastern hour program John King USA was the only program on Monday and the following morning on Tuesday that mentioned the March for Life in Washington, DC. Anchor John King devoted only 11 seconds to the pro-life demonstration, and omitted crowd numbers and footage from the March. CNN.com's write-up on the annual event downplayed the number of attendees as merely in the "thousands."

King led his evening program with a brief about an Illinois court ruling that former Obama aide Rahm Emanuel was ineligible to run for Chicago mayor. After playing a sound bite from Emanuel, the CNN personality then gave moved on to the March for Life, and added illegal immigration to it as an "emotional issue:"

CNN's King Apologizes For Guest's 'Crosshairs' Term
By Matthew Balan | January 19, 2011 | 12:37 PM EST

On Tuesday's John King USA, CNN's John King issued a prompt on-air apology minutes after a guest on his program used the term "crosshairs" during a segment: "We're trying to get away from using that kind of language" (audio available here). This action stands in stark contrast to an incident over a year earlier where former anchor Rick Sanchez took four days to apologize for using a unconfirmed quote attributed to Rush Limbaugh.

The firearms term appeared during a panel discussion about the race for Chicago mayor with CNN contributor Roland Martin and former journalist Andy Shaw, who is currently the executive director of the Better Government Association, a watchdog group involved in Illinois politics. Twenty-four minutes into the 7 pm Eastern hour, King asked Shaw about former Senator and mayoral candidate Carol Moseley Braun's claim that she was the most qualified candidate in the race: "Can she make the case- you can say Rahm Emanuel- you don't want him as mayor, but he's been a congressman. He's been a White House chief of staff. He's been a White House aide. Carol Moseley Braun- have more experience, more credentials?"

Shaw underlined his point that the Braun and the other mayoral candidates were going after Emanuel by using the sniping term:

[Video embedded below the page break]

Darrell Issa Tells John King CNN Doesn't Understand Meaning of Corrupt
By Noel Sheppard | January 6, 2011 | 1:05 AM EST

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Cali.) said Wednesday that CNN doesn't understand the meaning of the word "corrupt."

Having gotten much attention for accusing the Obama administration on Sunday's "State of the Union" of being the most corrupt in history, the outspoken Congressman was forced to explain what he meant on "John King USA" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

MRC's Bozell Debates Offensive Smithsonian Art Exhibit on CNN's 'John King USA'
By NB Staff | December 2, 2010 | 10:37 AM EST

"Look, if you like depictions of sadomasochism... if you like homoerotic art.... if you're into religious bigotry... if you like that, fine," but don't expect taxpayers to subsidize such an exhibit at a Smithsonian museum, NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell argued in a debate segment on last night's edition of "John King USA" on CNN.

The Media Research Center (MRC) founder and president appeared opposite Washington Post art critic Blake Gopnik, who defended the controversial art display "Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture" featured at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.

You may recall that on Tuesday Bozell called for Congress to investigate the taxpayer-funded Smithsonian for showcasing the abhorrent and sacrilegious display.

CNN's Bash: Was Editing Tina Fey Mocking Conservative Women First Time PBS Favored Republicans?
By Noel Sheppard | November 18, 2010 | 10:00 AM EST

CNN's Dana Bash asked a great question on Tuesday: were Tina Fey's disgusting remarks about conservative women at the Mark Twain Awards "the first time that PBS has been accused of editing to favor Republicans?"

Almost as telling, CNN's Gloria Borger appearing with Bash on "John King USA" answered, "They edited out something Paul McCartney said that was offensive at one point to Republicans, so probably not" (video follows with transcript and commentary):