A CNN article by Marshall Cohen misquoted and misrepresented House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) comments about how she would “punch” then-President, made during the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
In an article reporting on its exclusively-obtained video of Pelosi talking to an aide as the riot unfolded, CNN changed Pelosi’s actual words, in which she expresses her “hope” that Trump would show up at the Capitol, because she wanted (“I want”) to punch him out.
CNN changed Pelosi’s words from “I hope he comes. I want to punch him out,” to “If he comes, I’m going to punch him out” – preventing the reader from seeing that Pelosi actually wished Trump would show up, so she could punch him.
CNN also omitted a sentence in the middle of its transcript – in which Pelosi says that she relishes the thought of Trump’s appearance, because her time to shine had come: “This is my moment.”
CNN: “If he comes (emphasis added), I’m going to punch him out. I’ve been waiting for this. For trespassing on the Capitol grounds, I’m going to punch him out. And I’m going to go to jail, and I’m going to be happy.”
CNN Video: “I hope he comes. I want to punch him out. This is my moment. I’ve been waiting for this. For trespassing on the Capitol grounds. I want to punch him out, and I’m going to go to jail, and I’m going to be happy.”
Thus, the CNN article prevents the reader from learning the 82-year-old Speaker wants to box with Trump in order to have her “moment.” Her chief of staff Terri McCullough talks over the "moment" part a bit by saying "I would pay to see that."
Though Trump had expressed a desire to make an appearance at the Capitol that day, he never did, due to security concerns.
CNN's Cohen even titled that section of the article with his misquote:
‘If he comes, I’m going to punch him out’
It wasn't "Facts First" at CNN.
