CNN Gives Transgender Activist Forum to Gripe Over New Military Policy

January 28th, 2019 11:30 AM

On Sunday evening, CNN Newsroom host Ana Cabrera provided a sympathetic forum to transgender activist and former Navy SEAL Kristin Beck to complain about a new policy by the Trump administration that puts restrictions on the recruitment of transgenders by the military for the future.

 

 

At 7:38 p.m. Eastern, Cabrera began the segment by lamenting: "The LGBT community now dealing with a major setback after a Supreme Court ruling this week. It allows President Trump's transgender military ban to go into effect."

She then used the word "controversial" which typically is not applied to liberal policies to describe the right-leaning Trump policy change: "Now, the high court voted 5-4 to let the controversial Pentagon policy work its way through the lower courts."

She then recalled that "most" transgenders would be "disqualified" from joining the military except for a small number of cases.

After bringing aboard Beck as a guest, Cabrera began by concisely setting up her guest to begin complaining about the new policy: "Kristin, you called this act BS."

Beck complained that the policy would be an attack on his "individual liberty," and argued that they should be allowed to do the job if they're physically able to regardless of being transgender.

Cabrera followed up by reading a statement from the Pentagon reiterating that not all transgenders would be barred from serving, and then sympathetically posed: "Kristin, if you could talk to President Trump, the former Defense Secretary Mattis, or anyone at the Pentagon, what would your message be?"

Beck argued that some transgenders are very much physically capable, and then complained that the Trump administration is "trying to take an entire group of people and deny them that freedom and liberty that we all deserve."

Beck then took a jab at President Donald Trump's refusal to serve in the military during the Vietnam War by suggesting that "rich white men" be banned from the military because some have bone spurs.

Cabrera then further boosted the views of her guest by playing a clip of retired General Stanley McChrystal speaking in favor of transgenders being allowed to serve in the military. She asked her final question without offering any pushback on her guest's views: "Kristin, this ban is being appealed. Knowing that people like General McChrystal are on your side, does that give you hope that this current policy will be reversed?"